Witch Cast (A Mackenzie Coven Mystery Book 3)

by Sonia Parin

  Was she having a go at her?

  “Lovely... to meet... you.” Great time for her to gasp between words. Set a fine example...

  “Constance insisted I attend today’s rehearsal.” Melanie lifted her arm slightly. “As you can see, I’m really only an honorary understudy.”

  Lexie surprised herself by asking, “And have you been an understudy all your life?”

  “I’ve played a few major roles and... I’d been cast to play the lead in this one, but then Miss Lucinda Cunningham became available.”

  “That must have annoyed you.”

  “Not in the slightest. It would have been my greatest pleasure and a highlight in my career to be her understudy.”

  “Are you sure about that? In your place, I would have been furious. Perhaps angry enough to take matters into my own hands.”

  Melanie made a point of again lifting her arm.

  “When exactly did that happen?”

  “Lexie,” Jonathan warned under his breath.

  “What? I’m only expressing an interest.”

  “Yes, and sounding like Margo Channing from All About Eve...”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I could never even aspire to be as great as Bette Davis. And don’t side-track me. I need all my wits about me today. In fact, everyone.” They all turned to her. “We need another round of strong coffee. We can’t afford to fall asleep on the job.”

  “In other words, you want to delay going inside the theater for as long as possible,” Jonathan said. “I don’t have a problem with that. There’s a café across the road.”

  “So why are you tugging me toward the entrance?” Lexie exclaimed.

  “Because we’re ready now.”

  “No one said anything about this being a full dress rehearsal.”

  Octavia smiled at her. “Look on the bright side, at least you’re not thinking about the Shadow or its accomplice.”

  “Well, now I am! And worse, it’s no longer just the Shadow but now we have an accomplice to contend with. How did that happen?”

  “I think you were the one to conclude that the Shadow couldn’t read and so must have been warned by its accomplice—”

  “Where’s Jonathan? Jonathan?” Lexie hollered. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of someone moving toward her.

  “Tell her to stop,” Jonathan grumbled.

  “Octavia, please stop laughing.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Jonathan lifted a warning finger. “Not one peep out of you.”

  “Exactly whose idea was it to put you in costume?” As this was a traditional production of the Scottish play, everyone wore period costumes.

  “It all happened too fast. One moment I was standing in a corner, and the next I was being measured and having my clothes pulled off me.”

  “It’s not so bad,” Grant said as he strode in wearing his own costume. “I defy anyone to tell us apart from the real cast. This way, we blend in nicely and if anyone dares to make an attempt on your life, we’ll be at hand to rescue you.”

  “My dagger isn’t even real,” Jonathan complained and stabbed Grant in the chest. “Rubber.”

  “At least you get a dagger. I’ve been clamoring for one since I started this gig.”

  Octavia rolled her eyes.

  “Yes, yes. I know. I don’t get to kill anyone.” She gestured for everyone to huddle up. “Keep an eye on the understudy. I don’t trust her. Even with a cast on her arm. She’s gunning for my job.”

  “And your point is?”

  “Well... It’s the principle of it all. Besides, I don’t want to let Lucy down. She’s counting on me to put on a grand performance and tell everyone how I could not have done any of it without her help.”

  “Lexie? Are you forgetting something?” Jonathan asked.

  “I’m fully aware of the fact we’re here to catch a killer but so far, I haven’t heard anyone say I’m off the hook and don’t need to play Lady Mac.” Her shoulders slumped. “Yes, I get your point.” She glanced over at Melanie Matthews and whispered, “She has a cast. I can’t possibly make way for her.”

  “Places everyone.”

  “This is it.” Lexie surged to her feet. “My audience awaits.”

  “Umm... This is a dress rehearsal.” Octavia helped her with her headdress. “And... You’re not actually the main star of the show. Your stage husband is.”

  “My husband. My husband. If it hadn’t been for me suggesting he commit regicide...”

  “Something’s up with Lexie,” Jonathan murmured.

  They filed out of the dressing room, Octavia fussing with Lexie’s dress while Grant and Jonathan brought up the rear.

  Lexie scooped in a big breath and released it on a long exhalation of vowels.

  Lucy floated toward her and subjected her to a thorough scrutiny. Resting her ghostly fingers on her shoulders, she gazed into Lexie’s eyes.

  Lexie lifted her chin. “I won’t let you down, I promise.”

  Melanie Matthews cleared her throat. “Actually... knowing Miss Lucinda Cunningham as I do, she probably told you not to stuff up because if you do, she’ll have you blackballed for the rest of your miserable life.”

  Thunder and lightning lit the stage.

  Everyone jumped back.

  “Relax everyone. It’s only the special effects,” Octavia offered.

  They watched as the three witches schemed together.

  “I must remember to use the word hurly-burly more often.” Lexie tapped her chin, “My quiet life is disrupted by the hurly-burly brought on by Mirabelle’s visits. No, that doesn’t sound right...”

  By the time scene two rolled on, Lexie started tapping her foot. “When do I come on? I thought I came on first?”

  “You’ve obviously never rehearsed the play from the top. The witches are up next.”

  “Again? I’m wilting. Why call us out here, when all I’m doing is standing around waiting?” she complained in a harsh whisper. “I need to pee. Why didn’t someone ask me if I needed to pee before coming out here? It should be standard procedure. I’m going for a pee.”

  Octavia held her back. “You can’t. Your scene’s coming up.”

  Lexie’s heart shot up from her chest to her throat. “They... they met... me... me... me-me-me-me... I forgot my lines.”

  Melanie pushed through the group, her expression eager.

  “Look at her, she’s drooling with anticipation.”

  Octavia took hold of her shoulders and gave her a light shake. “You’ll remember the lines when you step onto the stage. Just keep your eyes on Miss Lucinda Cunningham.”

  “On her? When she was alive she would have had me blackballed for life. If I mess this up, what do you think she’ll do to me now she’s a ghost?” Lexie gave a brisk shake of her head. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to do this.”

  Octavia swirled her around and gave her a light push toward the stage.

  Lucy gave her a small nod and, sitting forward, she steepled her fingers under her chin.

  Lexie took her place, opened her mouth and let everything spill out. She’d learned all her lines by rote but looking at Lucy, she found she could make them flow out of her with the required nuance. Which was great because her thoughts were in a whirl.

  Constance sat on the second row. The director sat several rows back from her with several other people sprinkled around.

  Her attention drifted back to Constance.

  Lexie narrowed her gaze.

  The woman suddenly looked familiar.

  Lexie reached for her necklace as if seeking reassurance.

  Her necklace. Gone.

  Had she lost it? She looked toward the others. Octavia frowned at her. Seeing Lexie clutching her throat, she gasped. All color drained from her face and was replaced by a deep shade of...

  Guilt!

  Issuing an I’ll-deal-with-you-later look, Lexie threw herself into her performance barely hearing the small voice in her head declaring she’d lo
st her marbles.

  If she could see Constance for the person she really was...

  Did that mean she’d now be able to see the Shadow?

  Yes, quite possibly, her mind argued. In fact, she’d be willing to bet anything on it.

  Lexie tried to focus on her stage husband, but now that she knew she could see the Shadow, she couldn’t help looking for it. As she gave one of the lengthier speeches, she noticed Lucy rising off her seat until she almost hovered above it. She appeared to be enthralled.

  Way to go, Lexie! You’re killing it.

  Carried away by the moment, she didn’t notice the signals coming from stage right... or left. Her focus remained on her lines. As she turned to her stage husband, her hands expressing her disdain, she caught sight of the Shadow rising higher and higher and looking about ready to swoop down on her.

  When it did, Lexie sidestepped it without missing a line. A quick glance at Lucy told her the specter had also seen the Shadow.

  Poor Lucy! She looked stricken and frozen in place, her expression capturing the shock of what she was seeing.

  Completely ignoring the place markers on the floor, Lexie kept sidestepping the Shadow until she delivered the final line and hurried off stage, her breath coming in choppy bursts.

  “Argh! It’s after me.” She flapped her arms about. “Did you all see it?”

  “It’s gone now,” Jonathan offered.

  Lexie tried to catch her breath. “Constance.”

  “What about her?” Both Grant and Jonathan asked.

  “I remembered.” She turned to Octavia. “Hey, I lost my necklace.” Too many things happening at once, she thought even as she tried to remember her next lines...

  Octavia looked askance. “Maybe it dropped while you were changing. I’ll go look for it.”

  “You do that, Octavia. But before you go, why don’t you explain why I’m always wearing a necklace?”

  Jonathan and Grant turned toward her personal assistant. “What is she talking about?”

  Octavia didn’t put up a fight. “It wasn’t me. Your mom made me promise to make sure you always wore it.”

  “Why? Who are you?”

  Octavia frowned. “You don’t think I’m... That I had anything to do with any of this...” She pointed toward the stage. “Your cue...”

  “Oh, right.” Lexie swung on her feet, only to frown and turn back toward Octavia, but she’d already fled. She shook her head in exasperation. After a quick glance around for the Shadow, Lexie re-entered the stage leaving the others to wonder if she had actually fully embraced the role of madwoman.

  She couldn’t stop to think about that. She had two scenes to get through and a Shadow to sidestep. As long as she remained on the stage, she figured Constance wouldn’t catch on to the fact she now knew who she was...

  The necklaces...

  They must have interfered with what she could see and couldn’t see.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lexie came off the stage; the last few steps a zig and zag attempt to evade the Shadow, which barely missed her by an inch.

  Striding right past Melanie who looked at her as if all her Christmases were about to come at once, Lexie put her hand up. “No, I’m not walking out on the play.”

  She found Jonathan and Grant in the dressing room. Lexie flung her arms out. “You left me out there all by myself.”

  “We’ve got the rogue witch. What’s the problem?”

  “Duh... let me see, the Shadow swooping down on me... The rogue witch sitting on the second row.”

  “Are you saying Octavia is not the rogue witch?”

  “No! And why is she gagged?”

  Jonathan shrugged. “She kept pleading her innocence. We weren’t going to fall for that.”

  Lexie removed Octavia’s gag. “Now. Talk and be quick about it.”

  Octavia’s shoulders slumped. “The necklace is charmed.”

  “Of course it is. Why?”

  “Because Morgana didn’t want you to remember Constance.”

  Lexie turned to Jonathan and Grant and gave them a knowing nod. “Constance is the rogue witch. Don’t worry. She’s not going anywhere. As far as she knows, we’re still in the dark.” Turning back to Octavia, she scowled. “Do you realize the sort of danger you put me in. I haven’t been able to see the Shadow because of your charmed necklaces.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t think of that. Morgana can be demanding and she didn’t give me enough time to prepare. The spell must have backfired on me and stopped you from seeing all danger, including the Shadow.”

  “Come on, walk and talk. I’m back on soon. And on the way, you can tell me why you let these two gag you.”

  Octavia slanted her gaze at Grant. “He used his voice.”

  “Huh?”

  “You should have heard it. It sounded like ten thousand of him all at once. A tsunami of voices.”

  Lexie chuckled. “It’s actually a hundred. Did you call on the O’Rourke Group?” she asked him.

  “I thought I was up against the rogue witch.”

  Lexie chuckled to herself. She had expected Grant to be as thorough as his cousin, Dante, but calling the one hundred for back up? A bit of overkill, she thought.

  “We need a plan, but we have to tread with care. Constance struck a deal with Morgana. I know enough about coven business to not go up against a High Chair.”

  “Why not?” Jonathan asked, “You do it all the time with Mirabelle. Morgana’s your mom. What can she actually do to you?”

  Lexie gestured at herself. “You think I’m wearing this dress for the fun of it? I can’t overlook her cunningness. You should know better than to ask. Or have you forgotten your recent experience with her?” She gave his costume a head to toe sweep. “This is nothing compared to the frilly apron she made you wear.”

  Jonathan growled.

  “They’re half way through the act,” Octavia prompted in an overeager tone that suggested she wished to quickly prove her efficiency again. “I don’t sense any anger coming from you. I hope that means I’m forgiven.”

  “I haven’t decided yet. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been out there multitasking. Taking acting prompts from Lucy while bantering with the Shadow. Now that I’m not wearing the necklace, I can see the Shadow coming at me. So that’s a plus. Of course, I’d much rather it forgot all about me... But, hey... I’ve seen worse.” She turned to Grant. “Did you manage to come up with a plan to capture it?”

  “As you know, I have the numbers and the voices to go with them, but I doubt that will be effective against it. Maybe we can ambush Constance. You say she is the rogue witch and so far, she’s the only one we can point the finger at.”

  Lexie gave a pensive shake of her head. Her intuition kept nudging her away from Constance. She knew her mom had cut a deal with her. That had to mean Constance didn’t present a real danger to her. She’d get to the bottom of it, but first...

  “While Constance is the only one around with the skills to cast a spell strong enough to produce something like the Shadow, she can’t be the source. Her association with Morgana suggests she has a different purpose.” Lexie caught sight of Melanie whose attention remained fixed on the stage.

  For some reason, her arm cast didn’t fool her. And, contrary to Jonathan’s teasing, her acting hadn’t gone to her head. Lexie pushed Melanie to the top of the suspect list. After all, she stood to gain the most.

  “You can’t dismiss Constance completely,” Jonathan warned.

  Lexie couldn’t come up with a reason why Constance would want to kill Lucy. Sure... Constance had been keen to acquire a ghost for the theater. Could that be her motive? Could she have lured Lucy out of retirement so the Shadow could get its hand on her and kill her?

  “Why are you shaking your head?” Jonathan asked.

  “Constance’s adulation of Lucy. She can’t be responsible for her death. She revered her. And besides, she has some sort of deal going with Morgana. We can’t overlook that. What
if... What if Constance is only here by chance and has nothing to do with the Shadow?”

  “That gives us a gaping hole to fill,” Jonathan said as he adjusted his tights and still somehow managed to look manly.

  Lexie walked around in a small circle. If the theater had opened with another play, Lexie would bet anything none of this would have happened. The role of Lady Mac had to be at the center of it all.

  Octavia gave her a nudge. “You’re on.”

  She needed to talk to Lucy. “Someone needs to create a diversion. Nothing too serious, but serious enough to call the rehearsal off.”

  “Snow? Snow?”

  Jonathan shrugged. “You said you wanted a diversion. It was all I could think of doing. I’ve sabotaged the snow machine. By the time they figure out how to stop it, it’ll be the end of the day. I bought you some time.”

  Lexie looked over her shoulder at Lucy who sat on the front row watching the stagehands sweeping the snow away. She made a beeline for her, but then the director intercepted her to give her some feedback.

  When he finished blabbering on, she turned but Lucy had disappeared.

  Lexie hurried off stage. “Has anyone seen Lucy?”

  “She drifted past a moment ago,” Octavia said.

  “Which way?”

  Octavia motioned down the stairwell.

  “Isn’t that the way to the archives’ room?” Lexie hurried downstairs.

  “Shouldn’t we be doing something about Constance?”

  “My intuition tells me she’s harmless. Or at least innocent of any involvement in this.” She only hoped she could trust her intuition.

  Halfway down the stairs she caught sight of Lucy. She appeared to be following someone.

  Melanie?

  The understudy was clutching something against her chest. She disappeared into the room Octavia had led her to a couple of days before, with Lucy fast on her heels.

  “Should I get Jonathan and Grant?” Octavia asked.

  “Yes. Yes, do.” Luna was right. She sounded different. Maybe all this acting had changed her speech patterns...