Wicked Stage

by Michelle Dayton

  “And not the Bulgarian Blue!” Tony exclaimed. “Something else.”

  Jess messed with her laptop until she found a celebrity site featuring the pictures taken at the cast party. Since Katrina had thrown herself in front of the photographers all night long, there were several pictures of her in the wine-colored dress. Jess enlarged one of the photos until the ruby pendant could be seen clearly. “She told you she got this necklace out of the panic room, right?”

  Adam nodded. “Yeah.”

  Drew bounced on his stool. “Ooh! Ooh!” He actually raised his hand. “What if we called her agent posing as a features writer for Young Bling and told her that the magazine was considering her as a last-minute addition to a cover story on ‘Style Icons Under the Age of 25’. Specifically for the way she incorporates old world glamour with her jewelry or something like that. We could mention these photographs and say that the ruby necklace is what really got us interested. But—we need a close-up headshot of her wearing it for her to be included in the profile. And we’re going to press ASAP and our only time to photograph her wearing it is on New Year’s Eve.”

  Adam considered it. “Not a bad idea,” he allowed. “It’s not a sure thing, but we don’t have many other options at this point.”

  Jess agreed. “We should give it a shot, at least. So we’ll need someone to call her agent and someone to pose as a photographer on Sunday to do the actual pictures.”

  Drew raised his hand again. “Ooh! Ooh!”

  “NO,” Adam and Jess said in unison.

  Jess smacked her laptop closed and wagged a big-sister finger in Andrew’s face. “It was a good idea, but you are not getting personally involved any further in this. Got it?”

  Drew folded his arms over his chest and glared at her. “Fine.”

  “I’ll make the call,” Adam said.

  “I’ll be the photographer,” Frank volunteered.

  Adam wavered for a second. Frank didn’t roleplay very well, but he hadn’t been seen around the theatre at all, so it made sense. “OK.” He pulled Frank aside and started going over possible timing for the fake Sunday photoshoot.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Jess tease Drew out of his pout until they were laughing together again over her laptop. “Show me the Blue thing you guys are actually taking,” Drew asked.

  Jess pulled up a huge photo of the Bulgarian Blue. “The triangular-cut blue diamond part of the ring is cool,” she said to Drew. “It’s super rare and weighs almost 11 carats. I don’t really like the overall ring though.”

  Adam perked up a little, shifting his entire attention away from Frank. Jess rarely expressed any sort of opinions on jewelry, let alone diamond rings, and he needed to know a little more about this.

  Drew was agreeing with her. “Yeah, overall the ring is kind of horrid, isn’t it? Impressive as hell in size and quality, but the design? Yuck.”

  “Heathens, both of you,” Tony chided. “That ring is a legend.”

  “An ugly legend,” Jess and Drew said in unison, before bursting out laughing.

  Drew caught Adam’s watchful eye. A kind and knowing expression slid across his face. “Remind me, Jessie. What kind of diamond rings do you like?”

  Jess shrugged. “I’m not really a diamond ring kind of girl. Or any rings. I don’t like them on my fingers when I type. I can’t wear them when I play golf.”

  Drew rolled his eyes at her. “If I forced you to wear a ring, Jess, what style would it be?”

  Obviously bored with the conversation, Jess yawned and logged into one of her dark web servers. “Something small and simple that wouldn’t bug me.”

  Over her head, Drew met Adam’s eyes again and mouthed “Sorry.”

  Embarrassed at being so transparent, Adam flushed and focused back on Frank. “Let’s aim for noon for the Katrina photoshoot on Sunday. We have a short cast lunch break then.”

  * * *

  The lights went down on the empty theatre. The band in the pit began to play. Jess carefully angled the video camera so that she’d perfectly frame the lead actors playing Margot and Halliday when the curtains parted. Her heart was pounding so hard, she had to keep repeating “it’s just the dress rehearsal, it’s just the dress rehearsal” in her head.

  She glanced over to the other side of the theatre where Webb was watching in an aisle seat in the last row. She wondered if it would kill him to let the entire play run its course without his intervention. But that’s what tonight was all about. No stops and starts, no direction.

  The dress rehearsal would mimic tomorrow’s Opening Night schedule exactly. Curtain time was 9:30 pm. It was unusually late for a show’s starting time, but the theatre PR area wanted to take advantage of all the pomp and circumstance of New Year’s Eve. The play was approximately one hour and forty-five minutes to perform, and had one twenty-five-minute intermission. Given the usual practice of starting a few minutes late and allowing intermission to run a little long, they planned to finish the play and the curtain calls just prior to midnight. Then, the cast onstage would lead the audience in a sing along to Auld Lang Syne. A balloon drop over the crowd and complimentary champagne for everyone would end the evening.

  The theft would take place within the play’s timeframe, but it wouldn’t take quite as long. Frank and Tony had decided to drive from London, which would take just over two hours. They would head up earlier in the day to be in place well ahead of time, but they wouldn’t enter the property until Adam was also in place in Chelsea. On Jess’s advice, they would time their initial entry simultaneously. Her rationale was that if there was an unknown alarm or trigger, the security company would find it so curious for both of Webb’s properties to be breached at the exact same time, they might believe it to be a technology glitch rather than an actual breach—at least for a moment—and that would give everyone more time to get away.

  Adam needed to show his face in the theatre, at least for the first half of the show. The plan was for him to steal away during the intermission after Act II and to be back by the end of the play and the NYE festivities. Jess planned to capture him intermittently on her recording as a sort of alibi.

  As the music swelled, Jess decided it was the perfect time to begin her dispatch responsibilities. She was the communication hub of their operation. Hopefully all that would be required was for her to track progress, but if not, she’d be in charge of troubleshooting. She put on a nondescript headset which placed a speaker next to her left ear and a small mic below her lips. “Team One, status please.”

  “We’ve arrived with no difficulties so far,” Tony responded. “Will head to Location A when my boy is en route to Location B.”

  “Team Two?”

  Adam’s sexy voice sent a shiver down her spine. “All good back here, Blondie.”

  Perfect. She didn’t want to accidently record her voice on the webcast, so she switched off her mic. “Don’t forget about me!” Drew laughed in her ear. “I’m just watching TV at the hotel, but I’m here too.”

  She heard stifled laughter from Tony and Adam. Drew had insisted on being allowed to listen to the communications. What the hell, she’d decided. There was nothing he didn’t know now anyway.

  The curtain rose. Onstage, Olive-as-Margot mixed a drink while Halliday sat on the sofa discussing his job as a commercial television writer. Jess forced herself to compartmentalize and focus on the play. She needed a perfect recording for the webcast, and there was nothing happening with the theft for the first hour anyway.

  Act I went well. Olive was flawless and the other actors made only minor mistakes that the audience would never notice. The only reason Jess noticed was that Webb would stand up and stomp his foot before throwing himself back into his chair with a loud exhale of disgust.

  Act II went slightly less well. Someone didn’t put the scissors in the right place on
the desk, which made the scene were Margot needed to kill Swann with them look awkward since Olive couldn’t initially reach them. Tyler Ryan flubbed two lines in the second scene and the actor playing the Inspector tripped over one of the end tables while moving around the room.

  As the curtain fell and music rose, signaling the intermission, Webb stalked backstage and Jess paused her recording and turned her mic back on.

  “Team Two?”

  “Leaving now,” Adam whispered. After three silent minutes, “Entering tube station. ETA to Location B is approximately fifteen minutes.”

  She nodded. “Hear that Team One?”

  “Got it,” Tony said. “Heading to Location A now. ETA twelve minutes.”

  “I’ll be back online in ten,” she said and turned her mic off. She grabbed her camera and went backstage. She was too full of nervous energy to sit still. Might as well try to grab some midshow testimonials for the webcast.

  She got some cute footage of Olive and Tyler, a fake smile from Katrina and a staged thumbs-up from Webb. She recorded the crew behind the curtain, scurrying around to change up the set.

  Then she repositioned herself at her normal viewing angle of the stage and flipped back on her mic. Five minutes until the end of the intermission. “Team Two?”

  Adam was slightly out of breath, as though he’d jogged from the tube station. “Approaching property. Need one minute for street to be clear of dog walker.”

  “Team One?”

  “We’re ready,” Frank said. “All clear and ready to enter code.”

  Thirty seconds later, Adam said, “I’m ready too.”

  “Enter the twelve-digit code. Reading it now,” Jess said. “8-3-1-9-5-7-7-4-5-2-1-7.”

  “Done,” Tony and Adam said simultaneously.

  “Try the keys.” Her voice was calm, but her stomach hurt. It might take a few times to find the right key for the Chelsea door but she wasn’t too worried about Adam since she knew the right key was on the ring she’d borrowed from Webb; she’d seen him use it. But they were just guessing that the Cotswolds keys were amongst the ones they’d copied.

  She was also nervous because she assumed the door needed to be opened within a certain timeframe of punching in the code or it re-armed itself. They had no way of knowing how a double keypad entry affected the security.

  “In,” said Adam. His voice was tense and she could only imagine how worried he must be about Tony.

  “We’re in too,” Frank said, an unmistakable note of relief in his voice. “Second key we tried. I’ll stay put and keep an eye out.”

  “I’m headed down to the basement to look for the panic room,” Tony whispered.

  “Turning off mic now,” Jess said. “Alert when you’re both outside the panic rooms.”

  The music began to play again. When the curtains rose, the set was changed. Tyler walked onstage wearing a tan raincoat and carrying a small suitcase.

  Silent, Jess recorded the play but her eyes were glued to her watch. It took twelve minutes before Tony finally said, “Found it. Next to wine cellar, behind an enormous map of the UK. Per the plan, found the eye scanner.”

  Jess slowly walked backward, away from her camera until she could speak clearly without being recorded. “Verify you have your cell phones with the recordings of his voice. Verify you have the printed images.” These would be the items they’d need to breach the panic room tomorrow night.

  “I have the photo and the phone,” Tony said.

  “Ditto,” said Adam.

  Jess nodded to herself. “Leave and relock the exterior doors now. Team One, make sure to time how long it takes you to get back to the city. Team Two, time your trip back here. Over.”

  “Got it. Over and out,” Tony said.

  “See you soon, Blondie.”

  She smiled and turned off her mic. “Whew!” Drew said in her ear. My sentiments exactly, she thought.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Last night went as well as could be expected,” Adam said. Truthfully, it had been a piece of cake. The panic room part was still in front of them, but he had faith in their biometric protocol-breaking methods. He just wished he didn’t feel so fidgety. He had zero evidence to support the unease he felt, but he couldn’t soothe the prickly feeling between his shoulder blades. He’d survived a long time by listening to that prickly feeling. But at the moment he could find no logical explanation. It must just be the high stakes, he decided. Tony and Jess were both involved in this—that was certainly enough reason to be on edge.

  It was midmorning on December 31st, and he, Jess and Drew were having breakfast over at Tony and Frank’s apartment. If all went well, this would be the last time they set foot in this dump. He’d always remember it fondly, though, as the first place he had Christmas dinner with the two people he loved most in the world.

  “Tonight should be even smoother,” Tony said. “We’re more comfortable with the drive to the estate and where to park the car. I can get from the front door to the panic room in less than a minute.”

  “There was no silent alarm or property patrols when we entered the front door,” Frank added.

  That was good. That would help their panic room search. “Since we know that now,” Adam started, “Frank, you don’t need to keep watch tonight. Go on down to the panic room with Tony and help him look for the Blue. Who knows if it’s just sitting out on a shelf or if it’s locked in some jewelry box or something?”

  Tony crossed himself. “I just pray there isn’t a safe in there.”

  Adam nodded. That would be a pisser, all right. Katrina didn’t say anything about a safe, but there were no guarantees in this business.

  Jess placed a stack of crisply printed pictures of Webb’s face on the table. “A few fresh copies,” she said. “In case yours from yesterday got wrinkled. I had to play around with the sizing for a while before I got a printout with the eye size exactly correct. Everyone take a few.”

  Frank, Tony and Adam dutifully took multiple copies and carefully placed them flat in a folder that would go into their packs. Even Drew took one, winking around the table as he did so. Adam stifled a smile. It hadn’t taken long at all for Drew to become a sort of mascot/cheerleader for their little team.

  Jess hit a button on her laptop and groaned. “No new audio file yet.”

  “Katrina’s agent assured me that she’ll be in the lobby of the theatre wearing the ruby necklace right at noon,” Adam said. “So they’ve got to get it out of the panic room in the next two hours.” He turned to Frank. “Just position her near the bar and take about fifty pictures of her face quickly. Tell her she looks great. Tell her the magazine will be in touch through her agent. Then get out.”

  Frank looked a little dubious but just shrugged. “OK.”

  Adam looked up at the ceiling. What else? What else? Ah. “Tonight is New Year’s Eve. There’s going to be a ton more people on the street and trains and roads than there were last night. A light rain and sleet combo is in the forecast as well. It’ll probably take me longer to get to the Chelsea address from the theatre. We’re unfamiliar with the traffic patterns, so you guys should plan on leaving midafternoon to get out there in plenty of time.”

  He leaned back, thinking through the end of the night. “This apartment should be sterilized and empty before you leave for the Cotswolds.”

  Tony nodded. “Of course.”

  “With or without the Blue, go straight from the estate to the hotel by Heathrow. You’re on 6:00 am flights,” Adam instructed.

  “I have done this before, you know,” Tony said dryly. But he was smiling.

  “I want us all out of the country before Webb even knows the ring is gone,” Adam emphasized. “I wish we could all take redeyes, but the damn play ends too late. Drew, Jess and I are also on the first flights out tomorrow m
orning. Hopefully Webb and Katrina will be too distracted with the show tonight and all the parties and press afterward to think about returning the ruby necklace to the panic room before sometime tomorrow.”

  Jess squealed. “New file!” She double-clicked on it.

  Katrina’s voice whined, “I’m going to be late for the head shots. Hurry up, Daddy.”

  Then Webb’s pontificating tones. “‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.’”

  “Pompous wanker.” Adam faked a gag. “Twelfth Night. We should have known.”

  With a few keyboard and mouse clicks, Jess cleaned up the audio file and emailed it to everyone at the table. She met Adam’s gaze with her poker face perfectly in place. “I guess we’re all set.”

  “I guess so,” he answered. But his instincts disagreed.

  * * *

  Backstage, Adam leaned against the wall and watched the final preparations take place. He’d been a little late tonight, but luckily no one had noticed. It was unlike him to be anything but punctual, especially on such critical evenings, but he’d had a very crucial, personal errand he needed to run.

  On the other side of the curtain, audience members were filling the auditorium. It would be a packed house. Webb had announced earlier that the show had finally sold out. Adam wondered how many people would be watching the live-streaming broadcast.

  All the leads were in costume with their stage makeup on. The Halliday actor was pacing in circles, muttering lines and stretching his facial muscles. The Swann lead kept rolling his shoulders backward, listening to hip hop music in his headphones. The actor who played the Inspector was sitting on the floor in some sort of yoga pose, eyes closed, palms to the sky.

  The orchestra was warming up in the pit; he could hear notes from violins and flutes. It was enough to put butterflies in the stomach of even the most experienced performer. The nervous energy in the air was so palpable he felt he could reach out and physically grab it. Adam blew out a long breath and smiled. Maybe later he’d be nervous when he breached Webb’s panic room. But right now, he was just grateful he wouldn’t be performing onstage.