Ziegfeld Girls

by Sarah Barthel

  “So Ruby left the production and Lillian stepped into her role for the time being, although it looks like she’ll be in the number for the duration of the show.”

  “What is this person after?” Jada asked out loud.

  They turned a corner and the large marquee stared down at them. Suzanne gestured at the entrance and said, “This is the theater.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Jada opened the stage door for Suzanne and was nearly toppled when it swung open from the other side.

  “Whoa!” Jada exclaimed.

  “Suzanne?” Jonathon stopped dead in his tracks. He turned and his eyes widened. “Jada? What are you doing here?”

  Suzanne didn’t allow Jada to answer. She quickly recounted why they were there. Jada noticed how she stepped closer to Jonathon.

  “Poison? In Bert’s trunk?” Jonathon repeated. He paused. “Did either of you eat anything toxic?”

  “Suzanne is tougher than she looks,” Jada said, smiling at Suzanne. “And, no, neither of us has eaten anything.”

  Suzanne smiled back. “Jada threw out everything that was sent to me from admirers.”

  “Thank you, Jada.” Jonathon ran his hand through his hair. “We had better find Bert.”

  “Ann said he was rehearsing with Leon,” Suzanne said as she walked through the door.

  Jonathon shook his head. “I don’t think so. Leon is meeting with Flo right now, making sure we have all the staff we need to open.”

  Jada fell in step beside them. “If he is here this late, I’m sure he is onstage. This will be his return to the Follies, and many people want to see him fail. He will be perfecting every detail.”

  Without another word the trio rushed through the theater and to the stage. Jada tried to stop the uneasy feeling that was welling up inside of her.

  They opened the door and blinked. The house and stage lights were off. Jada pursed her lips. This was not right. Bert was a workhorse. He should be there.

  “Shall we look in his dressing room then?” Suzanne asked.

  “No,” Jada said. “This feels wrong. There are what, two days before you open and the stage is empty?”

  Jonathon went past Jada and started feeling on the wall for the light box. Suzanne left his side and stood close to Jada.

  “I don’t like this,” Jada repeated.

  “We will find him,” Suzanne promised.

  “There,” Jonathon said, and the lights flickered on. The footlights were still off, but the light from the wings gave off enough light that they could see across the stage.

  “Bert!” Jada exclaimed.

  In the middle of the stage lay a dark pile of cloth. As the lights warmed up, a slight movement was just visible. Jada rushed forward and pulled back the black tarp. Bert was lying on his stomach, his hand pressed against the stage as if he were trying to get up. His already pale face looked almost chalky in the shadows.

  “Jonathon, help me,” Jada said.

  She sat beside the man and tried to turn him to his side, but he moaned as if her efforts pained him and she stopped.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t move him,” Suzanne said.

  Jonathon leaned his ear and listened to Bert’s breath. “What happened?” he asked Bert, but there was no reply.

  Jada looked up at Suzanne. “Do you think he was injured?”

  “It’s possible.” Suzanne glanced around them for a container of something, but the stage was remarkably clean. Even the first few rows where the girls sat as they waited for their number to go on showed no signs of garbage. “Did the cleaning crew already clean up?” she asked.

  Jonathon shook his head. “I don’t think they come until morning.”

  Jada looked around and quickly followed on Suzanne’s thought. “Let’s assume that Bert ate something laced with ipecac. What do we do?”

  “Roll him over,” Suzanne demanded.

  Jonathon forced his arms under Bert’s shoulders and rolled him over.

  “Ugh,” Suzanne declared at the puddle of bile that was matted to his chest and the floor.

  “We need to get him to a doctor,” Suzanne said.

  Jonathon nodded. “I’ll get the car.”

  Jada looked at the pool of bile and raised her hand. “Wait. Your dressing room has water, right?” Suzanne nodded. “We need to get him hydrated.”

  “But a doctor can control the poison,” Suzanne said.

  Bert’s eyes flickered open and he turned his head to Jada. “Water,” he croaked, then closed his eyes again.

  “Water and then the hospital,” Jada said firmly. “Carry him to the car, Jonathon. We’ll meet you there.”

  Jonathon nodded. “If you see anyone—”

  “We’ll send them to help,” Suzanne promised. Then she led Jada to the dressing room.

  * * *

  The lights from the hallways gave the staircase just enough light by which to see. Jada walked a few steps ahead of Suzanne and looked down the hallway. Jada’s hearing peaked as echoes of falling jars clanked from one of the rooms. Looking carefully, one door about halfway down the hall was ajar, revealing the flickering light from a candle inside.

  “Whose room is that?” Jada whispered to Suzanne, who was now standing beside her in the hallway.

  Suzanne counted the doors twice before she glanced nervously at Jada. “Mine.”

  “Do you still share with Lillian?”

  “Yes,” Suzanne whispered.

  Jada’s eyes widened. It was time to confront Lillian with these crimes. She motioned to Suzanne to stay quiet as they moved closer to the door. The flickering light from inside sent moving shadows over the wall. Jada worked hard to focus on the task at hand.

  Suzanne walked behind Jada, her breath coming out in jagged spurts. Jada turned to her and pressed a finger to her lips. Whoever was in the room must know they were coming with Suzanne’s loud mouth. They stopped just outside the room and glanced at each other. Jada closed her eyes and readied herself to enter.

  “Blast!” a woman exclaimed as something toppled to the floor.

  Jada took her chance and swung the door fully open. It banged against the wall, and the blond woman dropped the bottle in her hand and knocked over the piles of towels behind her. The clear liquid quickly seeped into the carpet.

  “Laura?” Suzanne demanded. “What on earth are you doing in my room?”

  Laura sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by small bottles and a black medical bag. Her normally perfect hair was disheveled, and the sleeves of her blouse were rolled up. A toppled pile of towels was strewn across the floor behind her. She grabbed one of the towels and pressed it into the carpet, coughing at the strong stench of rubbing alcohol that was now filling the room. She glanced up as they entered, but went back to measuring a dark syrup from one bottle to another.

  “I had to get my bottles.” Her words came out quickly and unfocused. She shifted so that Jada couldn’t see exactly what she was doing with the liquids. “It wasn’t supposed to be so strong.”

  Jada and Suzanne exchanged a glance. Jada inhaled and made a face. The room smelled faintly of ipecac.

  “What wasn’t?” Jada asked.

  Laura kept measuring the liquid in the bottles and didn’t reply. Jada stepped to the right slightly so she could see what Laura was doing. With a measuring spoon, she measured some of the syrup out of one container and moved it to the other. She was doing inventory.

  “What was too strong?” she asked again. Laura didn’t even flinch at the words.

  Jada leaned closer to Suzanne and whispered, “You need to talk to her. You know her better. She’ll confide in you more than me.”

  Suzanne nodded. Slowly she lowered herself to the floor and moved toward Laura. When she was close enough she settled onto the floor beside her friend.

  While Suzanne tried to get close to Laura, Jada looked around the room. Had Laura left Suzanne a present here? The vanity was clean except for a container of powder and a brush. The wardrobe was shut. Even
the floor looked swept. There was nothing amiss. Then her eyes fell on the water pitcher. Suzanne had promised there was water in the room and glasses, but the glasses were in the trash and the pitcher was empty.

  “What are you doing, Laura?” Suzanne asked.

  “He shouldn’t have gotten so sick,” Laura said softly. “I must have given him too much.”

  “Gave who too much?” Suzanne pressed.

  Laura didn’t reply.

  “Suzanne?” Jada said, drawing her friend’s attention. “Didn’t you say there was water here?”

  Suzanne nodded and then glanced at the pitcher. “Where are the glasses?” she asked.

  “All the same. Nosy niggers. Can’t leave well enough alone without horning in on our lives and taking what should be ours.” Laura looked up at Jada and shook her head. “The glasses are in the garbage. I couldn’t take the chance.”

  “Take a chance?” Suzanne repeated.

  Jada glared at Laura. “She poisoned your water. Didn’t you?”

  “Yes.” Laura’s voice was flat. She looked up at Suzanne. “But not to kill. Never to kill. I never meant for anyone to die. You have to believe me on that.”

  Suzanne reached forward and took Laura’s hands, which were shaking. “I believe you. But you must tell us, what happened to Bert?”

  Laura looked back at her bottles. In one motion, Jada swiped them off the floor and into the small black medicine bag. Laura looked away and her shoulders collapsed.

  “I knew he’d be rehearsing alone after we all left for the evening. So I rubbed some ipecac onto the rim of his glass. I just wanted him to get sick and have to miss opening night. If Flo could only see how good the show was without him, perhaps he wouldn’t be so intent on keeping him on. It is dangerous.”

  “How is Bert dangerous?” Suzanne asked. “He’s always been a gentleman.”

  Laura rolled her eyes. “That is what they want you to think. They act all nice at first, but when their animal urges take over it is too late.” She leaned close to Suzanne and whispered, “They rape the women. It doesn’t matter if they are pretty or ugly. They are like dogs in heat.”

  “Excuse me?” Jada spoke up. “Bert would never hurt anyone!”

  Laura snorted. She turned her back on Jada and turned to Suzanne. “I was only trying to protect everyone. If Ziegfeld won’t protect us, one of us had to step up and do something.”

  Suzanne put an arm around Laura and patted her head. Jada met her gaze, and from her glare knew that Suzanne was angry with Laura as well.

  “What happened with Bert?” Suzanne asked calmly.

  “I must have put too much on the glass.” Laura frowned as she tried to put the pieces together in her mind. Then she looked up at Suzanne. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

  “No, but he is very ill.” Jada stood up, leaned over, and took one of Laura’s elbows. “We can’t wait around here any longer. Bert needs to see a doctor and we need to make sure Jonathon leaves. We can deal with Laura after they have left.”

  Suzanne held on to Laura’s other arm. “I’m not sure I’d trust any of the glasses here,” Suzanne said. She glanced at the pile of broken glass at the bottom of her trash can.

  Laura repeated, “I never meant for him to get so sick. There was vomit everywhere and then he just collapsed.” She shuddered at the memory. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that.”

  “Maybe think of that before you try to poison someone next time,” Jada muttered. She looked around for something to confine Laura in so they could take her up to Jonathon and call the authorities. One of Suzanne’s scarves was draped on the wardrobe handle. She took it and wrapped Laura’s wrists quickly.

  The trio walked awkwardly up the stairs with Suzanne leading Laura and Jada pushing her along. Laura didn’t try to escape, but her stride was slow. Suzanne looked over Laura’s head and met Jada’s eye. “To Jonathon,” Jada mouthed, and Suzanne nodded.

  “Laura,” Suzanne asked, “if you felt so threatened, why did you stay in the Follies? Why not voice your concerns and then leave?”

  Laura’s face tightened and her lips tensed. “You wouldn’t understand. Your family gave you a life, an ability to make your own choices.”

  “Doesn’t every family teach their children to make choices?” Suzanne pulled Laura out into the hallway. Both girls put a firmer grip on the culprit.

  “I didn’t think you’d understand,” Laura muttered.

  Suzanne glanced at Jada, confusion written all over her face. But Jada suddenly understood Laura. She cleared her throat.

  “Laura’s mother owns that dress shop near Miss Mitzi’s,” Jada began. Laura tried to pull away from her, but Jada’s grip was too strong. “Perhaps her father died, or was never around, I don’t know. But she doesn’t feel like she had an interesting enough background to attract a man like Ziegfeld. But somehow she got into the Follies, and I don’t think she was going to give up her big break. She’d rather ruin someone else’s life than her own.”

  “Oh,” was all Suzanne said.

  Laura spun on Jada, her eyes nearly slits. “Don’t you act so high-and-mighty. Isn’t that what we all do—put ourselves first. I’m not doing anything unnatural. If you were me, you’d do the same.”

  “No,” Suzanne said instantly. “I’d never take someone’s career from them. I’d never attack them to keep a part.” She looked at Jada. “Friendship is worth far more than any success.”

  “If you don’t understand, your girl does,” Laura insisted. “How do you think she got that gig at the nightclub? She betrayed all you did for her to advance herself.”

  They were approaching the back entrance and Laura started to pull on their grips. “I didn’t mean to hurt him, really. Flo can’t know I did this. He’ll fire me.”

  Suzanne opened the door to the back alley and turned to Laura. “There are worse things than being fired, Laura.”

  The trio walked out the back door and toward Jonathon, whose mouth had dropped open in an O of surprise.

  CHAPTER 29

  A lot had changed since Suzanne had sat on the opposite side of a desk from Flo Ziegfeld. She, Jada, and Jonathon now sat on soft cream chairs while he finished reading the police report the officer had been kind enough to write up. Bert was resting comfortably in the hospital. They hoped that he would be well enough to attend the dress rehearsal the following day, perhaps even perform in it.

  “This is very well-written,” Flo said. He lifted the report to the light and with a single motion tore the document in two. “But it cannot be put into public record. I will not have it known that one of my girls would injure another.”

  Suzanne’s mouth dropped open. “You cannot be serious,” she said.

  Jada patted her hand. “Mr. Ziegfeld is correct, Suzanne. If this got out it would injure the entire reputation of the empire he’s built.” She glanced at the man himself. “Although it does seem unfair.”

  Flo raised his hand. “Laura will be punished. Her crimes will not go unanswered. But it will not be fodder for gossip. Her name has already been stripped from the production documents.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jonathon confirmed. “I put in a call to Dr. Rearden at the women’s clinic upstate. He is arranging a room for Laura as we speak.”

  Suzanne couldn’t listen to this another moment. “Jada, you can’t agree with this! That woman tried to poison us and Bert, and they are going to send her to a clinic? That is hardly punishment to fit the crime.”

  Jada smiled. “What punishment would fit? Luckily she didn’t truly harm anyone. If Mr. Ziegfeld let this become page six gossip she could ruin the Follies and then she would have won. At least she is losing the very thing she hoped to retain through her actions.”

  “She won’t be working in New York ever again.” Mr. Ziegfeld scoffed. “She may not even leave Dr. Rearden’s facility quickly.” He dropped the torn paper in the trashcan.

  “I still don’t like this,” Suzanne said. “And I can’t see how you are all b
eing so calm.”

  “Things aren’t always fair,” Jada said.

  After all the things they had run from and hidden from each other, for Jada to say that made everything else worth it.

  Suzanne smiled. “Perhaps they aren’t,” Suzanne agreed.

  “Do you need anything else from us?” Jonathon asked. “It is getting late and I know Jada needs to get back to New York. There is an overnight train if we do not delay.”

  “Yes, of course. Jada is needed in Harlem.” Mr. Ziegfeld winked at Jada. “Send the police chief back in. I’ll have a talk with him. I will see you and Suzanne at the theater tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Jada said as she stood up. “It was very nice meeting you.”

  The two shook hands.

  “I will see you again soon,” Flo promised. “Will you stay a moment, Suzanne?”

  “Of course,” Suzanne said. She could almost feel her back tighten.

  As she turned to leave, Jada squeezed her hand and winked at her. She left with Jonathon, who shut the door behind them.

  “I know you disagree with how I am handling this situation. But I must ask that you keep what happened secret from the other girls.”

  “You realize that I can’t stop any rumors that come from this. I imagine there will be many,” Suzanne said.

  “Let me handle the rumors. I doubt any will come close to the truth. Laura worked hard to stay in my good graces. She didn’t speak ill of Bert at rehearsal, and few knew of her New York connections. I myself thought she was from New Orleans until tonight.”

  “Very well. I’ll not say anything.”

  “Even to Ann?”

  He clearly did know her well. “Even Ann.”

  “Go see that Jada makes her train. If you are needed for anything else I will call for you.” Flo returned his attention to another stack of papers on his desk.

  “Thank you,” Suzanne said, and she slipped out of the room while she still could.

  The train station bustled with travelers moving in an endless circle. Suzanne stayed close to Jada as they purchased her ticket home. Jonathon insisted on footing the bill for the fare.