Body on the Stage (32 page)

Dennis hurried back and gave
Tony the information, which was relayed it through the headsets to
the Prompt-side stage manager and the control room, who then
updated the MC and the sound man. By then Ricky was taking his bow,
holding his white helmet strategically in front of him.

The lights went out and so did
Dennis, grabbing up the gloves, shoes and various pieces of the
white driving suit. He hooked a pair of boxers with his foot but
couldn’t locate the thong anywhere and had to give up the hunt as
time ran out. Dropping his armload on the table, he hurried out to
the Green Room to see if he could help with whatever drama had been
unfolding behind the scenes.

Mark was nowhere to be seen.
Dennis checked the toilets and the dressing rooms but couldn’t find
him. He sought out Erica to see what light she could shed on the
situation.

“What happened back here? Is
Mark still around?”

“Not if he knows what’s good for
him,” Erica replied grimly. “Fancy shouting at that poor girl in
her condition. It’s unforgiveable. Her life is tough enough without
spoilt young men being a pain in the arse and giving her a hard
time.”

“In her condition? What, you
mean Sherry’s pregnant?” His jaw dropped.

“Yes, about ten weeks along, and
it’s a tricky time. Mark had no business yelling at her like that.
I just hope she didn’t get too upset, it’ll be so bad for the
baby.”

“Do we know why he yelled at
her?”

“It doesn’t matter! You just
don’t treat a pregnant woman like that whatever the problem is.”
Erica was clearly unsympathetic to whatever difficulties Mark was
going through.

“OK, I’d better get back. Thanks
Erica.”

Dennis made his way back to the
OP wings and squinted into the stage lights as he prepared to
collect the items from Jayden’s scattered costume. The pale-faced
vampire was showing off his well-muscled torso to wild
applause.

Once Jayden’s pick-up was done
Dennis was free for the rest of the show. He went backstage to see
if he could find Mark.

To his surprise Jack Matherson
there talking to Jessica. She was arguing fiercely in a low voice
to avoid being heard by the audience out front, but the
conversation was audible across the Green Room.

“You CAN’T, Jack! Not one of the
key actors! We need Mark for the rest of the run – can’t it wait
till afterwards?” Jack leaned close and murmured a reply in her
ear. Her eyes widened and a look of horror spread across her face.
“He did what? Are you sure?” As Dennis watched, her skin paled.
Jack nodded and murmured some more. Jessica’s face dropped and her
shoulders slumped.

“I guess Jayden will have to
take over then. I’ll ask Adam to give him some extra coaching
tonight, if he’ll do it.” She shook her head. “Well, that’s one
problem we’ve never had to face before. What a dreadful thing to
happen.”

Dennis’s heart sank. Mark had
been a good friend and now it looked as if he was in serious
trouble. Had Sherry laid a complaint against him?

He didn’t have the chance to
find out because suddenly the room filled up with excited
performers and stage crew all chattering like starlings about the
show and the audience’s response to it.

“Did you see that woman in the
hot seat on the corner? She almost had my G-string off!”

“Those two in the second row
were vicious! They grabbed and squeezed!”

“I thought the reviewer was
going to do himself an injury he was laughing so hard. We’d better
get a good write-up from him!”

“Hey, what happened to Mark? Did
he hurt himself or something?”

“Good job Jayden, I bet you had
to jump to get ready, didn’t you? You did well.”

“Did you see him whiz down that
bloody wire? The women underneath nearly wet themselves!”

“Yeah, did you hear them? ‘Ooh,
he looks just like Edward!’”

Jayden was the centre of
attention, getting pats on the back and all the accolades.

Dennis made his way over to
Jessica.

“Is there anything I can do – I
mean, does Mark need any help?” He fumbled for the words. “It
sounds as if he might be in trouble. You don’t have to tell me what
it is, but if there’s anything I can do, please say so.”

She looked at him then, ignoring
the babble of voices around them. With her head close to his, she
spoke quietly. “Mark won’t be around for the rest of the run. Jack
tells me he’s been charged with the murder of that Italian guy from
the gym.”

Dennis felt his head spin. The
sound around him retreated to a dull murmur of background noise.
“What? That’s insane! Mark’s such a nice guy.”

“That’s what I would have said,
but apparently he confessed. He’ll be held in custody until bail is
arranged which could take a while, and he might not get it even
then. You have to keep this quiet, Dennis. I shouldn’t be telling
you, but I know you’re discreet. See if you can defuse the gossip
that will be running riot around here – just say Mark isn’t well
and has to take a few weeks off or something, you know what will
work. If we both give the same line people will stop asking and
guessing about it. It would cause a huge distraction if they knew
the real story. Are you OK with that?”

He blinked, still trying to take
in what she’d said. Mark had been charged with
murder
? Of
Vincenzo
? It didn’t make any sense. Finally he nodded. “Yes,
all right Jessica, I’ll do my best. But please, let me know what
happens to him, will you? This can’t be right. Mark’s a good guy,
he wouldn’t kill anyone, it’s just ridiculous.”

She shrugged. “A couple of
months ago I would have agreed with you, but he’s been acting very
oddly for the last few weeks. I’d never suspected he had such a
temper until I saw him and Warwick fighting in here that time. They
both looked pretty homicidal then.”

“So what happens with the show
now?” Dennis felt a surge of anxiety at the prospect that Cathy’s
financial future was even more in jeopardy.

“Most likely Jayden will take
over the role. He should know most of the lines, and Adam will
hopefully give him a briefing tonight and maybe tomorrow before the
next performance to make certain he can do it.” She ran a hand
through her blonde hair. “I sure hope nobody gets sick or injured,
‘cause that’s our safety net gone.”

Dennis shook his head slowly,
still trying to process the information. “I can’t believe it. Not
Mark. He was so helpful when I first started training.”

“I agree that it’s completely
out of character. But people change, especially when they’re
subjected to great pressure. Something must have got to him to make
him crack like that. Anyway, people will be watching us,” she put
on a bright face, “and it’s time to finish off our chores back here
and get ready for the opening night party. Everyone will be
gathering in the foyer very shortly for the speeches and the
presentation to Adam. Don’t want to miss that. Buck up, Dennis, you
need to look cheerful even if you don’t feel it. It’s what we call
‘acting’, you know.” She gave him a sympathetic smile and hurried
away.

Dennis completed his duties
helping Tony to set up for the next night’s show in a fog of
disbelief. He kept replaying scenes in his head, trying to
visualise Mark’s behaviour and scrutinising it for any anomalies.
Three out of the five actors who had trained at the gym had seemed
to be affected by steroid use, becoming angry and a little violent.
Was it possible that Mark had had a higher dose, or been more
susceptible to the effects? Or had something else triggered an
impulse to kill? He hoped Jack would keep Jessica in the loop as
the investigation continued so one day they would know the
truth.

The party was in full swing by
the time Dennis made his way to the foyer, which was jammed from
end to end with people. There was a smell of perfume in the air,
and a hint of something familiar he finally identified as
mothballs. Glasses and bottles were clinking among a roar of
conversation as happy actors were greeted by admiring friends and
family offering their congratulations. The two women colleagues
he’d given tickets thanked him effusively, their faces flushed and
shiny.

Dennis grabbed a bottle of beer
and found a space of relative quiet halfway up the foyer stairs to
observe the goings-on below him.

Over in the corner he saw
Jessica talking to Tony, clearly telling him something in some
detail. Tony was nodding seriously in reply. In the middle of the
room Adam was surrounded by well-wishers congratulating him on a
successful show.

The sound of a glass being
tapped caught everyone’s attention and the conversation slowly died
down as Tony stepped up onto the two stairs leading to the
auditorium to address the crowd.

“Good evening ladies and
gentlemen, thank you all for coming tonight. Did you enjoy the
show?” A roar of approval answered that question. “Now before we
get into the celebratory part of the evening we have some speeches,
and a couple of pieces of sad news for you, I’m afraid.” The
murmurs and shufflings ceased as everyone waited to hear what Tony
was about to say. “First of all, I’m making this speech as Vice
President of the society because our President is no longer with
us. As some of you know, Howard drowned while on holiday in the
South Pacific trying to save the life of another swimmer, and we
are devastated by his loss. Howard Daniels was an enormous asset to
the society and a very good friend - he will be sorely missed.”
There were murmurs of agreement around the crowded room.

“Secondly, you may have noticed
that we had a quick change of actors part-way through the second
act. This was not part of the show. It happened because Mark Malone
was taken ill and couldn’t continue with the performance. He is
unlikely to return for the rest of the run and his place will be
taken by our very able understudy, Jayden Somerville.” More ripples
of chatter greeted this announcement, pierced by an involuntary
exclamation from Nick.

“Oh shi…!” He clapped a hand
over his mouth then apologised, stepping up beside Tony. “In that
case, can I make a quick plea for a couple of volunteers to help
stick correction inserts into several hundred programmes before
tomorrow night’s show, please? Come and see me if you’re free
during the day. Thanks!”

Tony waved him away and
continued with his speech, thanking Adam for his excellent
direction and everything he’d done to support the theatre. He
presented a small parcel which Adam unwrapped amid much laughter
when it revealed a shiny sequinned G-string.

“I shall wear it in your
memory!” declared Adam, holding it aloft with a flourish.

Dennis saw Cathy looking up at
him, her head tilted in silent query. He should be down there
talking to her, but how could he keep his promise of discretion if
she asked him about Mark? He lifted his hand in a weak wave and
looked away.

It didn’t feel like an occasion
for celebrating to him and the excited chatter began to grate on
his nerves. He decided to make his exit as quietly as possible, so
went up the stairs, crossed through the upper circle in the
auditorium and went down the stairs on other side that led straight
to the street door of the theatre. He made his exit into the cool
night air and headed for home. He had a lot to think over.

When he got home there was a red
light on his phone and a message from his sister Janice.

“Hey, little bro – you’re hard
man to get hold of these days, but I’m thinking that’s a good
thing. Means you’re out having a life. I just wanted to say well
done for those amazing photos you emailed me. I couldn’t believe it
was really you. Are you sure they weren’t Photoshopped?” He smiled
at the laugh in her voice. “Anyway, you look as if you’re in the
pink of health and you’re obviously getting out and socialising, so
I guess I don’t have to worry about you any more. You keep up the
good work and I’ll catch up with you another time. Bye, bro.”

He looked at his watch. It was
probably a bit late to call her back. He wrote her an email instead
and promised himself he’d get home early enough to call her the
following night.

He skipped his workout next
morning, unwilling to see Cathy in case he accidentally gave away
more information than he should. He knew once she asked him a
direct question he’d be quite unable to hide what he knew. She
could read him like a book and would know he was keeping something
from her. He just hoped she wouldn’t think he was avoiding her for
any other reason.

His work day seemed long,
especially as the late nights were taking their toll. He had an
energy drink before leaving for the theatre, hoping it would keep
him alert for the evening’s stage duties.

Out in the Green Room the early
arrivals among the cast and crew were clustered round the
notice-board where a newspaper clipping was pinned up. He could
read the headline, ‘A Night for Everyone’ but couldn’t get near
enough to see the rest. Jessica skipped in with a sheaf of
photocopies.

“Here you are, everyone – copies
of the review. Read ‘em and don’t weep! It’s great!”

Dennis took the copy she
flourished under his nose and read through the theatre critic’s
opinion of the opening night. It seemed polite to make the effort,
but he wasn’t all that interested until one line near the end
caught his eye. ‘Snappy and efficient scene changes’, said the
critic, ‘with no wasted movement.’ It caused Dennis to smile
broadly. He jumped up and went in search of Tony.

“Hey, I’ve had an idea,” he
said. Tony raised an eyebrow, waiting. “You know when we take the
couch and bits out in the first change?”

“Yeah?”

“Well we could do it in time to
the music. You know, walk on in step, and put the things down on
the beat. It wouldn’t take any longer but it would add style.”