Final Act (18 page)

“
We need to talk. 
About us, our relationship, where we’re at and where we’re going
.   Now’s not the time, I’ve got to run.  See you later.”

She punched in Hanya’s number on her cell and closed the front door.

Kate decided to walk.  At a brisk pace she shouldn’t keep Hanya waiting. 
Shirley was scheduled to interview
her
later
this afternoon but one of the conditions Kate set with Hanya was that their meeting remain a secret.  She hated subterfuge.
Screw Gordon
, it was his fault, h
e should have given her the interview in the first place.

She walked east on Brunswick St.
enjoying the
architectural
hodge podge of one of the olde
st
sections of the city. 
On the fifteen minute walk, s
he passed a
historic Church
,
condos, run down tenements, a hotel, a book store, and one of the best wine shops in
the city.
 

The cool a
ir cleared her head
and lightened her senses
.
  
She was all smiles when she walked in the coffee shop and spotted Hanya sitting at the corner table.

“
H
ave you been waiting long?”

“No, just got her
e
.  Didn’t want to order anything until I heard your recommendations
.
”

“
Not a problem.  I have more than one favourite. 
There’s the sunburst muffins, granola with blueberries and yogurt, oatmeal patties crammed with seeds, nuts and honey.  You can have your choice of potent coffee, coffee like beverages (such as chai tea latte) and then there are those inventive smoothies delightful to the palate.  Of course, there’s also...”
             

“Enough already
. 
I know what I want.”

T
hey
waited until they finished eating before getting down to business.  Hanya was the first to speak.
 

“I hope to hell I’m not wasting your time with this as what I have to say is all rather ‘airy fairy’, just something my gut tells me
.”

“
Fire away.”

“Camira and I were very close.  We grew up together
, lived with our grandmother, had each other’s back.  S
he was the opposite of me – tall, slender, beautiful and talented
, I’m large and all the rest that goes with it
.  She sang beautifully; I croaked.  She would make up stories; I would listen.  But, I wasn’t at the very back of the talent line, I could
win an
argu
ment
a
nd I could fight.  I mean down and dirty fighting. 
I used m
y fists, my teeth, my
feet;
I
didn’t waste a body part.
I kept the bullies away from her and no
o
ne
damaged
our
grandmother’s house
.”

“If you
ever decide to leave the Church, you might want to consider the police force.”

She smiled
.
 
“That’ll never happen, Kate.  Anyway,
to get on with the reason I’m here. 
Camira called me before she was murdered. 
And believe me Kate, she didn’t commit suicide, it was murder. 
She was spooked, asked me to come by after
my
meeting to talk.  You’ll never know the depth of my regret at not going over earlier, Kate.  But that’s something I have to live with, not your problem.  Point is
I think she knew who killed Jeffrey Stone and that’s the reason she was killed.”

“I
think you could be right.
”

“
I had very little sleep last night but I did a lot of thinking. 
I want to help find her killer, Kate.  And I think I know how to do it.”

“
No, Hanya.  It’s too dangerous. 
Trust us, we will find Camira’s killer
.
 
Things are tough enough
without
a
civilian
stirring the pot.  Someone will get hurt and
that someone would most likely be you.”

“
Hear me out
, Kate
.  The night I went to her place, her cup was on the table by her chair, the TV
on
but muted. 
Camira made
tea for her visitor and
while she was in the kitchen, her own tea was drugged.  There was no sign of another cup in the living room or the kitchen.  T
he bastard washed up after himself.”

“Why do you say he?”

“Figure of speech, that’s all. 
Jeffrey Stone’s funeral will be happening soon and all the major suspects will be attending.  The killer doesn’t know Camira called me
so I thought I
’d
let that piece of information slip out in my conversations.  I would hit everyone in the room.
It’ll smoke the killer out and I’ll be waiting.”

“Listen to me, Hanya.  You can’t do this.  You’re not playing around wit
h some bullies on the reserve.
”

“Sorry
, but
I need to do this.”

“No you don’t.  You
want
revenge and don’t you dare call it something else.   What do you say to the people you counsel who are focused on revenge?”

Hanya said nothing.

“Promise me this.  Swear on our friendship.  Don’t do anything.  Give us a chance
, once its confirmed she was murder, we will move.
And i
f we can’t uncover her killer, and I believe we will,
then, sure, do what you want
.”

“I won’t make any promises but I will think about it.”

Kate left the coffee shop a very worried woman.   

***

T
he intercom buzzed.  Susan, arranging the fresh cut flowers in the vase on the fireplace mantle
,
asked Alexis to get the door. 
Alexis laid Laura Lippman’s,
The Sugar House
, aside
, made the trek down the long hallway, opened the door and smiled at the tall, elegant looking lady standing there.

“You must be Eleanor
. 
Come in, please.”

She led her into the den where Susan stood waiting, a huge grin on her face.
R
efreshments offered and accepted, Susan left the room to make the tea.  Alexis, ever the shy introvert, struggled to make conversation.  She needn’t have worried. 

“It’s wonderful to put a face to a name.  Susan has often spoken of you.  I believe she said you went to the same school.”

“Yes, Catherine, Susan and I all attended King’s Edgehill boarding school in Windsor.
  I was a few grades behind them.
”

“Yes.  Beautiful spot.  I grew up not too far from there
,
in Kentville, home of the Apple Blossom festivals.”

“I understand you
two
met when Susan moved to the town where you lived.  “It must have been q
uite an adjustment
for you moving from the city to a small town.”

“Not as much as I had anticipated
and
meeting Susan certainly helped.  It wasn’t long before she had introduced me to most of the community.”

“How did you meet?”

“At a fund raiser for the town’s library.”

“
Make
s
sense, you
were
Librarian
,
I believe
?
”

“
It’s how I started my career, yes.” 

Susan
entered the room and
placed the tray piled high with slender pieces Key Lime White Chocolate Cheesecake, Sour Cream Coffee Cake and Almond Mocha cookie bars
on the serving table
.   Alexis scooted to the kitchen and returned carrying a silver tea pot, cream,
and sugar
and linen napkins
.
The three women fix
ed
their tea and fill
ed
plates with the assorted treats. 

“Thank you for taking the time to meet with us, Eleanor
, e
specially on such short notice.”

“
Not at all.  The theatre is closed so it freed me up, but once the police release the premises,
I’ll be back in the thick of it.”

“What production will you be working on?”

“
Death of a Salesman
.
”

“
That’s a heavy one, always found it depressing, but to each
t
heir own.”

“
Perhaps if you focus on props, shapes, and colours, like I do, you may find it less depressing.  The stage set
should be appealing to the audience
and viewing a play from different angles does add depths to its meaning.”

“
Y
es, I suppose so”, Susan said.  “
Do you have an assistant?”

“No.  My peers in large scale productions have at least three people working with them.
  I collaborate with the Director and Production team to create
the
environment for the overall production.  
In my New York day
s
, it
involve
d
drawing scale constructions, and creating scale models. 
And of course, there are the
administrative details
, budgeting
and the like
, but I won’t bore you with those details
.”

“The scope of your profession is much larger than I thought”, Alexis said. 

“Yes, most people are surprised and I’ve only give
n
a
two minute thumb sketch. 
Like any profession, it has its gruelling side, but the rewards of a well done job are worth all the struggles.”

“What kind of qualifications do you need?”

“There are several different ways to approach it, but I would recommend the tried and true for any beginners; an
M.F.A. degree in Theatre Art.
  Do you know someone interested in getting into the profession?
”

“
No.  It’s an area of the theatre that always fascinated me.  So after landing your degree you headed for New York, is that right
”, Alexis asked.

“Yes.  I
struggled for the first years but
Jeffrey
and Catherine
took me under their wing
.  It wasn’t an easy apprenticeship but
Jeffrey’s
talent made up for his temperament.  The theatre has lost a great talent.
”

“So Eleanor, I’ve heard rumours of enemies.  Did Jeffrey have many
”, Susan asked.

“I don’t know numbers but I believe he had quite a few.  He liked to present as a complex man but I believe, outside of his talent, he was a
simple man but a bastard when it came to females.
”
 

Eleanor’s hand trembled as she laid her teacup back on the tray. 

Susan
smiled
at scoring at hit.  She studied
the two women
sitting across from her
and
surprised by how much they looked alike
in their manners, dress, and deportment.  Of course, Alexis is
warmer of
course, more personable,
next to
Ellie,
a c
old
f
ish
j
elly
.

Alexis rose
, gathered
the empty
cups and saucers
, placed them on the tray and carried them into the kitchen hoping Susan would soon get to the reason she had invited Eleanor
.
Emerging from the k
itchen a few minutes, she heard Susan’s question and gave a sigh of relief.

“I suppose you were wondering why we asked to meet with you this afternoon, Eleanor”, Susan said.

“Yes, I am curious.”

“Alexis and I have joined the local acting group in our town.  We’re a small group with some big talent
,
especially our playwright and Director, Mary Jane
Kempner
.
”