All I Ask

by KT Webb

  She screamed and tried to struggle away from whoever had her. It was evident the person was a man; his upper body was solid, and his grip was firm. She immediately started going through the possibilities of who could be in the theater with her. Patrick didn’t have an access code. Could the famed D’Angelo have returned to find her poking around the theater without Aria? What if the person in the theater with her was the very same man who had murdered at least two women already?

  “Let me go! Put me down!”

  “Okay, calm down,” Drew’s voice made Christine’s skin crawl.

  She turned to face him in the hallway, making sure to leave the range of the stairwell. Christine didn’t trust Drew in a well-lit room, she wasn’t about to give him the advantage of cornering her in the darkness at the top of cement stairs.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” She demanded.

  Drew managed to control his expression. Christine had become a nuisance; she was standing between him and Aria like a tiny guard dog. It wasn’t her business if he came to see Aria; he could ask her why she wasn’t at home in her own apartment. Instead, it was best to play nice.

  “I heard about Madame Rossi. I came to see if Aria knew. I wanted to check in on her.”

  Christine narrowed her eyes, “Well, I’m here. She knows. It wasn’t something she wanted to hear.”

  “I heard you calling for Aria, is she missing?” Drew glanced beyond Christine toward the basement steps, “Why would you think she was down there?”

  “How did you even get in here?” Christine asked.

  “I have an access code.”

  Aria mentioned giving him a temporary code, but that was before she changed the codes and deactivated any temporary access she’d issued. It seemed unlikely that Aria would have given him a new access code after the way he treated her. Christine wasn’t sure where Aria was, but the last thing she needed was to have Drew skulking around the theater uninvited.

  “Drew, I think it would be best if you left. Aria needs some time alone. I was just going to go get her some muffins and coffee. Then I’m heading out too,” Christine tried to keep her tone even.

  “I think I’ll stick around. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t actually have the authority to tell me to leave.”

  Andrew Overland was a pain in the ass. Christine had had quite enough of his entitled behavior. She didn’t know D’Angelo, but she’d taken his warning to heart. If Drew was around, Aria wasn’t safe. As far as Christine knew, D’Angelo had never tried to hurt her friend. Drew, on the other hand, didn’t seem to understand how to do anything else.

  “I may not own this building, but I know for a fact that if I called the police and told them you were here without Aria’s permission, they would be here in a heartbeat. With all the people turning up dead around Aria, do you really want them to start sniffing in your direction?” Christine sounded braver than she felt.

  “Are you threatening me?” Drew loomed over her in an intimidating stance.

  “No, I don’t make threats. I’m just telling you how this will go down if you don’t see yourself out the door. Aria is upstairs, and I can promise you that if something happens to me and you’re the only one around; she will make sure you rot in hell,” Christine glared at him with her chin raised defiantly.

  Drew had no idea if Christine was trying to tell him something behind the outright threats she was making. She could claim they weren’t threats all she wanted, but the truth was hanging between them. She was right, if anything happened to her while the two of them were standing in Durant Theater, he would be blamed immediately.

  He leaned close enough to Christine that he could feel her flinch when he whispered in her ear, “You may think this is over, but you’re wrong. You can’t keep me away from Aria.”

  Without another word, Drew stalked out of the theater through the side door that led to the alley. Christine waited until she heard the door click behind him to call Patrick.

  Aria sat bolt upright in bed. Her heart was beating against her chest as though it was determined to escape. She panicked as she realized she was not in her room. Her mind raced as it tried to catch up to the rest of her body. No, she wasn’t in her apartment because she was in D’Angelo’s apartment below the theater. She’d come to find anything that would tell her who he was or where he was. Aria looked down at the bed, remembering how it felt to crawl into it and inhale the faint scent that still permeated the sheets.

  Her mind flashed back to the dream that woke her so suddenly. The more she thought about it, the more Aria realized it hadn’t been a dream in the classical sense. Somehow, her mind was revealing tidbits of her repressed memories from the night her father died. She thought hard about what she saw in the dream. She saw Drew.

  No, that couldn’t be right. Andrew Overland was on stage during the dinner and wouldn’t have been able to make it to their house at all that night. She knew that was true because it had been in all the papers and conspiracy theory articles people had insisted on her reading through the years. Aria knew that the young man who stood on the driveway of her childhood home had to have been Erik, not Drew.

  If Erik was standing outside of the house when the explosion occurred, could he have lived to tell the tale? If he lived, was he the one killing people to set both Aria and Drew up for murders they didn’t commit? Above all those thoughts, Aria couldn’t help but wonder if Erik had somehow orchestrated the whole thing. If he killed Alfonse, he would be the star of Broadway. Aria wondered if the Erik she knew was even capable of something so heinous.

  Before she left D’Angelo’s home, she looked around once more. There were far more things about him that felt familiar than strange. She thought she knew him. On his desk, Aria found a piece of music that had escaped her attention before. The title written across the top of the page sent shivers down her spine. It was simply titled, For Alfonse, and the sheet had certainly seen better days. It was clearly a well-loved and often-played piece of music.

  Other than the ring, it was the only thing she found that tied D’Angelo to her father. If they weren’t really friends, why would D’Angelo have a piece of music written for her father? She scooped up the page and turned to leave the room. Christine was probably awake and wondering where she’d gone.

  When Aria made it back to her apartment, Christine greeted her with a fierce bear hug followed by a playful shove. Patrick was seated on the couch next to another man she couldn’t readily identify.

  “What’s going on here?” Aria asked.

  “I called Patrick when I couldn’t find you. Apparently, he was just finishing up talking to Detective Pahl, so they both came over to see if they could be of assistance,” Christine gave her friend an apologetic shrug.

  “Oh, I’m sorry to worry everyone. I just had a few things I needed to look into. Can I get anyone something to drink? I could put on a pot of coffee.”

  Detective Pahl stood and studied her with interest. She didn’t seem like the kind of person who would know something about multiple murders and not tell anyone. The fact that he had two dead bodies and both had some connection to the young woman had not been lost on him.

  The fact that he himself had been with Madame Rossi the night of her death was equally as concerning. Due to the nature of their conversation, Detective Pahl had become even more convinced that Andrew Overland was the man he was looking for. Before she died, Lena had told him about what happened to Erik Overland after the fire. He wasn’t sure Aria was ready to learn that truth just yet, but he knew it would have to come out in time. For now, Aria was safer believing that D’Angelo was simply a composer friend of her father’s. Andrew was getting braver. He stabbed Lena in the middle of a busy sidewalk. If he thought Aria was a threat to him, he might put aside his obsession to take her out.

  “Aria, I have a few questions to ask you about Lena Rossi, if you’re feeling up to it,” Detective Pahl said as he joined her in the kitchen.

  “Sure, I’ll do my best to ans
wer. It still doesn’t seem real that someone could have killed Lena. She was an amazing person,” Aria explained as she busied herself with the coffee to avoid the wave of emotion threatening to overcome her.

  “I know you spoke to her the night she was killed; can you tell me what that conversation entailed?”

  Aria nodded, “I called to ask her a few questions about the man called D’Angelo. I thought she might be able to help me find him.”

  “Oh? And what made you think that? Had she indicated some kind of relationship with him in the past?” The Detective felt a little dirty, knowing what he did and not telling Aria.

  “She once told me she’d met him years ago. It was a longshot, but I was just looking to see if I could find him. His music reminds me of my father, and I wanted to see if he knew him,” Aria was careful not to lie to the Detective, but she didn’t want to tell him the real reason she was looking for the composer.

  Detective Pahl knew she wasn't being honest with him. It wasn’t pertinent to his investigation, so he let it slide. With everything she’d been through, Aria deserved to be able to keep some information to herself.

  Aria knew her life had become a tangled mess, and the idea that she was standing in her kitchen, making coffee for a detective investigating two deaths that were closely linked to her, was enough to give her pause. If she set aside the baby growing in her womb and the intense passion she felt for a man she was now questioning, the situation was tough to believe. When all of it was considered together, it was downright unbelievable. It was almost incredible to the point of hilarity. Aria had the notion that someone was hiding with a camera behind a door and might jump out and yell “gotcha”. The trouble was, there wasn’t a hidden camera or laugh reel playing at the appropriate moments; there was just a mess.

  “Well, I wanted to tell you I’m sorry for your loss, Miss Durant. I know you weren’t well acquainted with Miss Moreau, but Madame Rossi was fairly important to you,” the Detective’s sympathy was sincere.

  “Thank you, I don’t think I’m fully feeling it yet. Lena fought for me when I was on my way to ending up in the foster system or heading toward an adoption based on the money I would inherit. Neither option would have gotten me to the point I’m at today,” Aria paused as she considered the person she’d become under the guidance of Lena Rossi, “She taught me everything I needed to know about musical technique. Madame Rossi was my friend and teacher. But she was also the closest thing to a mother I’ve ever known. Ours was an interesting relationship, to say the least. It breaks my heart to know she won’t be around to see everything I plan to do with my life.”

  Detective Pahl knew there would be more heartache in the future for Aria. He hoped she would be able to take the coming revelations with the same level head she’d kept through everything else. He hated it when people were murdered, especially people like Lena Rossi. What he hated, even more, was the void losses like hers left behind for the people who loved them.

  “Thank you for your time, Miss Durant. I’ll be leaving now. Mr. Butler, would you mind seeing me to the door?” Detective Pahl was a little worried he would get lost in the unfamiliar theater.

  “Of course,” Patrick left Christine on the couch and led the way out of the apartment.

  Aria tried not to look at Christine as she finished pouring coffee into cups for all three of them. The tears had started to form in her eyes, and if she let them flow, there was no telling when they’d stop. She was angry. Whoever took Lena from her was a monster; someone who lived to see others in pain. She didn’t want to believe D’Angelo had anything to do with those things, but it was looking more and more like he may have. It was too much of a coincidence that she had called Madame Rossi to discuss D’Angelo. Had her friend ended up dead because she was the only person who knew the identity of the man who claimed to love Aria?

  “Hey, I know you have a lot on your mind right now, but I have to tell you something,” Christine had already decided not to tell Aria about Drew showing up in the theater.

  “What’s that?”

  “Before I left the apartment to find you, I noticed you had a message on your cell phone. I looked at it to see if you were supposed to be meeting someone and didn’t tell me. It was a message from D’Angelo, he said he’s coming home soon.”

  Aria paled. Soon was awfully vague. How was she supposed to get to the bottom of everything that had happened if he returned and wooed her again? Drew was right about the way D’Angelo had basically hypnotized her with music. The longer she was away from him, the more she wondered if it had been the music that called to her or if she truly loved him.

  “Your face, Aria, it’s white. Are you okay?”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m just feeling a little out of sorts lately. I think I’m going to hop in the shower before we head over to the theater. Will you guys wait for me?”

  Christine agreed as Aria walked away in a daze. Something was bothering her other than the recent death of her beloved guardian. It would have been easy to assume her hidden pregnancy was dominating her mind. But she was certain something was going on with Aria that Christine hadn’t quite figured out, but she knew the time would come when she would have to be there for Aria. She just hoped they could get through the final performance of All I Ask before everything came crashing down around them.

  Drew had made up his mind, he was tired of always coming in second place. He was tired of being pushed around by people who should have been treating him with the respect he deserved. Nothing was going to keep him from protecting Aria from the things that threatened to tear them apart. It was the final act of their last performance, and he was going to make every second count.

  Christine got off the phone with the caterers, they assured her everything would be arriving by nine o’clock. The final performance was almost over, and the cast and crew were looking forward to partying the night away in the Majestic Theatre. It was up to her to ensure that everything went smoothly, just as she always did.

  She stood behind the curtains, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. Aria’s nerves had gotten the better of her for the first time since the show started its run. She was still pale and seemed so tired that Christine was sure the stress and loss had caught up to her. They only had to get through one more act, and Aria could rest for as long as she needed to.

  “Hey, you’re almost done, Aria. Hang in there,” Christine whispered as she hugged her friend.

  “Thanks, I’ve just got a lot on my mind. Honestly, I’m glad the show is taking a break after this. I’m going to need it. I don’t think I’ll be back for the next run of the production. It’s all too much right now,” Aria said softly.

  “Just get through tonight. Don’t worry about anything else right now.”

  Drew was watching them from the other side of the stage. He was hidden in the shadows behind the curtains, waiting for the call to take their places. He watched the way Christine soothed Aria. Soon, no one else would need to comfort her. Everyone who could possibly hurt her would be out of their lives forever as soon as he found a way to expose D’Angelo for what he really was.

  The music began to play, giving Aria and Drew the cue they needed. When the curtains opened, they acted their parts expertly even though neither could wait for the scene to be over. Each had their own reasons for wanting the play to end. Aria was ready to put that chapter of her life behind her. She thought she wanted a life on stage, but her priorities changed with the baby she would welcome at the beginning of the following year. Nothing else mattered anymore, just keeping herself and her child safe from any harm. Drew wanted to take Aria back to London with him. Leaving New York City behind was the best way for them to start over. He just had to get Aria to see things his way.

  In the theater box where Aria had seen D’Angelo on multiple occasions, she noticed the shadow of a man hiding there once more. For the first time in what seemed like forever, Aria didn’t feel her heart skip a beat at the thought of being with him. I
nstead, she felt the ice-cold finger of fear trail down her back. He said he was coming home, but she’d never responded. How was she supposed to know what to say? He’d been gone for almost two months, much of that without a whisper of his well-being. He wasn’t there when she needed him after Lena was murdered. For all she knew, he was too busy killing Lena to comfort the woman he’d knocked up and left. She knew she had no way of knowing that was true without confronting D’Angelo. Aria owed it to herself and their child to face him and get some answers. If he wasn’t willing to be straight with her, she would have to find a way to say goodbye forever.

  After the throngs of theatergoers finally cleared out of the building, Christine could finally see to it that the caterers got everything set up. The cast and crew were doing their end of the night routine for the last time. As the caterers set up the smorgasbord, and the bar was ready to serve a variety of adult beverages, Christine took stock of everything they brought.