“That’s interesting,” Dani said. “I wonder if he knows anybody in town?”
“Why don’t you ask him?” Allie prodded. “Poor Dante’s having a hard time charming the man.”
The party was in full swing now, with a speaker blasting music and a few couples even dancing the tango. Dante’s strategy was to ply Arthur with beer, and the strategy seemed to be working. Arthur was slowly loosening up, helped by both the beer and by being at the center of an admiring group. Soon, he was enthusiastically debating the merits of various beers with Dante.
“Now, this beer is special,” Dante was saying, his voice loud and clear, “I’ve saved this one only for you, Arthur. Imported from Germany, crystal clear, malted wheat notes combined with an elegant hop bouquet. The Erdinger Kristall.”
Dani rolled her eyes. A beer was just a beer to her, no matter how fancy its name. She’d honestly always preferred soda.
Allie soon caught up to her and exclaimed, “Come, let me introduce you to the rest of the cast. I suppose you’ll need to study their faces and figure out their best angles later, won’t you?”
Dani smiled. “I prefer spontaneity to a studied approach, actually.”
Allie dragged her by the elbow to a woman overdressed in a green cocktail gown with teardrop diamonds at her ears. The woman flicked off her cigarette and stared as they approached.
“Dani, this is our Desdemona, Coco Aguillard. You must have heard of her?”
Dani nodded and shook the actress’s hand. Coco was known for being two things: the mayor’s wife and the winner, ten years running, of the “best smile” category in the local pageant. Tall, blonde and elegant, Coco was gorgeous, making Dani feel rather like a lumpy potato. But as soon as Coco turned her smile on Dani, she found herself feeling equally radiant.
“Such a pleasure to meet you,” Coco said in a sweet, thin voice. “I’ve seen some of your photographs and I must say they’re absolutely stunning. Just like you, of course. You do look so much like your sister, Sharon.”
“Th-thank you,” Dani managed. Speaking to people at events like this always made her feel anxious and her stomach was curled up into a spiky ball at the moment. “I’m sure you’ll be absolutely fantastic as Desdemona, by the way!”
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll do alright. But only because I’ve got such fantastic co-stars,” Coco said. “Not to mention a perfectly stellar director. We haven’t started rehearsals properly, yet, but Allie’s got a superb vision for the play.”
Allie smiled broadly, flowering under Coco’s praise. “Thank you, Coco!”
“Well, what’s all this? Can I join in on the praise too?” A buff young man with a chiseled jaw and deep set eyes walked up and slung an arm around Allie before giving her a brief peck on the cheek. “World’s greatest director, right here, if I may say so myself.”
Allie shoved off his arm and gave him a teasing glare. “Stop now, you’ll have my head blowing up to the size of a basketball.”
“Isn’t it that size already?” He pretended to measure it.
Allie shoved him again. Dani noticed with interest how Coco’s fingers tightened around her cigarette. The older actress took a puff and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
“This joker is Oliver, our Iago,” Allie said.
“Impossible,” Dani smiled. “Isn’t Iago supposed to be ugly?”
Oliver gave her a dramatic little bow and said, “Ugliness isn’t defined by facial features, my dear. It’s what inside that makes us ugly.”
“He’s also a 2am philosopher,” Allie said. “But trust me, when you see him in action, you’ll know that he’s the perfect Iago.”
“Master puppeteer.” Oliver raised his hand and wiggled his fingers. “I’ll rather enjoy making Othello and Desdemona dance!”
Coco gave a little snort.
“What?” Oliver asked.
“Well, I’ve said it before...” Coco explained. “Someone so young has no business playing Iago.”
“I’m 25,” he said, indignantly.
“Exactly. Iago needs to be a world-weary, broken man who has nothing better to do than assuage his collapsed ego by manipulating others. What do you know of a collapsed ego? I doubt you’ve ever received more than a scratch to yours!”
Oliver’s nostrils flared, even as the smile remained constant on his face. “If someone so young has no business playing Iago, perhaps someone so old has no business playing Desdemona.”
Coco dropped her cigarette into the grass and stamped on it with her foot. Grabbing her dress, she swept away, chin in the air. Oliver laughed as he watched her go.
“That one’s going to be a proper drama queen, Allie. Watch out for her.”
“She’s the mayor’s wife, and we need that funding from the arts council to keep this play running,” Allie hissed. “Do you think you could keep yourself from antagonizing her, Oliver?”
“Well, she started it,” he said defensively. “I don’t like her at all, Allie. Not her and not her putz of a husband. Look at them, dressed in black tie at a barbecue!” He pointed toward the short man with the granite jaw and buzz-cut gray hair. The mayor was listening intently as Coco spoke to him, nodding along. No one could deny that they were picture perfect in their tuxedo and evening gown, even though they did look rather out of place dressed like that for a barbecue.
“Everyone wonders why she married him, you know,” Oliver said in a mean voice. “He’s not exactly the best looking man in the world. A bit pudgy around the middle and a bit long in the nose.”
“He’s perfectly handsome!” Allie said. “Don’t be mean, Oliver.”
“She could have done better, that’s all,” Oliver said. “But perhaps his personality was too good to resist. And, when I say personality, I mean his money.”
“Honestly, Oliver. I don’t understand you sometimes. You’re a drama queen yourself. Coco’s perfectly nice and so is her husband.”
“They’re dressed like they’re at a Gatsby Party,” Oliver grumbled.
“They are going to a different party, actually. They only stopped by to say hello,” Allie said. “As a matter of fact, let me go do some damage control. For all I know, she’s telling him to cut funding right now!”
“Is funding that much of an issue?” Dani asked, walking with her.
“Well, it’s hard to run a profitable theater group in this day and age,” Allie sighed. “Dante has put a lot of his own money into the play but anything extra helps, too. Hopefully, now that we have Arthur, our sales will improve. Ah, Mr. Mayor, enjoying the party, I hope?”
“Very much so,” he smiled. Then, kissing Coco on her cheek, he added, “I’m proud of my wife. I’ve got terrible stage fright myself. Giving a lecture onstage about economic policy is one thing. Standing on stage in front of everyone and being vulnerable enough to open yourself up emotionally? I could never do it. Never.”
“I think you’d be a wonderful actor,” Coco said.
“We’re just glad you could make it here now,” Allie smiled.
“Of course. I’m always happy to be mingling with good folk. Though I’d rather be here in a pair of shorts than in this tuxedo.” He picked at his bow-tie, and sighed, “But, well, we are headed to an important dinner. We’re trying to attract a new factory to Innocence. If this meeting goes well, I might end up creating a few dozen jobs overnight.”
“My husband is very devoted to this town,” Coco smiled.
“Ah, Coco.” He leaned down and gave her a little kiss on the lips.
Dani saw the look of calculation in his eyes as he kissed her and wondered whether this little show was purely for the benefit of the others present there. Appearances were very important for a mayor with an upcoming election, after all.
*****
Chapter 3
Death As An Interlude
After a rather boring conversation in which Mayor Aguillard spoke at length about the importance of The Arts in a small town, Dani rushed off to the grills to fill her grumbling stomach.
She felt a little better after eating a burger and was contemplating whether or not to add cheese to her fries when something caught her attention.
In a shadowy corner of the house, she spotted Dante. She could only see his back as he leaned against the house, and his head was bent down a little. He must have gotten sick of Arthur’s monologues, too, Dani thought. She moved toward him and, with a start, realized that he wasn’t alone. There was someone in the corner with him, hidden in the shadows, a figure she couldn’t see. The sun was setting now, an orange and pink glow lighting up the horizon and casting strange shadows across Dante’s face.
From the little she could see of him, she’d have said that he looked furious. His green eyes were narrowed into slits and his nostrils were flared, while his mouth had contorted into a grimace.
She took a step forward, wondering if she’d be able to hear him over the music. She only caught a few words-
“-think you’re the only one that matters?”
A hand clapped her on the shoulder and Dani gave a little yelp, jumping up. She saw Dante turn around and, in a flash, his face was completely neutral. He nudged his unknown companion with his hand and moved away quickly, clearly wanting more privacy.
“Why Dani! It’s so good to see you again, child!” A thin woman with wispy grey hair and lovely brown eyes smiled a crooked grin at her.
Dani blinked. The bad thing about being away from town for so long was that she was often greeted by people she didn’t recognize, a few of whom would get rather offended that she didn’t know them. This lady, however, only smiled a little wider at that fact.
“You don’t recognize me, do you? Well, I know you, kiddo! You’ve got your mother’s cheekbones and anybody who knows your sisters, and isn’t completely blind, would know you immediately.”
“I’m so sorry,” Dani shrugged, embarrassed. “I just have a terrible memory for matching names and faces. I never forget either, but I simply can’t remember both at once.”
The woman laughed. “I’m Dante’s mother, Linda. I used to teach you and your sisters the piano once upon a time.”
“Oh! Of course!” Dani exclaimed. “Now I remember.”
“Indeed you do,” Linda said. “What a little terror you were! Always running off to explore the house while your sisters sat and did their lessons like good little girls. Still, you were my favorite, I must confess. You were spunky and shy all at once.”
Dani smiled. “It was nice of you to let me run loose like that. I remember I once chased your cat into the forest and was convinced she’d never return. You calmed me down and set out a bowl of milk. Ginger came back in five minutes.”
Linda smiled. “Oh, believe it or not, Ginger’s still around! She’s washing her whiskers somewhere in the house. She’ll be a little more amenable to your petting now, I think.”
“Mother.” Dante reappeared, opening the front door of the house. He gave Dani a sideways glance, then ignored her. “Mother, let’s go and toast Arthur, shall we?”
“Oh, him,” his mother sighed. “Honestly, in my day actors used to have more character. A certain…vitality. This man is just a terrible bore.”
“You only think that because you haven’t seen him act yet. Besides you promised you’d be nice,” Dante said.
“Yes, but he is still a terrible bore,” Linda replied, winking at Dani. “I’ve met his type before, you know. They never can think about anything but themselves and they seem to be convinced that the entire world loves to hear them talk. Your father’s Uncle Jim was like that. Do you remember how he’d go on and on during Thanksgiving dinner while the turkey went cold?”
“Come on, mother.” Dante dragged her away.
Despite her clear reluctance, Linda played the good host and, between her encouragement and Dante’s praise, Arthur was soon persuaded to put up a little one-man show.
Arthur raised his hand as the little circle gathered around him, clearly enjoying himself thoroughly. He was in his element now, two buttons of his shirt open, his hair blown back in the wind and a fine flush covering his face.
“Now I’m not a big fan of Shakespeare, to be honest,” Arthur said, taking a swig from a bottle of beer. “Yet, when I met Dante, I felt that fate was telling me something. Years ago, I was stationed here as a new recruit. I was a poor boy. I’d run away from a home where nobody loved me, out into a world where nobody cared. Well, nobody will remember this but me but Mace and Cage is where I started my career! It was the first time I tasted the drug called acting, and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
There were cheers from the crowd.
“Yes, that’s right,” Arthur smiled broadly, soaking in the appreciation, and took another swig. “This was thirty years ago and I had my first role ever. I remember the play well…Macbeth! I didn’t play that role, of course. I was an extra, hanging out in the wings. I think there’s even a photo of me in the theater somewhere, probably in black and white. I tell you, when I heard the actor speak, at that moment, it was as though lightning had struck me. The course of my life was decided. I knew I wanted to be involved in theater forever!”
He paused and took another gulp of beer. “That’s how it is with us who chase the arts, isn’t it? We don’t chase it for money, we chase it as selflessly as you’d chase a woman you fell in love with. Acting has always been my wife, and all my other girlfriends eventually got sick of being mistresses.” He laughed. “Well, I just consider myself lucky that my wife has always stayed by my side, and helped me feed myself for thirty years.”
There was applause. Dani herself felt moved. There was real emotion in his eyes as he spoke. His voice, which had started out so rough, was lowering into a hoarseness.
“On this occasion, since Dante has so kindly asked me to, I’d like to recite those lines of Shakespeare, so well emoted, that propelled me into a new life. The words weren’t what hit me, so much as the way they were performed.”
He took a deep breath, rolled up his sleeves and held his beer bottle aside, out of sight.
“Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
Dani was spellbound. It was like a magic trick. One moment, there stood a man in slacks, talking nostalgically about his past. Then, suddenly, Macbeth himself was in front of them, grieving the death of his wife, weeping tears in a voice choked by emotion as he spoke of the futility of life. That force and vitality that Linda had spoken of was plain to see now. His face held more emotion than the sea held salt. His hands waved about as he recited his monologue and his eyes fell upon each member of the audience in turn.
Yes, Arthur was emotional. As he finished, his entire body began to shake and his hands went to his throat. A choking sob came out of his mouth.
It took about five seconds before his audience realized that he wasn’t emoting any more. Dani pushed the others aside, jumping to help him, as he collapsed onto the grass, shaking and blubbering.
“Call an ambulance!” she yelled behind her. She saw Allie’s eyes widen with fear and Dante stared with a completely blank expression on his face. Linda was the first to break away and rush to the house to call the hospital.
After that, confusion reigned. Allie persuaded more than half the guests to leave while the others lingered on, whispering among each other.
Dani, who had stayed by Arthur’s side, tried helplessly to revive him, knowing that it was too late. She didn’t know whether it was a heart attack or some sort of sudden stroke. All she knew for certain was that that the vital, booming man she had seen performing seconds ago was now dead.
*****
Chapter 4
Thief In The Night
“I need to relax.” Dani took a deep breath. It was midnight and she had crept out onto the roof of her house in pajamas. She sat cross-legged now, slowly inhaling the cool
, night air.
It was odd how strangely elated she felt, considering that she had just witnessed a man die. The gravity of the situation didn’t escape her, nor was she so heartless as to feel no sorrow for him. It was just that seeing death up close had brought her a renewed sense of how amazing life was.
It also brought an inability to sleep. She supposed more than one person in town that night would feel the same. What would happen to the play, she wondered, now that Arthur was dead?
A small part of her wondered why he had died. The rumor around town was that he was a drug addict and had overdosed, which was ridiculous, of course. Dani had been around him all evening and he’d been perfectly normal, even if he was eventually tipsy after all the beers. No, it was likely that Arthur had had a stroke, or some kind of fit that killed him. Sad, but not uncommon in a man who was over sixty.
So why did Dani feel so uneasy?
Sheriff Darwin Scholl had arrived along with the ambulance and maybe something in the way he had acted made her feel there was more to Arthur’s death than the town knew of. Darwin had looked disturbed when he saw Arthur’s body.
She wondered if he was still awake. Maybe she could call and ask him some questions about it. Then again, as a single father to eleven year old Ellie, Darwin was more likely fast asleep.
From her roof, Dani could see Dante’s house in the distance. It looked rather like some Roman temple, standing on the little hill all by itself. A Roman temple which had witnessed a sacrifice? Dani shuddered as the thought entered her mind, unbidden. Now why was she scaring herself by thinking of sacrifices?
“Besides, the Romans didn’t practice human sacrifice,” she said out loud, trying to cheer herself up. She kept staring at Dante’s house. A single light was shining through the upper left window. Clearly, Dante wasn’t able to sleep, either. Was he worried about the play or was it Arthur he was grieving for? No, he wouldn’t grieve for Arthur, Danté would be grieving for the money he had probably lost now that Arthur was dead and ticket sales would lower.
Exposed Negative: A Small Town Cozy Mystery (Shot & Framed Book 2) Page 2