Murder Takes a Bow by Neugent Wendy

Author:Neugent, Wendy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SWH Media, LLC
Published: 2022-03-31T00:00:00+00:00

Olivia stood in the center of the dark stage, only a ghost light lit behind her, casting dark shadows on her newspaper. The heavy velvet drapes were closed between her and the empty theatre. She held up her newspaper and tore it in two. She ripped the pile of paper until it was in small pieces. Olivia folded the pieces into a small bundle and then shook the newspaper loose.

A single square of newspaper floated to the floor as her hands separated, opening up her almost complete newspaper.

A sigh of frustration escaped her lips. She bent over and picked up the stray piece of paper. If this happened during the show, it would be over. She needed to get this trick right.

Olivia headed back to the dressing room and sat at the mirrored makeup table to reset the trick.

The light bulbs around the mirror evenly lit her face, showing off the dark circles under her bloodshot blue eyes.

This cruise was brutal, and she was exhausted. Peter dumping her, the responsibility of pulling off the show, and a murder all weighed on her.

She rested her chin on her hand and looked at her reflection. She only had a couple more days to get this show rehearsed and ready to perform in front of two thousand people. Why had she ever listened to Hayley? She couldn’t do this. Why had she thought she could?

The show had always been Peter’s. She was just “the girl” that he cut in half or floated up to the ceiling. Magic was his passion, not hers.

She put her head down on the table in front of her. Tears streamed out of her eyes, dripping on the white laminate. Her back heaved as she let the sobs she’d been holding back escape.

The scrape of the curtain on the track above the dressing room door startled her. She turned towards the door, tears still trailing down her cheeks.

A man in a white officer's uniform filled the doorway.

“Alex! You startled me.”

“Sorry. I was doing my last rounds and saw a light on in here. I didn’t think anyone would be in the dressing room this late. The shows have been over for hours. What are you doing here?” Alex pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. “I didn’t mean to, uh, interrupt.”

Olivia wiped her smeared makeup off her cheeks. “I’m rehearsing for the show. Or I guess I should say, I am trying to rehearse. Can’t seem to get anything to work right. I can’t do this. I’m going to tell Tristan that I am going to sign off the ship when we get to Nassau. He needs to get another act to fly out and take over. Ugh. Sorry. Didn’t mean to dump on you.”

“What I’ve learned is that when someone cares enough about something to be upset about not doing as good a job as they want to, they usually are doing a superb job. Not many people would be up at this time of night working.

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