A Sadie Kramer Flair Mystery 02 - A Flair For Drama

by Deborah Garner

  Sadie looked at Coco, who was stretched out on her back, upper torso headed one direction, lower torso in the other. Her eyes were closed and a miniature snore drifted upwards.

  “I don’t think so,” Sadie said. “I’ll take Coco back to the hotel to rest for a few minutes before we come back for the pawtograph signing. I wouldn’t mind putting my feet up, either.”

  “I don’t blame you at all,” Roxy said. “And join us at Curtain Call later, too. It should be interesting with Russell back in the mix. He seems to think he’s twice the star he was before, now that he’s added his fifteen minutes of police fame to his acting credits.”

  “Unless those fifteen minutes of police fame actually belong on his resume,” Sadie said.

  Roxy raised both eyebrows.

  “I’m not saying they do,” Sadie added. “And don’t worry. I’ll be at the café later. I just need a little time at the hotel first. Maybe I’ll change into something not quite as dark, for one thing.” She chuckled as she delivered the last line. Roxy knew full well that black was not Sadie’s usual color choice. She saw no need to dress like a stagehand when she wasn’t playing the part of one.

  * * *

  The hotel was quiet when she returned, especially for a Friday night, but this didn’t surprise her. The desk clerk had told her that quite a few guests were there specifically to see the show’s last weekend run. Since it was intermission, they would be gathering in the lobby for drinks, rather than returning to their accommodations.

  “Something’s bothering me, Coco,” Sadie said, once back in their room. “I just can’t place my finger on what it is.” She placed Coco in her portable palace, and then threw off the dark outfit she’d worn backstage. She pulled one of the new blouses from the closet, thankful she’d hung the new purchases that afternoon when she returned from shopping in Carmel. Donning a new poncho and her favorite rhinestone jeans, she brushed her hair out, admiring its current bottle red shade, and clipped it up with a seashell barrette that she’d found in the hotel gift shop.

  “I still don’t think Russell is the killer,” Sadie continued, “though it’s hard to tell without knowing whose fingerprints are on the phone.” She glanced sideways at Coco, as if the Yorkie might simply tell her where the missing phone was. The picnic basket role in the play had only encouraged Coco’s habit of hiding items and moving them around. “Oh, my! Coco!” Sadie said suddenly. “I certainly hope you didn’t give that phone to anyone else! Not with my fingerprints on it!” She took a deep breath and told herself not to panic. That would be easy enough to explain. Wouldn’t it?

  Coco scratched her chin with a back paw and then settled against her stuffed red lobster, closing her eyes.

  “You’re absolutely no help,” Sadie added.

  Coco yawned.

  “It could be Alex,” Sadie murmured, aware she was only talking to herself at this point. “Jealousy over Brynn’s attention to Russell, plus wanting that lead role. Maybe he was the person Coop heard yelling at Brynn in her dressing room. And he might have ‘borrowed’ Russell’s phone…”

  Sadie sat in the overstuffed chair and thought for a minute. Of course, if Alex had been the one to send the text, this would mean he knew Brynn and Russell’s habit of meeting on the catwalk after hours. This was quite possible, now that she knew from Freda that Penelope could have mentioned that to anyone. But there was an inherent problem with that exact theory. Penelope could have mentioned it to anyone. Therefore, anyone could have known it would be easy to lure Brynn to the catwalk.

  “Let’s go, Coco,” Sadie said. She stood up and retrieved her favorite gold flats from the closet, slipping them on her feet. Rousing Coco from her brief nap, she headed back to the theatre for the post-show pawtograph session.

  * * *

  “Love that color!” Roxy exclaimed as Sadie entered Curtain Call. “I wanted to tell you when I saw you at the pawtograph table, but you had quite a crowd there.”

  Sadie flipped her shoulders back and forth in a miniature shimmy at the compliment. “It’s called ‘salmon sunset’ – divine, isn’t it?”

  The scene at the café was lively, but not chaotic. Coop leaned against a wall, a bottle of beer in one hand. Alex, Russell and Nevada sat together, chatting. Ernie hovered nearby, presumably watching Nevada to make sure she didn’t drink too much.

  “Fairly calm tonight,” Sadie said as she looked around.

  “I’m not surprised,” Roxy said. “There’s still one last show. Everyone will want to make it the best it can be. I’d expect a rowdier crowd at the cast party, though.”

  Sadie nodded. “Makes sense to me. I don’t see Sid or Mitchell.”

  “They don’t always come around after a show,” Roxy said. “Ernie’s here, but that’s not unusual. He keeps a close eye on his little protégé.”

  “Trying to keep her in line?”

  “Undoubtedly,” Roxy said. “She seems to be on good behavior tonight, though.”

  “No sign of Higgins?”

  Roxy shook her head. “I saw him at the theatre briefly, but he’s not here. Maybe he finally got tired of questioning the same people. I know they’re all tired of being grilled.”

  “I’m sure,” Sadie murmured.

  “Hey,” Roxy said suddenly. “You never told me what happened when you turned in Russell’s phone yesterday.”

  “Well, about that…” Sadie paused as Coop walked up.

  “I’m calling it an early night,” Coop said. “Not much going on. I want to rest up for tomorrow.” With a quick wave, he headed out the door.

  Sadie saw that the crowd was already thinning. Russell remained, wrapped up in a flirtatious conversation with a café worker who was clearly a fan. Alex had his jacket on already. Ernie was helping Nevada into a fluffy pink sweater.

  “About the phone,” Roxy prompted.

  “Yes, well, that didn’t go exactly as planned,” Sadie said.

  Roxy frowned and lowered her voice. “Well, you’re not in jail, so it couldn’t have gone too terribly wrong.”

  “You do have a point there,” Sadie said. “But the truth is, it didn’t go at all.”

  “What exactly does that mean?” Roxy said.

  “It means when I reached in to pull it out of my bag, it wasn’t there.”

  “What? Then where is it?”

  “I have no idea,” Sadie said. “But I hope it turns up soon.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “Coco!”

  Sadie hugged the squirming Yorkie against her chest. Coco often got wound up around a lot of activity, but she was in unusually high gear. It almost seemed she knew this to be her last performance, and she meant to live it up to the fullest. She’d already escaped from the dressing room a few times, once ending up on Nevada’s dressing table, begging for treats, and a second time she found her way to the lighting booth, where she’d delivered Freda’s cloth tape measure to a very confused technician. Someone had even spotted her at the pawtograph table at one point, which fortunately hadn’t been stocked yet with ink.

  “You’ve got to calm down, Coco,” Sadie whispered. She stroked the spot just above Coco’s nose, a calming technique that had worked in the past.

  “Is this going to be a problem?”

  Sadie lifted her head at Sid’s stern voice.

  “Not at all, I assure you,” Sadie said, hoping she’d be able to keep this promise. “She’s just getting into character.”

  Sid grumbled something under his breath and stomped away, pausing to bark commands into several dressing rooms before leaving the backstage area.

  Coop passed by, stopping to hand an extension cord to a stagehand before moving on.

  “Thirty minutes to curtain.” Roxy announced.

  “Coco, I think a walk outside is in order for you,” Sadie said. “Let’s use up a little more of that energy before you take your place in the picnic basket.” She pulled a rhinestone leash from the tote bag and clipped it to the Yorkie’s collar, taking care not
to disturb the sequined bow that Freda had already repositioned several times.

  “Back in five,” Sadie said in response to a concerned look on Roxy’s face as she spotted Sadie and Coco heading for the stage door.

  “Four,” Roxy cautioned.

  “Deal,” Sadie said.

  The fresh air in the alley revived Sadie after all that time she’d spent shuffling after Coco inside the theatre. Along with giving Coco a chance to burn off some excess energy, Sadie welcomed the break before the intensity of the final show. She strolled with Coco to the end of the alley where she could see the front of the theatre.

  Crowds of theatregoers gathered on the steps, some dressed casually, others decked out for the special occasion. A line at the box office indicated customers picking up will-call tickets. Mitchell conversed with a young man holding a camera, likely a reporter, based on Mitchell’s broad grin. Ernie stood to the side, talking on his cell.

  Then Sadie spotted Detective Higgins. Unfortunately, he spotted her, too, before she could turn Coco back toward the stage door. He approached immediately, as she knew he would.

  “Ms. Kramer.”

  “Detective Higgins.” Sadie tried to sound casual, but winced when her voice squeaked.

  “I don’t suppose you ever came across that list you were looking for?”

  Sadie shrugged. “I never did find it. I’m just terrible about keeping track of things, especially when I’m traveling. I probably threw it away by accident or lost it between here and San Francisco. Serves me right for scribbling ideas on scratch paper.”

  “I see,” Higgins said. “It’s curious that you found it important enough to bring the list to me at the station.”

  “Well, I must have thought it was important at the time, but I’ve forgotten the details, and the list is just gone,” Sadie said. “I’m so sorry to have wasted your time that day.” Sadie knew she was babbling. “I’ve been pretty scattered lately, what with Coco’s newfound stardom and all the back and forth, you know?” Sadie glanced down the alley at the stage door. “I really do have to get back inside. The curtain rises soon.” Coco tugged on the leash, as if to back up Sadie’s statement.

  “I understand,” Higgins said. “Let me know if you happen to remember anything. Or, for that matter, if you see anything backstage that might be of help. You’re in a unique position, you know. You’re part of the show but also enough of an outsider to be objective.”

  “Absolutely,” Sadie said. She returned to the stage door with Coco and stepped inside.

  Coop spotted Sadie and Coco as they hurried up the stairs. “Glad you’re back,” he said as he handed her a headset. “Roxy was panicking. Fifteen minutes to curtain.”

  “Fifteen minutes,” Sadie repeated, feeling quite the pro by this time. “We’ll be ready.”

  Sadie settled into a chair beside the prop table and set Coco in her lap. Together they watched the last minute preparations.

  Freda rushed by with a costume piece, a bandana that had gone missing, but had been found in the wings. Sadie looked at Coco and raised an eyebrow. Coco tipped her head innocently to the side.

  “Places!” Roxy’s voice came through Sadie’s headset.

  A rush of excitement ran through Sadie. This was it, the last show! She looked at her canine friend. “You’ll be great, Coco,” she whispered. “Everyone loves you.”

  Alex walked by, taking a place in the closest wing. He sneezed and cast a look at them.

  “Well, almost everyone,” Sadie amended, patting Coco’s back.

  One scene after another, the first act progressed. Enthusiastic applause floated back from the packed house.

  “Warning picnic scene,” Roxy called.

  Coop stepped up to the prop table and held the picnic basket open as Sadie put Coco inside. As Coop took the basket out to the stage area and positioned it for the scene, Sadie followed and stood beside Roxy .

  “Standby picnic scene.” Roxy looked at Sadie and smiled.

  Sadie adjusted her headset and inhaled deeply.

  “Go lights.”

  The spotlight focused on the picnic basket, highlighting the popping movement of the lid as Coco pushed against it from inside. Alex flipped the lid back, and rubbed his hands together in front of his face as if happy about the picnic lunch, but disguising his twitching nose.

  “Fluffy!” Nevada cooed just as Coco’s head popped up.

  Applause filled the theatre before Coco even jumped out of the basket. The clapping turned to roaring laughter as Coco climbed out hind feet first, a maneuver that even took Sadie by surprise. Where did she come up with that? Sadie wondered, almost forgetting to give Coco her command.

  “Give toys, Coco,” Sadie said.

  Coco pulled the plastic grapes from the basket and delivered them to Nevada. Encouraged by a warm hug of thanks from her favorite cast member, Coco ran back to the basket and jumped inside, landing in a way that showed only her wagging tail above the basket’s rim. More applause from the audience.

  Coco gave Alex the next gift, a paper cup, which he offered to Russell. Repeatedly, Coco returned to bring out other goodies: a wooden spoon, a large cookie, a banana, a plastic daisy, a small bag of potato chips. Nevada received the most gifts, but shared them around.

  Sadie continued to issue the “give toys” command as the audience lapped up Coco’s shenanigans. Just as it seemed time to wrap up the continuing parade, Coco jumped out with a plastic bag and walked toward the front of the stage. She swung the bag from side to side, gripping it between her teeth.

  “Not a sandwich again!” Coop whispered to Roxy and Sadie. “I warned the cast about keeping food around.”

  “It looks too heavy to be a sandwich,” Roxy said, covering the mouthpiece to her headset.

  Sadie gasped. “Oh my!” She pressed her fingers to her lips.

  “What?” Roxy said.

  Before Sadie could answer, the plastic bag broke open, and a clunky object slid across the wooden surface and came to rest just inches from the edge of the stage.

  “It’s a cell phone,” Coop said. “Could it be…?”

  “Oh, Fluffy, I believe that gift is for me.” Russell jumped up faster than Sadie had seen him move yet. He lunged forward and reached for the phone, almost grabbing it before an arm stopped him.

  “No, I actually believe that’s for me.”

  Detective Higgins stood in front of the stage. He held Russell’s arm with one hand and picked up the cell phone with the other. Confused, the audience laughed, assuming the unexpected interaction was simply part of the show.

  Just before the curtain came down, in a move that Sadie could hardly believe, Higgins turned to Coco and said, “Thank you, Fluffy.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  When Sadie entered Curtain Call, she saw that the cast and crew were decked out for the party, cocktails in hand, smiles plastered on faces. But the tension in the room was palpable. Even the shimmery sequined gown Sadie had changed into between the post-show pawtograph session and the cast party was not enough to douse her apprehension. There was an elephant in the room, an unexpected guest at what was supposed to be a celebration.

  Roxy stood by the open bar, Coop with her. She waved Sadie over.

  “No sign of Higgins yet?” Sadie said, accepting a champagne glass from a caterer.

  Roxy shook her head and leaned closer to Sadie. “No. And you can tell people are nervous. After all, he did leave to run fingerprints during intermission. Anyone could have touched that phone.”

  “Plenty of theories being tossed around,” Coop said. “At least half believe Russell is guilty. I can’t say I disagree. You saw the way he rushed to get his hands on the phone.”

  “Really, Coop,” Roxy said, “can you blame him? After all this time with the phone missing? His phone? Wouldn’t you want to get it back if you were in his shoes?”

  “Sure, if I thought it would suggest I was guilty,” Coop said. “But then what would he have done with it, anyway? It’s
not like he could just hide it right there on the stage. Or make a run for it with so many people around.”

  Sadie sipped her champagne and watched the crowd. Many crew members had simply arrived in their backstage attire and aimed mainly for the food and drinks. Nevada had changed into a sweet silk outfit in pale pink that made her look more like a prom queen than a suspect. Alex wore jeans and a denim shirt, sleeves rolled up just enough to show off a pricey watch and muscled forearms. Nevada kept stroking his wrist.

  “I take it Russell’s down at the station again,” Sadie said.

  “You’d better believe it.” Roxy sighed. “That’s why we had to sub Alex back into Russell’s role in the second act. Not that he minded a little extra exposure.”

  “Speaking of…” Coop murmured, barely audible to Sadie and Roxy. The three watched Alex saunter up to pick up two glasses of champagne, one for himself, and one for Nevada.

  “Can you believe it?” Alex said. “Russell guilty after all?” He sipped from one glass and raised the other in Nevada’s direction.

  Sadie noticed Ernie, who leaned against a wall alongside Mitchell and Sid, frown as he watched Alex signal the incoming champagne to Nevada. Still monitoring her behavior, Sadie thought to herself. She wondered, suddenly, if Ernie was jealous of Nevada’s affection for Alex. Maybe she was more to him than a potentially profitable protégé.

  “I wouldn’t jump to conclusions, Alex,” Sadie ventured. “Just because Higgins took Russell in with him doesn’t mean he’s guilty. His fingerprints are probably on the phone, anyway. After all, it is his phone. I think what the detective is looking for is who else might have prints on the phone.” She pulled Coco out of her tote bag and held her up. “I’d almost bet these little prints will show up.”

  “As if they’d have paw prints on file,” Roxy laughed.

  “Good point,” Sadie admitted. “Let’s just hope these paws and that little tongue didn’t smear off other clues.”

  “Well, I’m not worried about Russell,” Alex said. “If he did it, I’m glad they caught him. If he didn’t do it, I hope they catch the jerk that did. Brynn didn’t deserve to die that way.” He headed back to sit with Nevada.