“You think Sophie killed Jimmy,” I repeated Olive’s words back to her.
“I just said that,” Olive retorted with irritation as she stuffed the needle into the pincushion a final time.
“What makes you think that Sophie had an ulterior motive? I obviously don’t know her well, but from the outside, it seemed fairly obvious that she was obsessed with him.”
“Costume designers hold everyone’s secrets.” Olive patted her sewing kit. “It’s ironic because people don’t pay any attention to those of us who work behind the scenes, but they should.”
Was it my imagination, or did her tone sound threatening?
“Sophie wasn’t in love with Jimmy. She despised him. I’ll give her credit for putting on a good front, but I’ll be stunned if the police don’t arrest her. I’m not counting on her returning to set anytime soon.” She observed the water pitchers. “Are these ready? I’ll take them, since apparently I’m going to be responsible for more than costume fittings and touch-ups for the remainder of the run.”
“I’ll help you walk them down,” I offered, handing her the pitchers and glasses while I balanced Carlos’s fruit and bread tray and a basket of cookies and nuts.
Olive was tight-lipped as we strolled along the pressed gravel path toward the barn. Fragrant bunches of purple lavender bloomed on both sides of the path. Bees and hummingbirds flitted between the aromatic herb and the rosebushes. The afternoon sun warmed the grass and make everything smell like summer.
It was hard to believe that Jimmy was dead and that a terrible crime had occurred here last night. However, once we rounded the pathway to the main outdoor wine-tasting area and the barn came into view, I was immediately reminded that this wasn’t an average idyllic Saturday afternoon with the vines.
Thomas and Kerry were seated in the front row, watching rehearsals. Uniformed officers flanked the stage.
Olive’s body went rigid. “Why are the police here?”
“They said they’d be here most of the day continuing their investigation,” I replied. Her reaction was odd. I was sure that Lance had informed the cast and crew about what to expect as the interrogations continued.
“They’re wasting their time if you ask me,” Olive said, avoiding the main aisle that would take her past Thomas and Kerry. “We all know that Sophie did it. They should arrest her and let us all move on with our lives.”
I had the sense that nothing I said would change her mind, so I set up the water station and arranged cookies, bread, fresh fruit, and other snacks for the performers and crew. Olive hung behind me like a shadow. She didn’t offer to help, but mirrored my movements. I almost got the sense that she was using my body as a shield.
Why was she so skittish about Thomas and Kerry seeing her?
Did she have something to hide?
I put a basket of cookies next to Carlos’s fruit and bread platter.
Thomas turned around, caught my eye, and motioned for me to come join them.
Olive let out a low whimper and ducked.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I dropped my pincushion.” She pretended to reach down to the ground to pick up the pincushion, safely secured to her wrist. Then checked to make sure that no one was looking and darted to the right side of the stage. “I need to get backstage to do some touch-up before tonight’s performance.”
I watched her retreat and then vanish behind the curtain. Our conversation left me with way more questions than answers. How was Olive perceived by the rest of the company? Did they ignore her? Could she know more about Jimmy than she was letting on? Particularly his finances?
Or had she committed the murder herself and was acting skittish because she worried about getting caught?
I sighed and went to join Thomas and Kerry in the front of the makeshift auditorium.
“Hey, Jules, how’s it going?” Thomas asked, scooting his chair to make room for me.
“Fine, I guess.” I sat next to Kerry. “I had an interesting conversation with Olive just now, but I have no idea what to make of it.”
“She’s next on my list.” Thomas tapped his iPad and pointed to the stage. “We’re waiting for them to break, and then Kerry and I have some follow-up questions for a few members of the cast.”
“What did Olive say?” Kerry asked, staring toward the right side of the stage.
When I turned my head in that direction, I was shocked to see Olive looking straight at us. If her goal was not to be seen by Thomas and Kerry, she was failing. She hung on the side of the stage with half her face shielded by the curtain. Her eyes were lasered on the front row. I couldn’t tell if she was curious about Jimmy’s murder and hungry for details or if she was apprehensive that Thomas and Kerry were here to interrogate her.
I tried to ignore Olive’s intense observation as I filled them in on her theory that Sophie had faked her interest in Jimmy.
“But she didn’t say why she thinks Sophie would have pretended to be in love with him?” Kerry frowned and glanced at Thomas.
Thomas noted something on his iPad.
“No. She said she thought that Sophie had other reasons for wanting Jimmy dead but didn’t elaborate.” I peered in Olive’s direction. She had vanished.
“Interesting.” Kerry cleared her throat and looked again at Thomas, who gave her a slight nod as if to signal that it was fine for her to share more. “This stays between us, okay?”
“Okay.” I nodded seriously. “Of course.”
“Our conversation with Sophie revealed something very similar. In fact, you could say basically the same sentiment, only flipped.” Kerry uncrossed her legs and shifted in her chair. She was dressed in a casual skirt and a lightweight button-up shirt, while Thomas preferred his standard uniform with shorts and hiking boots. I’d rarely seen him out of uniform. “Sophie told us that she believes Olive had a very clear motive for wanting Jimmy dead.”
“Really?” That was a shift from what Sophie had said to me.
Kerry leaned against the back of the chair. “According to Sophie, Olive and Jimmy had a very vocal fight last night, just before curtain. Have you heard anything about this?”
I shook my head. “They were arguing earlier in the afternoon, but I was in the kitchen prepping right before the show, so I didn’t see a fight, and I haven’t heard any chatter from my staff either, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. We were preoccupied with setting up for the event.”
Thomas made another note. “That’s one of the questions we’re going to be asking once they take a break. We’ll see if anyone else can corroborate Sophie’s statement.”
I thought about my conversation with Olive. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Olive was very irritated with Jimmy, and he was rude and dismissive to her, although that doesn’t seem unusual. I think he was that way with everyone, but she made it sound like the entire cast ignores her and basically acts like she doesn’t exist.”
“Huh.” Kerry nodded but didn’t sound like she believed that.
“Did Sophie elaborate on Olive’s motive?”
“We aren’t at liberty to share that information.” Kerry pressed her lips together and caught Thomas’s eye as if to remind him that was the case.
“Yeah, fair enough.” I watched as Jimmy’s understudy ran through new blocking on the stage with Ed.
“Anything else you can add?” Thomas asked.
“I did hear something about Ed.” I kept my voice down. I didn’t want to interrupt the actors as they prepared for tonight’s show, or have them overhear my thoughts about the suspects. An understudy’s role was to train for situations like this, but I couldn’t imagine how much pressure it must be to have only a few hours to get ready for curtain, especially stepping in under circumstances like this.
“Go ahead,” Kerry encouraged.
“Sophie believes that he was intentionally trying to sabotage Jimmy. She claims that he was behind the accidents and mishaps on set, but she thinks they weren’t accidents—that he was trying to kill Jimmy and failed. At least, unless that changed last night,” I said. “Maybe you heard that already from her, but I can confirm that Ed was seen leaving the cellar last night, according to Sophie and Carlos.”
“Do you know what time?” Thomas held his fingers ready to type.
“I don’t know for sure. Sophie told me that she saw him running away from the cellar out into the vineyard, and Carlos confirmed that he spotted Ed around then too.”
They shared another look.
Then Kerry clutched the side of her chair. Her face went as white as the thin clouds embracing Grizzly Peak.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She inhaled deeply and pressed her hand to forehead. “Just another touch of dizziness. Like I told you, I’ve been feeling off.”
“I wonder if we have a touch of the same stomach bug?”
“Maybe.” She didn’t loosen her grip on the chair.
Lance strolled to center stage and clapped twice to get everyone’s attention. “That’s a wrap, folks. Let’s take a brief hydration break, and I’ll see you onstage in fifteen minutes.”
The cast scattered.
Thomas reached out a hand to help Kerry to her feet. “That’s our cue. Thanks for the intel, Jules. We’ll keep you posted.”
I watched Thomas support Kerry’s waist as they approached the crew. Then they split apart. Thomas took Ed to the food table, while Kerry pulled Olive aside.
Olive claimed that Sophie had the most likely motive for killing Jimmy, and Sophie claimed the opposite. Her story had changed dramatically, which made me wonder if she was scrambling to shift suspicion to anyone other than herself.
I wished I had asked them about Sophie. Had the Professor made an arrest, or was he really worried about her well-being? I sighed as I stood, blood rushing to my head and causing tiny little dots to cloud my vision.
Not again.
I sat back down and tried not to pass out.
“Juliet Montague Capshaw, what’s going on?” Lance appeared at my side like a magician. “You don’t look well, darling.”
I gulped and blew out a breath. “I’m a little dizzy.”
“It’s the sun. To think Arlo wanted me to run this morning. In this heat?” He pointed to the sky and fanned his face.
It was a perfect afternoon, with temps in the mid-seventies, powder blue skies, a thin layer of clouds, and a light spring breeze.
“You’re probably dehydrated, too. Let’s get you inside.”
“No, I’m fine,” I protested, but my legs buckled when I stood.
“Nope. You’re not fine.” Lance pressed the top of my shoulder. “Stay here. I’ll be back with water and reinforcements.”
“Okay.” This time I didn’t put up a fight. The dizziness was much worse. Black spots continued to dance across my line of sight, making me feel like I was staring down a dark tunnel. My peripheral vision started to fade. Sounds nearby became distant and muffled. Conversations and noises were indistinct, like the birds outside were mingling and mashing together with jumbled words coming from the stage.
A profound weakness washed over me, as my extremities began to tingle.
The next thing I knew, my vision went completely dark.