It was the high pitch of Mia’s voice, warning that panic would soon start to set in, which made Aislynn steer her toward her dressing room and shut the door firmly behind them. She grasped her hands and looked at her directly. “We cannot allow this killer to unnerve us. Do you hear me? The moment we do so, he wins and we have too much at stake for our survival to allow him that much power.”
“But what if?—”
“No.” Aislynn interrupted firmly. “There will be none of that. We are to put it out of our mind the best we can and honor Geneva’s memory by performing the role of our lives.”
Finally, some of her words seemed to penetrate Mia’s brain, because she blinked a few times and seemed to calm. “You are right. She would not want us to make a fuss over her, no matter what the reasons.”
“Precisely.” Aislynn turned and headed for her dressing table. “I have to get prepared for Juliet, so if you are feeling more at ease…”
“Of course. I will check on you later.”
As soon as the door shut behind Mia, some of Aislynn’s bravado deserted her. She looked down at her hands in her lap and saw that they were shaking almost uncontrollably. She clasped them together and closed her eyes, concentrating on taking deep, steady breaths. What she’d told Mia had not been a lie. Geneva would want the show to be the best it could be under the circumstances. She’d loved the theatre as much as the rest of them did and had always been adamant about a stellar performance, one that would keep the audience coming back for more, because that meant food in their bellies and a roof over their heads.
A few moments later, Aislynn was composed. She lifted her makeup palette and began to apply Juliet’s face, hoping that it would soon blot out her own, as well as the rest of her worries.
About half an hour before the curtain was to rise, there was an urgent knock at her door. Aislynn was just sliding on her slippers as the final touch to her costume when Mia walked in looking quite harried. Thankfully, it was in a different manner than the chaos from earlier. Nevertheless, she looked as though she had important news to share.
“What is it?” Concerned that the manager might have made a drastic change in the play, her mind was eased with Mia’s next statement. At least, when it came to Juliet.
“The inquiry agent is here! Cordell Steele!”
Aislynn froze. “Are you quite certain?”
“I saw him in the audience. There is no way I could forget a man that handsome.” Her face was wreathed in smiles, a stark contrast to the moment she had originally approached Aislynn. “Do you think he’s here to watch the play?”
Aislynn waited for Mia to understand what she’d just asked, but when she appeared to stare into oblivion with stars dotting her eyes, she supposed she would have to point out the obvious. “If he is in the seats in the auditorium, then I imagine that is the point.”
“You must have made quite an impression on him.”
Aislynn wanted to roll her eyes. Instead, she discovered a frown had creased her brow. “Do not be ridiculous. He is likely here to keep an eye on things to ensure nothing untoward happens again.”
That caused Mia to blanch. “Do you think the killer will strike again? Here?”
Aislynn had no idea what might or might not happen, but since she didn’t want to upset Mia any more than she appeared to be, she quickly tried to soothe her fears with a little white lie. “The chances of that are very slim. Mr. Steele told me that criminals do not usually strike the same place twice. It is like a lightning strike.”
Of course, the inquiry agent had told her no such thing, but she wasn’t about to tell Mia that she was concerned about what might occur. She needed Mia to focus on the play and not what might be lurking in the shadows around them. Aislynn was generally used to ignoring things that went bump in the night. Or rather, she didn’t give it the power to unnerve her as they once had.
“Fifteen minutes to curtain!” The warning rang through the ajar door.
Aislynn reached out and squeezed Mia’s hand. “Do not worry about anything but stepping on your gown and falling on Romeo.”
Mia’s face relaxed slightly and a smile started to curve the corners of her mouth. “It would serve Jacob right if I brought him down with me on the stage, but you are right, of course. As always. Thank you, Aislynn.”
As she left, Aislynn allowed her shoulders to sag slightly. There were times when it became exhausting to be strong for everyone else when her own heart was struggling.
Bracing herself with a deep inhalation, Aislynn headed out to entertain her adoring devotees.
Chapter
Three
She was absolutely brilliant. Some might claim–magnificent. And they wouldn’t be wrong.
Cordell stood with the rest of the roaring applause from the rest of the assemblage as the curtains were drawn at the end of the play. He had attended tonight out of more than just curiosity about Miss Sims. He had intended to keep a sharp eye on the crowd lest someone seem suspicious or out of place. He had discovered that some mass murderers revisited a crime scene in order to recreate the moment of an attack. Not necessarily to strike at the same place again, but to absorb the atmosphere around them to prepare for the next assault.
However, it wasn’t long before Cordell’s attention had been diverted to the play where it remained until intermission. At that point, he knew it was too late to attempt to find a possible target, the killer likely already taking his leave. But at least Cordell was able to enjoy the rest of the play without further concern. And he’d found it more than riveting. He’d never been a fan of Shakespeare’s writing. He knew the bard was deserving of praise for his timeless works, but romantic tales of tragedy were not really of particular interest to him. Gothic novels were the same. He would much prefer to expend his reading time by studying philosophy or astrology.
However, he had to offer a grudging admiration for the passion in which Miss Sims portrayed half of the main character of Juliet. Romeo paled in comparison to her dramatic reenactment and when she died at the end, Cordell was surrounded by several female sniffles. A few gentlemen had dabbed at their eyes with their handkerchiefs as well.
