Pen nudged her hand, purring loudly. Giving a jaw cracking yawn, Aletta muttered, “No, can’t stay in bed and snuggle. Have things that I have to do. Maybe tonight, kitty.”
She forced herself to shove the covers aside and get up. Knowing now that she was a worker bee and not a prima, she chose her wardrobe accordingly. A flattering t-shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans, and she was set. Pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail, she added a pair of earrings and just a touch of make-up. Satisfied, she nodded at her reflection and headed to the kitchen to find something. Even though she wasn’t hungry, she knew it would be a long day. Not eating would make it even longer.
Waiting for the coffee to perk, which she sadly hadn’t set up the day before, she assessed her magic field. It seemed to be recovering from all the energy they had expended that day, but still wasn’t at full strength. She shrugged it off. They wouldn’t be seeing Awena for another couple of days, so she should have plenty of time to reach full strength. Right now, the field seemed to be holding steady at about ten feet around her. That should give her enough advance warning to get out of the way of trouble.
The coffee had just finished brewing when Lirim showed up. Letting him inside, she quickly gathered her things together. As they made their way to the car, he didn’t seem inclined to chat, so she kept silent. After all, he had to be even more tired than she was; he’d had to drive home after dropping her off and get up earlier in order to come pick her up.
On the drive to headquarters, Aletta wrote a succinct explanation of what had happened the day before and their change in roles. She also noted that they would be playing it by ear and would report in when they had more to share. She read it aloud to Lirim and he nodded his agreement.
Satisfied that they had covered everything by the book so Wells couldn’t complain, she signed it and slid it into an envelope. She would leave it with Cara, who would make sure that the task force received it when they showed up. After all, the other officers weren’t used to keeping an opera schedule and Aletta and Lirim couldn’t wait around for them to appear during their regular shift time. She couldn’t decide whether Wells would be miffed that their plans were already being changed or smug that she got a small role. She shrugged, deciding that it didn’t matter.
They quickly finished their business at headquarters and headed for the theater. The caffeine finally catching up with her, Aletta pondered Lirim’s silence. Although it was nothing out of the ordinary, she wasn’t entirely sure that they were good from the day before.
Finally coming to a decision, she ventured, “Lirim?”
He replied absently, “Hmm?”
“Are we all right? About yesterday? I’m sorry if I upset you.”
He glanced at her, startled, before quickly turning his attention back to the morning traffic. He asked, “Why would you even think that?”
She hesitated, “You’re just rather quiet this morning. I figured that you were probably tired, but I wanted to double check and make sure that we cleared everything up.”
“Oh, no, we’re good. No worries. I’m not upset and I’m not tired. I was just thinking, sorry.”
She grumbled, “I’m tired.” She managed to contain her curiosity for all of a minute before asking, “Thinking about what?”
He chuckled slightly, “Forty-seven seconds, a new record.”
She crossed her arms and huffed, “I told you to stop counting. Never mind, forget I asked anything.”
“I was thinking about something your brothers said to me the other day.”
She groaned and uncrossed her arms. Turning so she faced him, she said, “I knew that they said something. Might as well just tell me what it was so I can strangle them personally. I love them dearly, but sometimes I wish I was an only child.”
His lips twitched, “I can’t tell you most of it. Bro code and all that, you know. Still, there was something they said that caught my attention.”
He stopped and Aletta could tell that he was counting again.
She managed to last an entire minute and a half this time before breaking down. “Stupid bro code. I know I’m going to regret this, but what did they say?”
He didn’t tease her any more, his expression becoming serious. “It was about you going back to the opera. They were worried about you getting sick again. Apparently you got very sick when you left the opera?”
She sighed, relieved. There were much worse things that they could have told him. Still, she was puzzled as to why he was concerned about that. “Yes, but I don’t think it had anything to do with the opera. I think it was the stress from Lena’s situation.”
“Humor me for a minute. What symptoms did you have?”
Her brow furrowed, “Symptoms? Let me think for a moment.” She thought back, pushing aside the instinctive sorrow she felt when she thought about that time. “I was exhausted. I didn’t eat much or really take care of myself. I was foggy headed, couldn’t think straight. Wasn’t sleeping well either, too many strange dreams. I had odd bouts of weakness, even fainted a couple of times. After Lena’s brother yelled at me, I started taking better care of myself. It took a couple of months but everything returned to normal. Why?”
“Let me talk to Awena first and then I’ll let you know what I’m thinking, okay?” He was frowning, tapping a finger absently on the steering wheel as he drove.
She shrugged, not having the energy to pursue it. “That’s fine. Let me know what you find out. Or we can just talk to her when we go there for our lesson. After all, that was three years ago; it can’t be that urgent.”
The tense line of his shoulders eased at this. “You’re right. I need to get my head in the game for today. What’s on your agenda?”
“I was told that I’d be assisting the wardrobe mistress today. We’ll see how that goes.”
Lirim asked, “Wardrobe mistress?”
“The wardrobe mistress oversees all of the clothing for the production. She usually has a staff of seamstresses and tailors under her. Sometimes they just modify existing costumes from previous productions, but DuPont seems like the type to insist upon top quality for each opera. What about you?”
He nodded, “I’ll be with Alan again today, although I might run into you. He said something about getting my measurements taken so they can start on a costume. He mentioned something about it might already be too late though. Any ideas what he meant?”
“Il Pomo starts in two weeks. Even with a team of seamstresses, it takes awhile to make costumes. Right now, they are making sure that all the details for the entire cast are handled. A last-minute full costume might take too long to assemble. It all depends.
You said that he was the son of a tailor; he might take your measurements himself. Anyway, it’s a moot point. If we don’t get this handled in the next two weeks, there might not be an opera.” She looked out the window, not wanting him to see her frown.
He sighed quietly, “Two weeks, huh?”
“Yep. I wish that they’d called us in sooner.”
He gave a small smile and tried to cheer her up, “Well, we’ve faced worse. At least there are no bodies, right?”
She muttered, “Yet.”
Aletta realized her mistake as soon as the word slipped out. He glanced over at her, his gaze concerned. “Why do you say that? Is there something that I don’t know?”
She fidgeted with her seat belt. “I haven’t found anything yet. But everything inside of me is screaming that something is wrong, that we’re running out of time. I feel like I’m missing something big and obvious.”
Remembering what Awena had said about a Sheridan’s passive field, Lirim asked, “How is your magic? Is it depleted?”
Catching on immediately to what he was thinking, she shook her head. “I’m not at full strength, but I’m doing ok. My passive field is about ten feet. But that’s not the feeling that I have. I feel like the answer is right in front of us and I’m just not seeing it.”
His tone curious, Lirim asked, “How
do you know the difference?”
One side of Aletta’s mouth quirked up, “Awena and I worked to find out what the extent of my field was. She would move a magical object in and out of the edge of my field. It was really irritating.”
“And how big is your passive field?”
“Not sure; it fluctuates. Awena said that it would settle in time as I gain control of my gift. Right now, it seems to be roughly between fifteen and twenty-five feet. Could end up being either bigger or smaller; only time will tell.”
They pulled up in front of the theater and Lirim frowned. “You have very good instincts and it’s not just because you’re a Sheridan. Be careful; keep your eyes open. Don’t hesitate to come find me if you feel something off. And this may seem odd, but focus on something else. Let your subconscious take over for a little while. It might help.”
Aletta nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true. I often remember things when I don’t worry about it.” She stretched, hearing her back pop a couple of times. “All right, I’d better get inside and report for duty. The tradesmen keep even longer hours than the performers do. See you later.”
* . * . *
It was midmorning when Aletta was finally able to escape from the wardrobe mistress so she could look around. She even had an excuse since she’d been asked to collect several costume pieces from the different dressing rooms. She had a list of the various items that were required, along with a succinct description of each. Pulling the list of missing items from her pocket, she examined them together.
Her suspicions proved to be correct; the handwriting matched. The wardrobe mistress had written both lists. She’d liked the brusque woman and didn’t think that she would take the items only to report them stolen. It would just make more work for her in the end. While more work was a possible motive it didn’t align with the rest of the incidents. Still, it was best to keep an open mind.
She swiftly made her way to the dressing rooms, nodding her greeting to the people she passed. No one struck her as out of place, but that didn’t surprise her. Whoever was targeting the Canticum company obviously blended in, otherwise HSI wouldn’t have been called in.
Reaching the dressing rooms, she paused to listen. This area of the theater was quiet, all of the cast busy other places. Slipping into the first one, she pulled out the two lists again and scanned the list of missing items. To her frustration, nothing jumped out at her. Making sure that no one was near, she drew up a tiny thread of her power but still nothing.
Sighing, she let the magic go and tucked the list back into her pocket. Looks like she’d have to do this the usual way – with careful investigation. She looked at the second list and started compiling the items she needed. However, she took her time and carefully inspected each room, checking for hiding places or secret caches.
She’d made it through most of the rooms and had gathered all of the items when a man entered the room she was searching, startling her because there had been no knock on the door.
He was just as surprised to find her in the room. His eyes rounded, he blurted out, “Who are you?”
Aletta steadied her breathing, hoping to slow her racing heart. She said calmly, “Aletta. And you are?”
His shock seemed to dissolve and he smiled charmingly at her. “John Stern. I’m the head carpenter for the theater.”
Despite his nonthreatening demeanor, something about him made the hairs on the nape of her neck rise. Still, it would do no good to tip him off to her investigation. Putting on a shy smile, she asked, “Is there something I can help you with? I’m new here and the wardrobe mistress asked me to fetch a few things, but I have a couple of minutes.”
He quickly shook his head no. “I didn’t realize that anyone would be here right now. One of the singers was complaining about a loose floorboard, said that they kept tripping on it. I can come back later and sort it out. Don’t want to get in your way.” He gave her a flirtatious grin.
It was all Aletta could do not to grimace. She offered quietly, “I’ll just be a little bit if you have other things to do. It won’t take me long to finish up here.”
He shook his head and leaned against the wall next to the door. “I have time, no worries. Tell me, what do you do around here, Aletta?”
Frustrated that he wasn’t leaving, she made herself move over to the wardrobe and start shuffling items around. Despite her instincts screaming for her to run, Aletta kept her tone friendly. “I’m actually a singer. It’s just a small part, but hopefully it will open the door to bigger ones. I had some free time, so I offered to help with wardrobe. It can’t be easy trying to get all the costumes done for a production as big as this one.”
She glanced over her shoulder to find him studying her with too much interest. She nearly groaned. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself. After a moment, he said, “Why are you joining us so late? It’s almost time for the production to go live.”
Her suspicions were growing by the minute. This was crunch time for the artisans. Shouldn’t he be busy with lots of carpentry stuff? She turned back and faced him. Smiling slightly, she lowered her voice conspiratorially, “Actually, they scouted my partner. He got the role of understudy for Paris. I was just a bargaining chip to convince him to join. But still, a part is a part, right?”
This seemed to surprise him. Aletta wondered how he’d missed the rumors that were sure to be circulating about her and Lirim. He asked, “Partner?”
Aletta was saved from having to answer when the door opened and Elizabetta entered. Snagging a random shirt from the wardrobe, Aletta hastily gathered up the other items that she had set on the chair. She inclined her head and murmured, “Prima.”
Elizabetta glared at her. “What are you doing in my dressing room?”
This was Elizabetta’s dressing room. Interesting. Aletta filed the fact away to examine later. She extended her garment-filled arms so the temperamental singer could see them. “The wardrobe mistress asked me to fetch these items for her. I was just leaving, Prima.”
“Well, get out then.” Her eyes took in both her and Stern and Aletta couldn’t decipher what she was thinking. “Both of you. Out.” Elizabetta ordered imperiously
Stern shrugged good naturedly and held the door for Aletta. This whole situation struck her as off. If Elizabetta had complained about a loose floorboard, why was she dismissing the carpenter? Unless there wasn’t a loose floorboard and he was just trying to access the room. Keeping her face impassive, Aletta nodded at Elizabetta and made her way from the room.
Stern fell into step beside her after shutting the door. He grumbled, “Prima donnas.” He grinned at her again as if inviting her to share his laughter.
Thankfully she was saved for the second time in as many minutes when they heard footsteps. Both of them turned to see who it was. Aletta almost sighed when she saw Lirim and another man making their way down the hall.
Lirim grinned and waved, then called out, “Leta, didn’t expect to see you here. Didn’t you say that you had wardrobe duty?”
When they reached her, Aletta quirked an eyebrow and held up her armful of clothes. He surprised her by taking half of the load, then asking “Alan and I are on our way to wardrobe right now. Walk with us?”
Shifting the remaining clothes so that she could carry them one handed, she smiled at Lirim. “Thanks.”
Extending her hand to the man standing next to him, she offered, “Aletta.”
His grip was firm but not uncomfortably so. He smiled at her. “Alan. Pleased to finally meet you. I was beginning to think that Lirim had made you up.”
Right before he let go of her hand, her magic flared and she got a brief image of him and Ely holding hands. As soon as he released her hand, the image faded. She couldn’t resist smiling back at him. “Why would he make someone up?
Alan shrugged and laughed. “So Elizabetta wouldn’t chase him?”
Aletta laughed at the puzzled look on Lirim’s face. She quickly explained, “We’re not
that kind of partners. We’re work partners, nothing more.”
Stern chose this moment to break in and excuse himself. He walked away and hurried around a corner. Aletta couldn’t contain her sigh of relief when he disappeared from sight. Lirim lifted a brow at her, but she shook her head minutely. Alan didn’t seem to notice their exchange.
Refocusing, Aletta asked, “You were headed to wardrobe?”
The two men nodded and started walking. Aletta quickly followed and fell into step with them. “So, Alan, are things coming together for the performance?”
He nodded, slowing his steps so she could keep up easily with her load. “Yes. There’s been a few bumps, but we should be ready on schedule.”
* . * . *
Lirim was following Alan towards wardrobe when he felt a tug to go a different way. Pausing, he waited for Alan to notice and stop. It took a few steps, but he finally noticed that Lirim wasn’t following and made his way back over to him. He asked, “What’s up? Why’d you stop?”
Keeping his voice nonchalant, Lirim asked, “What’s down this hallway?”
“Just the dressing rooms. We can still get to wardrobe if we go that way; it’ll just take a little longer.” Alan waited for him to decide.
Eager to see Aletta, Lirim almost told him to keep going the shorter way, but felt that tug again from the other hallway. “Why don’t we take the scenic route? It’ll help me learn my way around better.”
To his relief, Alan just shrugged and headed off down the longer route. Lirim couldn’t explain why it was important that he go that way, it just was.
However, it came abruptly clear when he rounded the corner and saw Aletta standing in the middle of the hallway with a man that he didn’t recognize. Although it seemed amicable enough, he could tell that Aletta was tense.
In Search of Healing Page 13