by Clea Simon
Stella shrugged. ‘Maybe he was working with Paul.’
Dulcie’s confusion must have shown on her face.
‘Paul Barnes.’ Stella had grabbed her bag and was scanning the rows of seats before them. ‘That sleazebag is capable of anything.’
‘You don’t know then,’ Dulcie said, realization growing. Stella turned toward her and shook her head. ‘Paul’s at the health services. He – he’s been poisoned, too.’
‘Poison?’ Stella’s eyes went wide.
Dulcie nodded. ‘That’s what they’re saying, and the police are looking into it. So it couldn’t have been Paul Barnes who took your laptop. Are you sure it’s missing?’
‘I think so.’ The self-assured academic suddenly didn’t sound that certain, and Dulcie saw her peek inside her bag.
‘If your laptop is actually in there …’ Dulcie began. The other woman looked up.
‘No, I don’t have it.’ She threw her head back, making her pointy ‘do’ bounce. ‘Believe me, I’d know if I had my own laptop.’
‘Then there’s another reason for it to go missing.’ Dulcie checked her phone again. Nothing. Both Chris and the water bottle were missing. ‘You haven’t seen a water bottle around here, have you?’
Another shake of the head. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘It’s complicated,’ Dulcie said, as she gave the backstage area another once over. ‘But I’d left a message for Chris …’ She paused, as another possibility hit her. Maybe he had gotten her messages. Maybe he’d found it. If he were on his way to the health services, he might not have bothered to call her back. He might be talking to Rogovoy now.
‘What did you say?’ Stella’s voice carried from the other side of the stage.
‘Hang on,’ Dulcie yelled back. ‘I’m calling this cop I know.’
‘What?’ Stella’s voice rose in panic. ‘Dulcie! Come quick. Help!’
And the room went black.
FORTY-THREE
‘Stella, where are you?’ If the lighting had been dim before, now it was impenetrable. ‘What happened?’
‘Dulcie!’ Stella’s panic was audible, but without the blue lights Dulcie had to move slowly, feeling the floor before her with her feet as she made her way across the stage. ‘There’s … there’s someone here.’
‘Where?’ She reached out and felt something cool and smooth. It jerked away and Dulcie realized she’d grabbed the other woman’s bag. Stella had jumped. ‘It’s okay, Professor Roebuck,’ said Dulcie. She felt Stella’s hand reaching for hers. ‘It’s just me.’
‘Oh, thank God.’ Stella sounded breathless. ‘What happened?’
‘I don’t know.’ Dulcie looked around, blinking, but the blackness was absolute. ‘You didn’t see anything, did you? I mean, before …’
‘I thought I heard something,’ the other woman said, a little breathless. Could Stella Roebuck be afraid of the dark? ‘I’m not sure.’
‘Well, let’s get out of here.’ Dulcie took a firmer hold on the other woman’s hand. ‘I’ve been in here enough. I ought to – oh!’ Dulcie stumbled as her foot hit something heavy and soft. Only Stella’s grip kept her from falling, and she pulled herself upright. ‘Hang on.’ Dulcie had to pull her hand out of Stella’s, the other woman was holding on so tight. ‘Let me move this.’
Kneeling, she reached down, feeling for the bag or the box or whatever it was that had tripped her. She felt cloth – a bag, then – and then warm skin. ‘It’s a body!’ she yelped in surprise.
‘Let’s get out of here!’ Stella was picking up on her nerves. But with the initial shock out of the way, Dulcie’s more analytical mind kicked in.
‘No, wait.’ More cautiously, she felt along the lump in front of her. It was warm, therefore … Yes! It’s alive! She stopped herself; even Mary Shelley hadn’t descended to such a hackneyed phrase. Besides, the mass before her had just moved and, yes, groaned.
‘Stella,’ Dulcie called. ‘Help me. It’s hurt.’
‘I don’t know.’ Dulcie could feel Stella moving away. She didn’t care; this was no time to be afraid.
Instead, Dulcie focused on the person before her, who had started to stir in earnest. ‘Can you sit up? Wait, maybe you shouldn’t.’
‘No, I’m – I’m okay.’ It was Kelly. ‘Dulcie, is that you?’
‘Uh huh.’ Dulcie helped the tech sit up. ‘What happened? Did you trip on a cord?’
Maybe it was her eyes, growing accustomed to the dark. Dulcie could make out that the other girl was shaking her head.
‘Oh, wow.’ Kelly gasped in pain. ‘Sorry. I don’t think so. My head …’
Dulcie could just make out Kelly’s outline and watched as she felt the back of her head.
‘Something must have fallen,’ she said. ‘Why is it so dark?’
‘Power must have gone out,’ Dulcie said, as she squinted around. Was it her imagination, or was the darkness lessening? ‘We were trying to get out of here when I stumbled over you.’ Kelly’s hand went to her back, where Dulcie’s foot must have made contact. ‘Sorry.’
‘It’s okay,’ she said, sounding more like herself. ‘We?’
‘Stella Roebuck is here too.’ Dulcie paused, listening to the darkness. The little light that entered showed her Kelly’s profile, alert beside her, but didn’t penetrate much beyond. ‘Ms Roebuck?’
‘I’m here.’ The voice came from a little ways off, at least as far as Dulcie could tell. Between the backstage curtains and the dark, she no longer had a clear sense of distance. ‘I think I may have found something.’
‘Hang on.’ Dulcie didn’t want to risk any more injuries and stood, helping Kelly to her feet. ‘Keep talking,’ she said. ‘We’ll follow your voice.’
‘I’m here,’ Stella responded. ‘There’s a curtain and then, well, I don’t know what it is. Can you come to me?’
‘I think so.’ Leading Kelly, Dulcie edged toward Stella’s voice. ‘Keep talking.’
‘I’m here, Dulcie.’ Stella’s voice had gotten softer and the light fainter. ‘But I’m – I don’t know …’
‘Stella?’ Dulcie stopped, afraid to miss something in the dark. There was no reply. ‘Ms Roebuck? Are you there?’
Nothing.
‘Wait, there.’ Kelly, at her side, was whispering.
‘What?’ Dulcie turned toward her.
‘I don’t know.’ Dulcie could feel Kelly looking around, straining her eyes to see. ‘I thought I heard something – something soft. A little thud.’
‘A little …?’ Dulcie stopped herself. A little thud. It had to be a coincidence. Kelly must have meant a footfall, or a door somewhere out in the lobby closing. For a moment, however, she thought of the sound a cat makes when it jumps on to a soft blanket. The sound Mr Grey would make when he joined her in bed. ‘Mr Grey?’ She barely breathed the words, and then held her breath, waiting.
‘Ms Roebuck?’ Kelly called out beside her, not much louder. ‘Professor?’
The two girls had clasped their hands together, and Dulcie could hear Kelly breathing. Of one mind, they stepped forward once, twice. Then –
‘Ow.’ Kelly cut off her exclamation.
‘What?’ Dulcie turned toward her, then dropped toward the floor. Running her hand over the dusty surface, she half expected to feel warm flesh. ‘Is it Stella?’
‘No, it’s …’ Kelly paused. ‘I don’t know.’
Dulcie’s hands touched something rough and low, and she heard Kelly kneeling beside her, running her hands over the coarse and gritty surface.
‘A cinder block?’ Kelly asked. ‘But why here?’
‘Do you keep them here for some reason?’
‘Well, yeah.’ Kelly stayed on the floor, as if feeling for something. ‘They’re useful as weights, but they’re usually stacked in the back, along the wall.’
‘Maybe Stella tripped over this.’ Dulcie reached past the rough concrete. ‘Maybe she knocked herself out.’
‘Knocked herself out?’ Kel
ly sounded skeptical.
Even though she couldn’t see her, Dulcie turned to the woman at her side. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Dulcie, I don’t think I tripped.’ Kelly explained. ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s the back of my head that’s sore. I think somebody walloped me.’
‘Oh great.’ Dulcie strained to make out something, anything in the dark.
‘I mean, I sort of didn’t know what was happening for a few moments there,’ Kelly continued. ‘Then, when I heard you and Stella, I figured whoever it was was long gone. But maybe …’
‘Shush,’ Dulcie knew Kelly couldn’t see her. Still she instinctively waved her down. ‘Is anyone out there?’
Nothing.
‘Stella?’
Silence.
‘Maybe she’s gone.’ Kelly pulled herself to her feet. From the sound of her breathing, it took effort. ‘At any rate, Dulcie, I’m ready to blow this popsicle stand.’
‘Wait, we can’t just leave her.’ Dulcie made herself breathe. ‘If someone knocked you out, and then jumped Stella Roebuck.’
‘They want something, Dulcie.’ Kelly was thinking along the same lines. ‘There must be something here.’
‘Or in her laptop.’ When Kelly didn’t respond, Dulcie explained. ‘Stella said her laptop was missing. She blamed Chris, but he wouldn’t take it.’
‘So someone did.’ Kelly said slowly. ‘You know, I wasn’t sure I believed her. But this …’
Dulcie nodded, then realized that the other woman couldn’t see her. ‘Yeah, something was on it.’ Chris’s message. ‘And Chris knew, too.’
Her mouth went dry. If Chris had discovered what was on the laptop, he was in danger, too. ‘We’ve got to find her, Kelly,’ she said. ‘And we’ve got to get out of here.’
‘We can’t find anything in this dark.’ Dulcie could sense the other woman putting her hands out, feeling the space in front of her. ‘And I don’t think we’re going to find Stella Roebuck unless you trip over her like you did me.’
‘Sorry,’ Dulcie muttered.
‘Don’t be.’ The other woman had taken a step or two away, and Dulcie followed. ‘But I think we have to get out of here and turn the lights back on or get a flashlight or whatever. Unless we can see, we can’t help anybody.’
‘But if she’s hurt …’ Dulcie didn’t like the idea of leaving anyone, not even Stella Roebuck.
‘I was knocked out, that was it,’ Kelly was saying. ‘So either she’s out cold, too … or they took her.’
Dulcie didn’t want to add the third possibility. That Stella Roebuck was in mortal danger – that the stylish academic had been the intended victim of the party defenestration. But why? Surely nobody would kill Stella Roebuck for whatever was on her laptop? Surely nobody could kill someone without a sound. Could they?
She asked a different question. ‘Can you find your way out?’
A little laugh. ‘I should. I know this place like the back of my hand. Just …’ She took a step forward. ‘Just step carefully.’
Holding hands, the pair stepped around the cinder block and into the dark. ‘The door’s here someplace,’ said Kelly, letting go of Dulcie’s hand. ‘See if you can find it.’
Dulcie reached in front of her, moving forward as she did so until she felt something solid. The wall. ‘Which way?’ she asked.
‘Let’s see.’ Kelly was quiet for a moment. ‘That block threw me off. Let’s go to the left. Toward you,’ she said.
Shuffling, the pair worked their way along the wall until, wonder of wonders, Dulcie felt the raised surface of the door frame. ‘Got it!’ Stepping to the side, she felt the push bar and leaned on it. The bar moved. The door didn’t. ‘Kelly, help me,’ she called. ‘It must be stuck.’
‘Great.’ The other girl joined her and together they pushed. The door creaked and moved, letting in a splinter of light. But no more. ‘What the—?’
‘What?’ Dulcie had a sinking feeling that she knew what the other would say.
‘It’s not supposed to be locked.’ Kelly was rattling the door, making the sliver of light appear and disappear as she did so. ‘It’s a fire safety issue. All these doors should push open.’
‘It’s not just stuck?’ Dulcie asked hopefully.
‘No.’ Up against the illuminated sliver, Kelly dropped to her knees. ‘Hello!’ she called through the crack. ‘I think someone put something up against the door. Maybe drywall? Hello!’
‘Kelly.’ That slight opening had made Dulcie notice something, something she would rather not have. ‘Do you smell something?’
‘Don’t ask,’ the other girl said, her face pressed against the crack. ‘This place is filthy.’
‘No, I don’t mean that.’ The construction, Dulcie remembered. The scaffolding. The power tools. ‘Kelly?’ she asked, her voice growing tight. ‘When they were painting, would they have disabled the smoke alarms?’
She didn’t need much light to see the shock of horror on the tech’s face.
FORTY-FOUR
‘They couldn’t have,’ said Kelly. Dulcie just shook her head. By now, her eyes were itching and she could smell the strangely bitter scent.
‘Hello!’ Kelly put her mouth to the door’s slight opening and yelled. ‘Hello! Is anyone there?’
Dulcie turned away. Even with the faint light, the interior of the auditorium looked darker than it had before, and she screwed her eyes shut for a moment, hoping to reaccustom them to the dark. Shadows danced before her – images on her lids, perhaps, or phantoms drawn from the increasingly acrid air. Ignoring them, she tried to picture the stage. Where were the stairs down to the seating area? Where – she sniffed the air – was the fire? It was a long walk to the back of the auditorium, and already her eyes had started to water. There had to be another, quicker way out.
‘Kelly?’ She reached behind her for the other girl’s shoulder. ‘Is there another exit back here?’
‘What? Yeah.’ She could feel the tech stand. ‘Follow me.’
With a sigh of relief, Dulcie let the other girl lead her back across the stage. ‘Watch it,’ Kelly warned. ‘I don’t know who—’ Too late, she fell, her hand pulled from Dulcie’s.
‘Kelly!’ Dulcie dropped to her knees. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yeah, I think so.’ The tech pulled herself up and took Dulcie’s hand again. ‘It should be—’
She stopped so quickly, Dulcie bumped into her. ‘What is it?’ Dulcie’s voice had again dropped to a whisper. But before Kelly could answer, she knew. The smell was stronger here – foul and bitter, like plastic burning.
‘I don’t think we should go that way,’ Kelly said. ‘Let’s try for the back of the auditorium.’
‘Good idea,’ Dulcie said with more enthusiasm than she felt. But as they turned, they heard it: a crackling and a pop. The air grew thicker, and in the dark, Dulcie could see bright sparks. Grey smoke rose around them. Grey wisps curled and fell.
‘Dulcie!’ She stopped, listening. The smoke coiled away to the right, beckoning. ‘Dulcie, this way!’
‘Kelly!’ She grabbed the tech’s hand. ‘Follow me.’
‘No!’ The tech pulled back. ‘The back of the auditorium. It’s safer!’
‘Dulcie!’ The smell, the chemical burn, had turned the sparks green. The smoke curled to the right. ‘This way!’
‘There’s fresh air this way.’ Dulcie yelled. ‘Look at the smoke. Look at it!’
Kelly paused, a dead weight as Dulcie pulled. Then, as suddenly, she turned. ‘You’re right. The fire – it’s down by the main doors.’
Holding Dulcie’s hand, she forged ahead. Dulcie pushed aside a curtain, and Kelly kicked a chair – that same folding chair – and then they saw a thin strip of light. Together, they threw themselves at it, and it gave way, opening on to the cold and moonlit night.
FORTY-FIVE
‘Stella!’ As soon as she’d gotten her breath, Dulcie turned back toward the building. ‘We’ve got to get Stella
out!’
‘Not us,’ said Kelly. ‘Them.’ As she spoke, Dulcie heard the sirens and they ran around to the front of the building in time to see the fire truck pull up.
‘Over here!’ Dulcie hailed a large man in full gear.
‘Are you the person who called this in?’ He was bigger than Rogovoy.
‘What? No,’ she said. ‘But we just got out and Stella – Stella Roebuck – is still in there.’
‘In where?’ He motioned for a colleague to join him.
‘I can show you.’
A large hand landed on her shoulder. ‘No, you can’t. Tell us, and we’ll take a look.’
‘In the main auditorium – number one,’ she said. ‘Has the fire spread?’
‘Why?’ The face looking down at her scowled. ‘Are you a student here?’
‘Well, yes, I am.’ Dulcie was getting impatient. That smoke – that thick, dark smoke. ‘But—’
‘And your name is?’ He leaned a little closer.
‘Dulcie, Dulcinea Schwartz. I’m a grad student here.’ She paused. ‘Well, not here, here. I’m in English and American Literatures, but one of our visiting scholars—’
‘There you are.’ The gruff voice behind her was familiar, and she turned. ‘She’s okay,’ said Rogovoy.
‘Well, I am, but Stella Roebuck—’ A big hand cut her off.
‘She’s fine, too.’ The big detective looked down at her and then back at his colleague. ‘This one’s with me.’
‘Are you sure?’ Dulcie looked up at the big detective. ‘We lost her in the back of the lecture hall.’
‘I’m sure,’ he said. ‘She came out before you did, and she’s been taken to the health services. Where you, I believe, were supposed to be.’
‘I’m sorry, detective.’ She had to make him understand. ‘Only, when Paul Barnes collapsed, I realized that I’d left crucial evidence behind.’
He paused only to fix her with a skeptical eye. ‘Really.’ It didn’t sound like a question.
‘And besides, if it hadn’t been for me going back, you might not have known about the fire.’ She looked up at him. ‘The whole place might have burned down.’