“YOU WERE AMAZING!” Delphi threw her arms around Isobel. “But oh my God, this is terrible.”
“I know,” Isobel said. “Poor Arden.”
Delphi released her. “I mean the show. It’s an absolute piece of shit.”
For a moment, Delphi was afraid she’d said the wrong thing, but then Isobel’s expression changed.
“I did warn you,” Isobel said.
“Do you think Arden will recover?”
Isobel’s eyes widened. “You haven’t heard? She’s dead.”
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!” Sunil caught Delphi in a strong hug.
“What?” Delphi screeched.
“And a sound for sore ears.” He thrust a knuckle into his ear. “Thanks for that.”
Still reeling from Isobel’s bombshell, Delphi held him more tightly than she normally would have. When she pulled away, she saw surprise register on his face.
“Isobel just told me about Arden,” she said, explaining the screech and the hug, both fairly out of character for her.
“Did she tell you about the other stuff?” Sunil asked.
“What other stuff?” Delphi groaned. “Why is there always ‘other stuff’?”
“There’s time for that later,” Isobel said. “But what made you decide to come? I can’t tell you how much better I felt about everything when I saw your texts.”
“Oh, well, I…I lost my job.”
“What?” Isobel cried. “But I thought Carlo adored you!”
“Um, yeah, that was the problem. I’ll tell you more later.” Delphi snuck a sideways glance at Sunil. Isobel, hoping to deter Carlo’s outrageous flirtations, had once told him Sunil was Delphi’s boyfriend. Even after Delphi reassured Carlo countless times, he never quite believed her, and the whole thing had remained a sore subject between her and Isobel. She really did not want to discuss the matter in front of Sunil.
“Can I crash with you tonight?” Delphi asked.
“There’s a couch in the living room, or we can throw some pillows on the floor of my room. How long are you staying?”
“Hadn’t thought about it,” Delphi said. “This whole trip was a bit of an impulse purchase.”
“There you are! I went upstairs, but—” Hugh stopped short. “Hail, hail, the gang’s all here! Hello, Delphi.”
Delphi gave Hugh a nice long hug with no qualms. The more time she spent with Hugh, the more she liked him. She sometimes wondered whether Isobel fully appreciated the quality of the catch she’d landed.
“I hate to interrupt this happy reunion, but Felicity asked me to fetch you, Isobel.”
“Stay here, you two. I won’t be long.”
Isobel returned to the theater through the main doors, Hugh’s arm slung protectively around her shoulders. As soon as they were out of sight, Delphi whirled on Sunil.
“I’m counting on you to tell me what’s going on around here. Other stuff. And…go.”
Sunil tsked. “All business. No ‘It’s great to see you’ or even, God forbid, ‘You were really good in the show.’”
Delphi bit her lip, mortified. “Sorry. There’s such a swirl of information, I can’t keep up. You were terrific.” She smiled mischievously. “I particularly liked your Pawnee chief.”
“Argh, never mind. I’m going back to your original question.” He led Delphi over to one of the upholstered benches. “There’s been a series of pranks leading up to tonight. We think someone is trying to sabotage the show.”
“I’d have thought the show was doing a fine job of that all by itself,” Delphi responded. “But go on. What happened?”
“First some masking fell on Arden, and unfortunately, Isobel was moving it aside for her when it came down.”
“Ouch.”
“And then half the company got an incapacitating case of the runs during tech after drinking from the same pot of coffee in the green room. At least we’re pretty sure that’s what did it.”
“Sousa’s revenge?”
“Considering the mess we’re making of his life story, he’s well within his rights,” Sunil concurred. “Anyway, the first thing could have been accidental and the second coincidental. But not the third thing.”
“What was that?”
His tone grew more serious. “Someone tampered with the orchestra parts before the dress rehearsal. Adding new cuts, erasing old ones, something different in each part. It was a complete mess. Hugh had to spend the whole rehearsal fixing them, so tonight was our first time doing the whole show with the orchestra.”
Delphi took this in. “Definitely not accidental. Though I have to give the person props for creativity.”
“And now Arden. If her death wasn’t from natural causes, this all becomes sinister in a whole new way.”
“Not to mention dangerous.”
“When Arden collapsed, what did it look like from the house?”
Delphi tried to recall the scene. “They were singing that insipid duet, and Sousa whirled her around and dipped her backward. Then she kind of kept going down, and he went with her and set her on the ground. Thinking back, it’s obvious she lost consciousness, but it happened so fast I’m not sure we realized it at the time.”
“Did Arden break character at all? Did she look like something might have taken her by surprise? Or did she just go limp?”
“Now that you mention it, she gave Sousa—what’s his name again?”
“Chris.”
“She gave Chris a dirty look at one point. It was quick, a flash of disgust, but it seemed out of character. I’m not sure I’d have noticed, except I was staring at her, trying to decide what about her was enough to make Roman Fried drool all over his notebook.”
“Roman Fried? You mean the New York Post theater columnist?”
“Yeah. I was his plus one.”
“Why would he come all the way up here—and for this?”
“Never got a chance to ask him,” Delphi said. “He ran out as soon as the show was over.”
“To file his copy, no doubt. What a scoop.”
“Until Arden appeared, he most definitely was not a fan of the show.” Delphi frowned. “I hope he’s kind to Isobel. At this point, she’s the main event. He’ll have to mention her.”
Sunil put his arm around her. “You have no idea how glad I am that you’re here. You ground her better than anyone. Even Hugh.”
“That’s why you’re glad I’m here? For Isobel?”
He laid a hand on his heart. “I didn’t know you cared.” His expression shifted slightly. “Actually, I really didn’t know you cared.”
Delphi smiled wanly. She’d meant it as a joke, but obviously Sunil was hoping it might be an opening to a conversation she had assiduously avoided.
“You know I’m always happy to see you,” she said lamely.
His eyes searched hers for a moment, and to her relief, he let the matter drop.
“I’m sorry about your job,” he said.
She tugged at the zipper on her backpack. “I’ll find another. No shortage of restaurants in New York City.” She sighed. “Although there’s no shortage of waiters, either.”
“You mean actors,” he said.
“You’ve never had to hold down a survival job, so you don’t get to mock. And don’t launch into your spiel about minority typecasting. You’re playing a nineteenth-century Philadelphia gentleman.”
He cocked his head. “And an Indian chief.”
She was too tired to point out that she felt equally objectified by Carlo grabbing her ass and trying to kiss her, and at least Sunil was being paid to act. Even though he hated being pigeonholed, Sunil worked more often than Isobel and Delphi combined, and it was sometimes hard to be sympathetic.
“Let’s just sit quietly until they get back, okay?” she said.
“That’s something Isobel would never suggest.” He pulled her close. “That’s what I mean. It’s a really good thing you’re here.”