by Clea Simon
‘I did, thanks.’ Dulcie pulled up the same chair she’d sat in yesterday. ‘Any sign of—?’ She stopped herself. ‘How are you doing?’
A wan smile gave her the answer. ‘I’m better, thanks.’ Roni was clearly pushing the truth. ‘And no, no sign of Gus. But we’re all keeping our eyes out for him. It’s just – well, there’s been so much going on, you know?’
‘I can imagine.’ Dulcie could, although she didn’t see how that would interfere with the search for a missing animal. Still, it didn’t seem right to press that particular point just now. ‘I may have some news that will be helpful, though.’
‘What?’ Roni’s question was broken by a crash from the lobby. A crash – and could it be laughter? ‘Oh, lord.’ Roni stood and started around her desk. ‘Not again.’
‘I’ve got it.’ Dulcie stood and reached for the door. The office manager probably wanted some quiet to work. As she closed it, she couldn’t help pausing. Heath Barstow had apparently stumbled in – and nearly fallen on the dark-eyed girl. What was her name, Avila? The two were laughing as the blond actor righted himself.
‘He doesn’t take long, does he?’ Roni had reached Dulcie’s side by then and, reaching around her, closed the office door. ‘You were saying?’
‘I have a friend who does legal work.’ That sounded odd and out of date. ‘That is, she’s a lawyer. She does public interest law.’
Roni was staring, her eyes enlarged by the glasses, and Dulcie realized she was repeating herself. ‘Anyway, Suze was telling me about all these cases of credit card fraud she’s getting. And, well, I think there’s something wrong with your email.’
Dulcie paused. She’d gotten up to the speculative part and wasn’t sure how to continue.
‘Oh my god.’ Roni had gone even more pale. ‘You think we …’
‘I think you may have been hacked.’ Dulcie had to say it. There was no way around it. But as Roni groaned and ducked her head into her hands, she felt guilty. She should have couched the news more gently.
‘You can’t …’ The voice seeping out from behind the hands was strained. ‘You can’t let this get out.’ The face that peeked up showed that desperation. ‘If our client base heard about this—’
‘I won’t tell anyone,’ Dulcie rushed to reassure her. ‘Only my boyfriend knows. You know Chris? From the other night?’
Roni nodded, color coming back into her cheeks. ‘Thanks. This has been a nightmare. If our customers found out—’
‘Found out what?’ Heath’s golden head appeared in the doorway.
Roni shook her head once, quickly, motioning for Dulcie to stay silent. ‘Computer problems,’ she answered.
‘Amy would have been all over that.’ Those startling blue eyes turned to Dulcie, pinning her to the spot. ‘She was a whizz,’ he said. ‘Another reason to miss her. Hey, Roni, you got a minute?’ The actor turned his attention to the office manager, allowing Dulcie to breathe. ‘We’ve got another call.’
‘I’ll take it.’ Roni reached for her phone. ‘Do you mind?’
She was talking to Heath, but Dulcie figured this was her cue, too. ‘I’ll step out too.’ She rose and started toward the door. ‘Maybe someone’s seen Gus.’
Roni nodded as she punched a blinking button. ‘University Rep, please hold.’ One hand over the receiver, she looked up at Dulcie. ‘You know, she wasn’t that great,’ she said. ‘He just thought she was.’
Dulcie nodded in what she hoped was a non-committal fashion and stepped out, nearly smacking into the dark-eyed girl, Avila. From the close-lipped smile on her face, Dulcie figured she’d heard the exchange. The fact that Heath was now slumped over, near tears, wouldn’t have helped.
‘Don’t you mind?’ Dulcie asked. The dark girl had seemed like she was enjoying the actor’s attention before his sudden mood swing. She only shook her head, the heavy bangs of her short pixie cut bobbing. ‘That’s Heath. He’s an actor, you know? And, well, he’s blond, at least for now?’
Dulcie hadn’t realized that the stereotype carried through to men. Then again, she wasn’t part of the theater world. ‘I guess,’ she said with a shrug. ‘Are they all like him?’
‘Aren’t they all?’ Avila smiled for real this time. ‘I mean, men?’
‘Maybe.’ Dulcie didn’t want to correct her – or to sound smug. ‘Or maybe it’s a Cambridge thing. You know, the university?’ The brunette’s habit of turning every statement into a question was contagious.
‘I wouldn’t know about that,’ Avila countered with a declaration. ‘I’m one of the newbies here. Decided to give up the circus when I saw the casting call.’
‘Oh?’ Dulcie tried to think of a way to turn the conversation toward the cat. ‘I guess Heath was here before?’
‘Heath and Roni, yeah.’ She rolled those dark-rimmed eyes. ‘Guys like him? They always talk about moving on. In reality?’ She shrugged, and Dulcie noticed how broad her shoulders were, given her size. ‘Well, he’s a draw.’
‘My friend has a huge crush on him.’ There, it felt good to say.
‘Join the club?’ For a moment, Dulcie thought Avila really was asking a question, but before she could decline, the other woman continued. ‘Not just audiences. He’s, like, the troupe’s best recruiting tool?’
‘You mean … Amy?’ The other girl just shrugged again, as Roni opened her door.
‘Dulcie? Sorry about that.’
With a smile for Avila, Dulcie walked back into Roni’s tiny office.
‘I’m so grateful you warned me.’ She sat down heavily behind her desk. ‘Between this and Gus …’ She shook her head, and Dulcie noticed that her ponytail was coming loose. Already a strand of thick, dark hair hung by her face. ‘Heath didn’t help the situation, picking up the phone and rambling on to a customer.’
‘He must be a handful.’
‘He’s a child.’ As she talked, she grabbed her hair, pulling it back as if it were the thick locks she was angry at instead of the handsome actor. ‘He thought Amy was all that, but it was just book learning. Poor girl,’ she added as an afterthought. ‘He’s an angry, selfish child who likes his pretty toys.’
‘Did Amy know that?’ The pretty girl had seemed equally smitten.
‘She would have learned.’ A shrug. Roni didn’t seem to notice what else her words could mean, but Dulcie did. Maybe Roni was right. Maybe Amy had learned.
TWENTY-FIVE
‘I’ve got to admit, I’m not a cat person, you know?’ Avila had the grace to look embarrassed by her admission. At least, Dulcie thought that’s what the shrug had meant as she hiked up her shoulders under that flowing charcoal sweater.
‘Not everyone is.’ It was as diplomatic as Dulcie could be. The woman had agreed to take her around and introduce her, and now she was leading Dulcie down the entrance hallway. ‘But I would have thought, considering the part you play …’
Another smile and nervous shrug before she turned and continued walking. It was a tick, Dulcie figured. And although she found herself wondering just what exactly the slim actress had to be nervous about, she stopped herself. The woman was an actress, and from all Dulcie had heard, that was reason enough. Besides, one of her colleagues had just been murdered. And the company that employed her was teetering on the brink of financial ruin.
‘Anyway, thanks for helping.’ Dulcie backed down. ‘I know, it’s minor in the scheme of things, but, well, it’s so cold out.’
‘No, no.’ Avila waved her off, showing Dulcie her silver-painted nails. ‘I get it. He’s a pretty little thing. I mean, most of the company considered him like some kind of good-luck symbol or something?’
They were in the theater proper now. With the house lights on, it looked smaller than Dulcie remembered. Smaller and dingier.
‘Doug?’ A sandy head popped up from behind the raised stage. Dulcie recognized him as one of the gods. ‘Did you see Gus? You know, the cat?’ Avila’s querulous tone was finally appropriate, but the freckled face just looked at he
r, before reaching up to his ears.
‘Sorry, what?’ He was wearing earbuds, Dulcie noticed. ‘Hi. I saw you here yesterday, didn’t I?’ This was to Dulcie, but Avila jumped in.
‘Doug, this is Dulcie. She’s looking for Gus who, I guess, got out?’
‘Hang on.’ Propping himself up on the edge of the stage, the sandy-haired man stood. He was taller than Dulcie remembered. Taller than Heath, and dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. The hand he extended was calloused. ‘Doug Melrose,’ he said. ‘Set builder, at least today.’
‘Hi. Dulcie Schwartz.’ She felt her hand dwarfed in his. ‘I thought I saw you in the show.’
He laughed. ‘Yeah, actor by night. But I do contracting to pay the bills, so when the company needs something nailed tight …’ He gestured to the edge of the platform, where a hole gaped under the stage.
‘I thought the director did the set repair.’ Dulcie looked around, but the portly man was nowhere in sight.
‘Bob?’ Doug’s tone said it all. ‘You’re kidding, right?’
She shrugged. ‘I saw him take the toolbox down the other day.’
‘Well, that explains why I couldn’t find it.’ Doug hefted the hammer. ‘Luckily, I keep my own tools in my truck.’
‘What happened?’ Dulcie ducked down to look. By the hole, a splintered board – its raw edges showing tan under the black paint – lay on the floor. Its replacement waited nearby.
‘Someone had a tantrum.’ He shook his head as he reached into his pocket. ‘Heath says he tripped over it making his entrance. Caught his foot and nearly went flying.’ Pulling out a handful of nails, he knelt too. ‘That’s what he says, anyway.’ He placed a nail and drove it in with two hard whacks. ‘Do you know anything about it?’
‘Maybe he really did trip?’ Avila shrugged again. ‘I mean, with the chariot malfunctioning and everything?’
‘Maybe.’ Doug eyed the board, adjusted it slightly and nailed the other end. ‘Anyway, no, I haven’t seen Gus since the night that Amy … well, you know.’
They all did, and the room fell silent.
‘What about under the stage?’ Dulcie kicked herself. She should have thought of this before Doug had nailed the opening shut. ‘Do you think Gus might have gotten under there?’
‘You said he’s been missing two nights now?’ Doug asked.
Dulcie nodded, and Doug paused before responding. ‘Well, it could be, but Heath just told me about this hole this morning. Now, granted, we’ve all had a lot on our minds, but I don’t know that I would’ve missed a hole this big. This is what I do.’
‘You do a lot more,’ Avila cooed and turned to Dulcie. ‘He’s a great Minos and when he gets to do Hercules, you can really believe in him, you know?’
‘I believe it.’ Dulcie had had trouble seeing the slender Heath as the muscular hero. Then again, the Village People song blasting during his feats of strength hadn’t helped.
‘Thanks, hon.’ Turning back to Dulcie, he elaborated. ‘I just don’t think it happened during a performance. For all of Heath’s issues, when he’s on, he’s on. I think he kicked it.’
‘He was in a mood yesterday, wasn’t he?’ Avila looked thoughtful. ‘The police kept him for most of the day,’ she explained.
‘Really.’ Dulcie wasn’t sure how to respond. Detective Rogovoy would want her to stay out of it. Clearly, the city police – or was it the state? – must have known about Heath’s relationship with the dead girl. But had they spoken with his colleagues? ‘Do you know what they asked him?’
Avila gave a most unladylike snort, and Doug grinned. ‘Heath had a reputation,’ he said. ‘And in this case, I’m afraid it landed him in the hot seat.’
‘So, he was a lady’s man?’ Dulcie tried not to look at Avila as she asked, but the two actors nodded.
‘That’s how he cast himself anyway,’ said the Goth girl. ‘And, hey, we’re all here because we want to play a different part, aren’t we?’
‘But you were asking about Gus,’ Doug broke in before Dulcie could follow up on that provocative statement. ‘No, I don’t think he’s under here. But why not be sure?’
Before she could stop him, he’d pulled the two nails out and was lying on his belly. ‘Hang on.’ He popped up again and extracted a flashlight from his toolbox. ‘No, I don’t see anything. Want to check?’
‘Sure.’ Dulcie felt a little silly getting down on the floor. If she didn’t, though, she knew she’d feel worse. ‘Thanks.’
Taking the flashlight from the big carpenter, who knelt beside her, she reached into the hole and slowly panned over the space. The beam reflected off nail heads and some kind of metal brace, only to be softened by myriad dust balls. The black paint, she could see, had been haphazardly applied. While most of the boards had some paint, at least two were raw wood on the inside. Clearly, this wasn’t the first patch job Doug had done.
‘Nothing.’ She sat up, brushing dust from her sweater. ‘Sorry to make you go to all that trouble.’
‘No trouble at all.’ As if to illustrate, he reattached the board with four quick taps. ‘Better safe than sorry, and I’d hate to be responsible for trapping the little guy in there.’ Four more taps, and the board was secure. ‘Hey, maybe he just went back to where he came from?’
‘Where he came from?’ Dulcie looked at Avila, who shrugged again.
‘He was new here, too.’ Doug stood and began putting his tools back in the box. ‘Showed up around the same time you all came in.’ This was to Avila. ‘We joked about it, the cat who came for casting.’
‘Did someone bring him?’
‘That was it, we thought Roni did at first. He took to following her around. He settled into her office like it was his new home. She said she’d never seen him before, though. Said that he was as new to the job as she was.’
‘That’s why I was afraid of him,’ said Avila. ‘I mean, he really got poor Amy good.’ Doug nodded, remembering. ‘All she did was go into Roni’s office, but I guess she scared him or something, because he jumped her. I’ll never forget it. He must have been on top of one of those cabinets or something? He came out hissing – totally freaked me out. And she had a scratch like, well, it was bad. Really bleeding a lot, right across her throat.’
TWENTY-SIX
At first, Dulcie didn’t believe Avila. That a cat would scratch someone, sure. Even, she knew from Esmé’s rough-housing, to the point where blood was drawn. But to swipe a woman across her throat? The description was too over the top, not to mention too close to the wound that had actually killed the young actress. And since Avila was on the stage herself, Dulcie simply assumed that the dark-eyed woman was indulging a flair for the dramatic. Only Doug’s quiet assent had convinced her.
‘It was bad,’ he said, nodding. ‘Amy almost quit then and there.’
‘Maybe if she had …’ Dulcie started to put her thoughts into words when she saw the look on Doug’s face. ‘I’m sorry.’ She backtracked and looked for an excuse to move on. It would have been wrong to ask the big contractor to help her look for the cat after that.
‘Dulcie, why don’t we try the dressing rooms?’ Avila came to her rescue, reaching for her hand and spiriting her away. ‘Don’t mind Doug,’ she said, as soon as they were out of earshot. ‘He feels like he should have protected Amy from Heath.’
Dulcie looked up at that, but Avila, flushed, was already explaining. ‘Not like that,’ she said as they passed from the open stage area into a backstage corridor. ‘Gosh, I’ve got to start watching what I say. I mean, just that Heath always went for the new girls.’
‘So there were others?’ Dulcie couldn’t reconcile this cavalier attitude with the dark-eyed girl’s obvious pleasure in the actor’s company.
‘We were all new girls at some point.’ A shrug as Avila’s tan cheeks took on a rosy hue. ‘And, hey, it’s part of the deal.’
‘The deal?’ Dulcie was definitely in over her head.
Avila nodded. ‘Heath knows people. He’
s worked down in New York, supposedly. If he likes you …’ The expression on Dulcie’s face must have stopped her, and she shrugged again. ‘Anyway, here’s where we change.’
‘Am I allowed in here?’ Dulcie paused. She didn’t want to get the actress in trouble.
Avila rolled her eyes, and taking Dulcie’s hand led the way into a long and narrow room. Dulcie would have taken it for another utility closet, were it not for the rack of white dresses hanging along one wall and the mirror opposite. At the far end, a pile of what appeared to be costumes, many streaked with greasepaint or glitter, covered a threadbare couch. Dulcie got down on her knees to peer beneath it, while Avila picked through the pile. Without any windows, the room was close and smelled frankly of sweat.
‘Glamorous, isn’t it?’ Avila once again read Dulcie’s face. ‘But this is it.’
‘It’s tiny.’ Dulcie didn’t mean to be insulting, but the words just came out.
‘It’s actually not bad,’ Avila corrected her as she shook out a sequinned top. ‘When I was on the road, we worked in some real dives.’ She leaned in, still holding the glittery piece. ‘At least we don’t have rats.’
‘Maybe you have Gus to thank for that.’ It was an honest reaction, but Dulcie was also grateful to have an excuse to talk about the cat again.
‘I guess.’ Avila seemed to have abandoned the search for Gus as she pulled off her sweater and a torn tank top to reveal a ripple of muscle down her slender back. Dulcie turned away, although the actress didn’t seem to have any issues with being topless. ‘Damn.’ Dulcie turned back to see the actress struggling. The top wasn’t fitting over her shoulders. ‘Hand me those?’
She pointed to a pair of pinking shears, which Dulcie fetched.
‘Thanks.’ Two snips and the neckline was customized. ‘All that trapeze work,’ she said as she shimmied into the top.
‘Is that from the show?’ Dulcie watched as Avila turned back and forth in front of the mirror on the opposite wall.
‘It’s from some show, anyway.’ With a sigh, she pulled it off, throwing it back on the pile. ‘Do you mind?’