Read Online Final Curtain by R. T. Jordan - Free Book Online

table when she walked under the proscenium. He was giving her a shoulder massage. Mag looked up. “Is that her?” she said.
    The kid wasn’t subtle, or quiet for that matter, and the acoustics amplified her voice. Gerold simply cast a steely look at Polly, who beamed a bright smile back at him and headed straight for Mag. “Indeed, it is I,” she said in an exaggerated theatrical voice. “I’m the Polly Pepper. You must be the immeasurably talented Mag!”
    The young girl blushed and cast her eyes to the floor.
    “There’s no place for modesty in the theater,” Polly gently reprimanded. “I’ve heard gads about you, and surely Gerold has told you tons about me. All lies of course.”
    “Cool,” Mag said. “I mean that you’ve heard of me…and all.” She flipped her long hair over her shoulder. “I’ve heard of you too.”
    Polly held out her hand to shake Mag’s. “ Enchanté .” Polly assessed the young actress and smiled. “I can tell that you’re going to be memorable as Gloria. If there’s any teensy thing that I can do for you, I trust that you’ll feel completely comfortable about calling on me.”
    Mag smiled. “This is totally rad. It’s like, you know, so awesome that you’re in my show. Like you used to be a totally big star, and all. Way cool.”
    “Way,” Polly deadpanned. “ Your show will be most amusing. I have a sixth sense about all things related to masks of comedy and tragedy. Instead of ‘I see dead people,’ I see ‘stars on the rise.’” Polly thought for a moment. “As a matter of fact, I’ve begun to see dead people a lot lately too. But that’s another story.”
    Gerold interrupted with a gruff rebuke of Polly for bringing guests to the rehearsal.
    “Good morning to you too, Gerold,” Polly said. She squared her shoulders and offered him the same hard look she used on her agent J.J. when he tried to convince her that an endorsement for Gerber’s new line of pureed liver and onions for seniors would do wonders to increase her public visibility. “Our director has been murdered. A maniac is on the loose, and the killer may well be someone connected with the theater…perhaps from our very own cast. Are you going to spend big bucks for a security detail? Not just for me, but for the entire cast? If so, I want a posse of no-neck wannabe rappers with loads of tattoos and ostentatious bling to escort me to and from the theater each day and night.” Gerold stared at his shoes.
    “I thought so,” Polly said. “Then you won’t mind that my entourage will be at my side every day until the end of the run of this show. If you have any complaints, take them up with Actors’ Equity and my agent. But I don’t think you want J.J. coming down here to play referee.”
    Gerold heaved a deep sigh. “Is this how you’re going to start off? The ‘maniac’ who killed Karen is behind bars, thanks to the fast work of the police, and Sharon’s sloppy commission of the crime.”
    “You know that the killer isn’t Sharon Fletcher.”
    Mag blanched.
    Just as Gerold opened his mouth, a happy voice issued from the wings. “ Buenos dias, amigos!” It was Charlotte Bunch heading onto the stage, followed by the actors playing Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside and Vera Charles. Hearing the tale-end of the conversation, Charlotte asked, “Our little murderess isn’t guilty after all?” Her tone was equal parts excitement, skepticism, and disappointment. “Gerold’s ready to say who did the evil deed?”
    “No! Nobody!” Gerold spat. “Not nobody,” he corrected himself. “Sharon, of course. There’s nothing to suggest otherwise. End of subject. Where the hell are the others?” He looked at his watch, then looked around the stage and auditorium for his cast. Everyone had quietly assembled.
     
    By the time the company had their first break, the tension between Polly and Gerold had softened. In fact, everyone in the principal cast was getting along well. The table