During intermission, Alex and I went to the bar to get two small glasses of wine to share with our guys. We found them in a dark corner of the patio, discussing a plan of action.
I told them everything I’d put together in my head about Ryan, even before I’d read the program.
“He’s standing backstage left,” I said. “He was there for the whole first act.”
“I noticed that, too,” Gabriel said. “But he slipped outside just as intermission was starting. The stage manager told me that Shandi sent him off to the drugstore because she didn’t like the brand of water they had backstage.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Prima donna.”
“They call her the Diva.”
“Suits her,” she said.
I scowled. “And I’m pretty sure Ryan had his eye on Mom most of the time he was standing backstage.”
“Someone’s out to get her,” Derek murmured. “It could be him.”
“But I don’t think he would do anything until after Shandi’s solo in the second act.” I took a quick look at the program. “It’s Marmee’s big moment. No way would he ruin it for her.”
“Good point,” Gabriel said.
I nodded. “I say we enter on the right side, make our way backstage, and sneak around to the left side, going behind the back curtains, behind the scrim, and grab him.”
Gabriel and Derek exchanged a look, then Gabriel said, “We have to get him before he can utter a sound.”
“Otherwise, we’ll disrupt the play,” Derek noted. “The less commotion, the better.”
Alex looked at the two men. “Do you want me to take care of it?”
Gabriel shot a look at Derek and shrugged. “She’s better than both of us.”
Derek nodded. “I’m good with it.”
“You can take him, Alex,” I whispered. “He’s ex-military, but there’s no way he has your skills. And once he’s out cold, I can help you drag him around to the back.”
Alex looked at me, then stared directly at Derek. “I’m not going to tell her.”
Derek shook his head. “I’m not going to tell her.”
Gabriel laughed shortly. “I’ll tell her.” He looked at me. “Babe, you’re staying in your seat.”
“No.” I bristled. “I’m the one who busted him. I’m the one who showed you the program.”
“Darling,” Derek said.
My shoulders sagged. “Come on. I want to go with you guys.”
“Babe,” Gabriel said.
I held up my hand. “Fine. I played my part. Now I’ll stay behind and make sure Mom is safe.”
“Darling, we’re not going off to war.”
I scowled. “You know what I’m saying.”
Gabriel saluted with a wink. “Read you loud and clear, babe.”
“Just don’t forget.” I shook the program in their faces. “I’m the mastermind. You’re the muscle.”
Derek threw his head back and laughed out loud. “I love you, Brooklyn.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Babe, you’re a riot.”
“Okay, we got this,” Alex said, and gave me a friendly punch in the arm. “Thanks to you.”
I smiled, then sobered. “I hate to interrupt my sisters’ fabulous presentation, but I think you should do it before the play is over. Because if he stays where he is, he’s got a clear sightline to my mother.”
Derek looked through the program and found the page he wanted. “There’s only one act left. We’ll wait until we hear this song, ‘The Fire within Me,’ and that’s when we’ll move up the right stairs.” He tapped the program page again. “By the time we hear ‘Small Umbrella in the Rain,’ we’ll be in position to attack. Alex, you’ll render him unconscious, and Gabriel and I will carry him out of here.”
“Just try not to make too much noise,” I said, wincing. “I’d really love it if the audience doesn’t catch on.”
“We’ll be quiet,” Gabriel said. “But even if there’s a scuffle or a few screams, people in the audience will think it’s part of the play.”
“Screams?” I said. “Clearly you’ve never read Little Women. There’s no screaming.”
Alex snorted.
“We’ll be quick,” Derek said brusquely. “The point is to render him helpless and get him out of there.”
“Should we call the police?” I asked.
“Cops?” Gabriel said.
Derek grinned. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“You guys sound like our mothers,” I said, but I was smiling, sort of. “I’ll call the cops as soon as I see you carrying him away. And don’t feel guilty that I don’t get to go on an adventure.”
They gave each other remorseful looks, as if they were almost about to change their minds and bring me along.
I smiled hopefully.
Then Alex said, “Nice try, snookums.”
“No guilt here,” Derek said.
“Yeah, forget it, babe,” Gabriel said.
Alex stood, then leaned down and whispered, “Get that green belt, Brooks. Then we’ll talk.”
The bell rang three times, signaling the end of intermission.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered as we walked back to our seats.
Someone in the audience must have noticed those three well-dressed people tiptoeing up the stage right stairs, but nobody said anything. The show’s climax was about to begin and the music was stirring everyone’s hearts.
My three spymasters disappeared behind the curtain and I held my breath for what felt like several long minutes. The action on stage continued. Annie, playing the youngest sister Beth, had died and was laid out lovingly on one of the couches.
I kept checking the backstage area and didn’t see Ryan. Was he still at the store picking up water? I was getting really nervous.
When Jo revealed to her sisters that she had written a book, I knew we had reached the climax of the story. The first chords of the song gave me chills, not only because it was an emotional moment on stage, but because Ryan had returned to his position offstage. And now I could see Alex, standing ten feet back from Ryan. He didn’t notice her because he was staring into the audience, even though Shandi was performing on stage.
I tried to follow his sightline and realized with horror that he was staring at my mother, just as I’d feared. He couldn’t get away with this.
But then I watched him reach into his jacket pocket and pull something out. He let his hand drop to his side and I saw what he was surreptitiously holding in his hand.
Oh my God.
Had Ryan seen Alex creeping up from behind? Did he know he’d been caught? Or had he simply lost his mind?
Without another thought, I stood and shouted, “He has a gun!” Then I launched myself across the row of people in front of me and grabbed my mother, dragging her to the ground.
Alex reacted instantly, tackling Ryan and wrestling the gun away from him. They tumbled onto the stage and the audience went bonkers. There were screams and laughter—did they think it was part of the show?
Shandi stared at Ryan and screamed, “Why are you ruining the climax of the play?”
Sara, the girl playing Jo, continued singing and scuttling out of the way as the fighting moved across the stage. Finally she stopped and shrieked, “Who are you? What are you doing in my song?”
And then she burst into tears.
The dead sister, Beth—our Annie—finally sat up and looked around, thoroughly confused. Someone in the audience shouted, “It’s a miracle!”
Most of the audience laughed. And that’s when I remembered to call 911 and report that someone had a gun at the theater.
Alex and Ryan were now the stars of the show. The orchestra conductor finally realized it and signaled the musicians to stop. Until that moment, none of them had heard anything but the music. Now they all stood and watched Alex straddling Ryan, who was still trying to grab the gun. Everyone was shouting and cheering on the good guys, although it was hard to tell who the good guys were versus the bad ones.
“Sweetie, are you all right?” my mom asked.
“I hope I didn’t hurt you, but Ryan had a gun pointed at you.”
We pulled each other up to a sitting position. “I’m fine,” she said. “Isn’t this crazy? But fun.”
“Oh yeah. Fun.”
Alex finally managed to calm a squirming Ryan. No thanks to me. I had alerted him and put Alex in danger. But in my defense, the jerk had a gun! Which put everyone in danger.
Derek and Gabriel walked onto the stage and hoisted Ryan up off the floor.
The audience applauded the two hunky men, but meanwhile, Shandi and the four sisters were still screaming and shouting for everyone to shut up so the last song could be finished and the musical could end on a high note. But most in the audience couldn’t care less. They were having too much fun watching the action.
So much for being a mastermind, I thought. But at least I’d managed to save my mother from imminent danger. That was how I would insist on painting it, anyway.
Derek shoved Ryan onto one of the couches. “Stay put,” he ordered, then glanced out at the audience. “Is there a representative from law enforcement in the audience?”
Were the police here yet? I had my answer when Steve Willoughby shouted, “Right here,” and jogged down the side aisle. “Please remain where you are.” He rushed up to the stage with two of his officers, who weren’t in uniform. Had they all been in the audience?
Shandi was still yelling at Ryan. “How could you ruin it all?”
Ryan was cringing at Shandi’s accusations. Finally, he shouted back, “I did it all for you. I’ve always been here for you.”
The audience began to quiet down, as people realized there was another show to watch.
“You needed money,” Ryan said in a rush, “and I tried to get it for you.”
“I don’t need it that badly.”
“Well, I wanted to help. But then a lot of people were saying mean things about you and I tried to make them stop.”
“People’s words don’t bother me,” she insisted.
“But you said you wanted to make a big Hollywood comeback. If people believed those bad things about you, they might not want to produce a movie for you.”
“I was going to do that myself.”
“Right,” Ryan said agreeably, “and you needed money to do it, you said. So I got you some money. And then you said you wanted Lawson’s book so I went looking for it. It’s my job to get you everything you ask for.”
Did they know they had the audience’s full attention? Except for Shandi, I didn’t think so.
“But why?” Shandi cried. “Why did you do all that?”
Ryan’s eyes bugged out, clearly incredulous that she had to ask the question. “Because I love you!”
Shandi stopped in her tracks. She turned to the audience, striking a pose as if she were about to make a speech, but she only wanted us to see her astonished reaction. Always the Diva. It was so contrived, the audience burst into laughter.
I had to admit she knew how to put her best foot forward.
“I didn’t know any of this,” she said, her tone sorrowful.
Derek turned to Ryan, “You killed Lawson Schmidt for the money?”
“Yes.”
“You killed Lawson?” Shandi said, shock in her tone.
“He had the book you wanted,” he said, exasperated. “And he’d used the festival money to get it. So I warned him that I would reveal what he’d done unless he gave me the rest of the money.”
“That’s blackmail,” Shandi said.
“So what?” he said. “It was working. I was getting the money for you. But then Lawson said he was going to tell the police, so I had to, you know, kill him.”
“Who are you?” she whispered.
He just shrugged.
“How did you find out about Lawson’s book?” I shouted.
Ryan shielded his eyes from the bright stage lights, focused on me, and said, “I overheard Lawson telling Clyde about it. Said he paid ten thousand dollars for it. They didn’t notice me listening. Nobody notices me. I’m quiet.”
“He is quiet,” Mom admitted.
She and I moved closer to the foot of the stage to hear the details. Ryan was completely without remorse. It was sickening, but fascinating all the same, and I wanted to catch every word he said.
“Lawson was going to give you all the money?” Derek said.
“Not at first,” Ryan said. “But I’d heard him talk about the book and how he’d pilfered some of the money, so I threatened to tell Becky and he offered to give me a portion if I would keep my mouth shut.”
“But you wanted it all,” Mom said.
“You bet your ass.”
“So you met him that night in the conference room?” I asked.
“Yeah. I offered to share a bottle of wine with him so of course he came willingly. You wine people are easily led to slaughter.”
I snorted. This guy had killed or attempted to kill at least three people and he was disparaging us?
Clyde shouted from the side aisle, “Once Lawson was dead, did you try to work a deal with Banyan to get him into the festival?”
“Sure. Why not? He has money. I figured he could pay me as much as he’d been willing to pay to get a seat on the committee, right?”
Someone knelt down next to me. “Talkative little creep, isn’t he?”
I turned and did a double take. “Inspector Lee!” I grabbed her in a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
The San Francisco homicide detective looked as beautiful and chic as ever in a black cashmere sweater, silk slacks, and high-heeled booties.
“I was at the festival earlier but didn’t get over to your booth.” She grinned. “Never a dull moment around you, Brooklyn.”
Clyde wasn’t finished with Ryan. “Why did you break into my bookshop?” he demanded.
“I knew that Lawson had given you the book, so I figured I could track you down and steal it. Not that I cared about the book that much, but I knew Shandi would like to have it.” He gazed longingly in Shandi’s direction. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make you happy.”
The actress was rolling her eyes, clearly fed up with her thoroughly corrupt assistant.
“Did you expect to kill me, too?” Clyde asked.
“If I had to.”
Clyde sucked in a breath. “Did you lure Banyan to the bookshop?”
“No, he followed me there. He walked in and threatened me, so I pulled my knife.” He grinned. “He didn’t look too happy when I sliced his neck.”
“A total psychopath,” I muttered.
“And completely insane,” Inspector Lee whispered, then shook her head. “It’s always the clean-cut, boy-next-door types you’ve gotta look out for.”
I turned my attention back to Ryan and said loudly, “But you didn’t find the book.”
Ryan squinted in order to see who had spoken. “Oh, it’s you again. No.”
Pulling the book out of my purse, I waved it in the air, taunting him. “You could’ve won it in the silent auction for forty or fifty bucks, but you were too stupid to recognize its value.”
His eyes widened and without warning he leaped toward me, trying to get his hands on the book. Or my neck.
Gabriel and Alex both grabbed the back of his shirt and shoved him back onto the couch. “Dude, you’re not going anywhere.”
“Why did you attack me?” my mother shouted from the first row.
He looked at Shandi then and his bottom lip trembled. Was he finally showing some hint of emotion? “She told me you were too old to play Jo. She said you were no spring chicken.”
Shandi started to laugh and it was the first honest sound I’d heard her utter.
Ryan looked incensed. “Don’t laugh! It was awful. She had to pay.”
“But Ryan, honey. It’s true. I’m no spring chicken. But I’ve got plenty of years left to strut my stuff.”
“I just wanted to make sure you could return to Hollywood in style. In fact, I’m glad I ruined this whole musical. You’ll get more publicity than ever and you’ll return to A-list status. You’ll be in demand. I don’t mind if I go to jail.”
“No worries, he’s definitely going to jail,” Inspector Lee whispered.
Ryan scanned the stage and the audience looking for sympathy. “My only concern is for Shandi.”
Shandi glanced out into the audience and held out her hands in mock surrender. “What can I say? People love me.”
And the crowd went wild.