Free Murder in the Second Row by Bev Robitai

night in the empty Green Room, Jessica pinned the Show
Clock up on the wall. It was divided into segments, for the weeks
leading up to the show and the actual whole run, right up to final
night. She set the pointer at 8 weeks to opening night, knowing
that it would spur both actors and stage crew to greater efforts
when they saw how time was getting steadily shorter.
    A door-slam and
a low giggle alerted her that someone else was arriving early for
rehearsal. Nobody appeared in the Green Room, so after a few
minutes she popped her head through the heavy stage door to see who
had arrived. In the dimly-lit corridor, two figures were welded
together, leaning against the wall. Jessica saw a glimpse of red
hair and rolled her eyes. Tamara. Entangled with what was possibly
another victim to add to the notches on her bedpost. Surely her
fret-worked bed frame must be in imminent danger of collapsing in
pieces on the floor by now. Jessica closed the door quietly and
went to check the state of the kitchen.
    Shortly
afterwards, she had an odd feeling of déjà vu when Nick and Tamara
came into the kitchen, Tamara hanging onto his arm and laughing up
at him. This time he didn’t detach her grip. In fact, he pulled her
closer and brushed her tousled hair back with his other hand.
Jessica put a cup down on the bench with enough of a bang to let
them know they weren’t alone. Nick looked up.
    ‘Oh, hi
Jessica,’ he said, very casually. ‘You’re here early, too. I just
gave Tamara a lift here so she could try on one of the promo
t-shirts.’ He smiled down at Tamara. ‘We’ll make sure you get one
without a real knife in the back.’
    Jessica thought
that a mistake, but whatever. ‘Clara-Jane’s not here yet. Do you
need me to unlock Wardrobe for you?’
    He frowned.
‘Doesn’t my key open Wardrobe? I guess it doesn’t. Oh, all right
then.’
    Jessica ran
easily up the narrow stairs to the wardrobe department and unlocked
the door, while Nick and Tamara playfully squashed against each
other, slowly climbing the steps. She let them pass her at the door
and immediately headed down again, unwilling to be a part of
whatever game Nick was playing. Let them fool around any way they
wanted, as long as they put down a dustsheet and didn’t mess up the
costumes. She hoped Clara-Jane wouldn’t be too annoyed that Jessica
had let them loose in her domain. It was a relief to have Nick’s
attention focused on someone else, but did it have to be Tamara?
That was almost insulting.
     
    Arriving at the
theatre, Clara-Jane was genuinely horrified on hearing Jessica’s
confession. She dropped her purple velvet shoulder bag on the Green
Room floor and gasped.
    ‘He’s doing
what? With her? That stupid, stupid man. I really thought he had
more sense, not to mention more taste. What is he thinking?’ She
shook her head. ‘No, he isn’t thinking. Not with his brain,
anyway.’ She looked sideways at Jessica. ‘You don’t look too
concerned about it.’
    ‘No, I’m not.
Nick was getting a bit intense, actually. I’m glad he’s found
another target. I just wish it wasn’t Tamara because there’s no way
it’ll last beyond the end of next week.’
    ‘Oh, you don’t
know that. Perhaps she’s finally found a love that’ll last her a
lifetime.’
    They
chuckled.
    Clara-Jane eyed
Jessica thoughtfully. ‘Just to satisfy my curiosity – why don’t you
like the idea of going out with Nick? He’s a nice guy, and he
seemed pretty keen on you till you slammed the door in his face, so
to speak. Just what is it that you’re looking for, girl?’
    Jessica
considered for a moment.
    ‘Someone who’s
got more to them than just a pretty face. A guy who’s got presence
as well as charm. Nick always strikes me as being so smooth and
polished that you can’t see beyond the surface; and there might be
nothing much there anyway. I don’t know, maybe I’m being a bit
harsh, but that’s my gut feeling. Perhaps it’s because he’s