Lights Out Tonight (20 page)

“Sure you don’t need me to come with you?” Caroline asked, a bit surprised by their offer.

Lamar grinned. “I think we can handle it. You two lovebirds go ahead and have a good time.”

“I feel guilty,” said Caroline as she and Nick walked down the sidewalk.

“Don’t worry,” he said, taking her hand. “If something breaks, they’ll find you.”

“I suppose. All right, what do you want to do?”

“Do you have to ask? You were sleeping when I came back from dropping Meg off last night, and you were gone when I got up this morning.”

“You want to go back to the hotel then?”

“Bingo. Tell the little lady what she’s won.”

As Nick began to kiss her neck, Caroline wondered if Lamar and Boomer were learning anything new about Belinda from the police. As his arms wrapped around her and he pulled her close, she tried to push thoughts of Linus Nazareth’s approval from her mind. A half hour later, she found herself imagining what it might actually be like to be a hard news correspondent.

Caroline lay on her back, looking at the ceiling.

“You look worried, Sunshine.”

“I guess I am, Nick.” She told him about the tough conversations with the executive producer before she’d left for Warrenstown.
“I’m afraid my style is never going to mesh with Linus’s.”

“The guy’s known to be son of a bitch, Caroline. You’re not gonna change him.”

“Yeah, but he rules
KTA.
What Linus says, goes.” Caroline took hold of Nick’s hand. “And you know, I realize I don’t want to go back to print. I really like TV. I’d hate to leave KEY News.”

Nick took her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “I have complete confidence in you, sweetheart. Nazareth would be a fool to let you go. And while he may be many things, Linus is nofool.”

As Caroline nuzzled her husband’s neck, her thoughts turned back to what was going on now in Warrenstown. “Let me ask you something, Nick.”

“Shoot.”

“I was talking to the guy at the deli this afternoon.” “Oscar?”

“Yes,” said Caroline, surprised. “You know him?”

“Anyone who’s ever spent time in Warrenstown knows Oscar, and Oscar knows them. He’s the town gossip. What was he selling today?”

“Well, he knew about Belinda, and he was talking about all the upset in town with the two dead kids and the murdered librarian. He said that there hadn’t been as much anxiety here since Daniel Sterling was killed two years ago.”

Nick sat up and propped a pillow behind him against the headboard.

“So, what’s the question?” he asked.

“Do you think Daniel Sterling was murdered?”

“I really don’t know, Caroline.”

“Oscar thinks he was.”

“Well, that settles it then.”

Caroline smiled as she jabbed her husband’s arm. “I’m not kidding, Nick. Oscar said the local police thought Sterling was murdered but they just couldn’t prove it.”

“So?”

“So you were at the party that night before he died. What do you think?”

“I think we are wasting valuable time on something that happened a long time ago.” Nick leaned over and pressed his lips against hers.

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Safely back at Curtains Up, Victoria inserted the videotape into the deck and settled in to watch
Devil in the Details.
As one scene followed another, she was entranced by Belinda’s stage magic. The written words had been expertly crafted, but Belinda’s delivery of them, her interpretation of Valerie, was what determined the feeling that was transmitted over the footlights.
A loving spouse slowly coming to realize that her charismatic partner was pure evil left the viewer deeply shaken.

Reassured that what she had seen last night at the theater was as powerful when recorded on tape, Victoria slid the cassette out. She turned to take the tape upstairs to the safety of her bedroom and came face-to-face with Belinda’s caretaker.

“Oh my God, you frightened me.” Victoria held her hand against her chest. “You shouldn’t sneak up on someone that way, Gus.”

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He nodded toward the television screen. “That was some performance.”

“How long were you standing there watching?” she asked.

“Long enough.”

“She’s fantastic, isn’t she?”

“She’s something, all right. Did she tell you she fired me?” Gus fixed his gaze directly into Victoria’s eyes.

“No, she didn’t,” said Victoria, trying to keep her expression calm. Had Belinda told Gus that she knew of the suspicious activities going on in the cave because Victoria had told her? Somehow, Victoria didn’t think so. Belinda wouldn’t drag a friend into that sort of mess if she could help it.

“Well, she said she wanted me to leave,” said Gus. “But now I’m wondering if I should stay for a while, at least until Belinda turns up. Maybe I should stick around and keep taking care of the place until then.”

Victoria eyed the muscles that bulged beneath the sleeves of Gus’s T-shirt. She knew he wasn’t selling Girl Scout cookies out of that cave, but she didn’t think he was a physical threat to
her. In fact, he could be a physical asset if she played her cards right.

“All right, Gus,” she said. “I think it
would
be a good idea for you to stay and take care of things around here, at least until Belinda shows up.”

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Meg deposited her tote in the dressing room, then went to the laundry to get the undergarments she had left to be washed the night before. Bringing those back to the dressing room, she picked up Belinda’s costumes and took them to be steamed. By the time she returned to arrange them on the rack in the order they were to be worn, Langley Tate was in the dressing room.

Langley sat at the makeup table, her head in her hands. She looked up, and Meg could see in the mirror that Langley had been crying.

“This isn’t what I thought it was going to be at all,” Langley sobbed.

Meg wasn’t sure what to say, so she didn’t say anything. As she hung the dresses, she listened to Langley’s continued whining.

“You should have seen how mean Keith was to me this afternoon.” Langley began to imitate Keith’s high-pitched voice. “You don’t do
this
like Belinda. You don’t do
that
like Belinda. You’re not going to seem mature enough to have been married for fourteen years.” She spoke in her own voice again. “When I told Keith that makeup would help take care of that, he said no amount of makeup could give me the incredible acting talent that Belinda had. Way to instill confidence, Keith.”

“Maybe he’s just worried,” Meg said.

“Well, I’m worried, too,” said Langley. “And the director is supposed to reassure his actors, not tear them down and make them think they’re awful. How am I supposed to go out there tonight and knock ’em dead when I know the director thinks so little of me?”

“He has to think you have talent, Langley, or he wouldn’t have chosen you to be Belinda’s understudy,” said Meg.

“You know what, Meg? I don’t think Keith ever thought that he was going to have to use me. Belinda is known for never missing a performance. She’s the twenty-first century’s Ethel Merman. So Keith didn’t think there was a real possibility that I would ever get a chance to play Valerie.” The tone of Langley’s voice had changed from despair to anger.

Langley stood up, walked over to the clothing rack, and lifted off the green velvet ball gown. “Let me try on these dresses to see if the costume shop has made the alterations, Meg. And Keith Fallows can go screw himself, because I’m going to show him.”

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Caroline jumped at the sound of her cell phone, thinking it could be Lamar and Boomer with some news from the police about Belinda Winthrop. It wasn’t.

“Hi, Caroline. It’s Annabelle Murphy. I’m here.”

“Where are you?”

“I just checked into my room. I’m at the Warrenstown Inn.” “So am I.”

“Great. Want to meet somewhere and talk?” asked Annabelle.

“Sure.” Caroline looked over at her napping husband. “How about the coffee shop downstairs?”

“Fine. See you in five minutes.”

“Here’s what I know,” said Annabelle as she tore open a packet of Sweet’n Low and stirred the contents into her iced tea. “The police don’t have a clue. They still won’t even classify this as a
missing-person case. But if Belinda doesn’t show up, they are organizing a search of her property tomorrow morning.”

“How did you find that out?” asked Caroline.

“I heard it from the guy who runs the deli in town. I stopped to get something to eat before I came to the inn. Then I called the police to confirm.”

“When we went to the police station, they wouldn’t tell us anything,” said Caroline, shaking her head.

“Don’t beat yourself up, Caroline. It’s been my experience that police are pretty cagey in what they say and when they say it. When you were there, they weren’t talking. Now, they aren’t exactly being free with the information, but at least they confirmed something I’d already heard. And that was only because the word was out. They’re looking for volunteers for the search.”

“So now what?” asked Caroline.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we could find her before anyone else does?” asked Annabelle with a smile. “I think we should go out to Belinda’s place and snoop around.”

“The police had the place blocked off when we were there this morning,” said Caroline.

Annabelle shrugged. “That was hours ago, right?”

Caroline nodded.

“So, let’s go out there anyway and see what we can see now.”

“Should I call Lamar and Boomer to come with us?”

Annabelle twirled a stand of her long, brown hair as she considered the question. “I don’t think so. That would make too large a group. We’d be too conspicuous. I brought a camcorder
with me. We can use that if there’s anything we need to shoot.”

“I thought you’d be bringing another crew with you,” said Caroline as they drove toward Curtains Up.

“Are you serious? Do you really think Linus is going to spring for another human crew when he can use me and a little camcorder?” Annabelle rolled down her window and switched off the air conditioner. “You don’t mind if we get some fresh air, do you? It’s so clear and beautiful up here, it seems a shame to drive all cooped up.”