Free Death in a Summer Colony by Aaron Stander Page B

children’s play every summer growing up. And I also liked the technical aspects, especially the lighting. And in the winter, downstate, I was involved with the community theatre and school plays. I really thought that’s what I’d do with my life.”
    “Tell me about last night. Take your time. Give me a chronology of what happened,” coached Ray.
    Johnson rubbed his stubble-covered chin, then looked at Ray. “Give me a moment, I need to collect my thoughts.” He peered over Ray’s shoulder—his head cocked to the right—toward the back of the building. Then he straightened and looked directly at Ray. “I was at the party at Verity’s and saw you there. I had no idea who you were, but outsiders are rare at these events. After the wife and I got through the buffet, I sort of wolfed my food and got over to the Assembly Hall. This is old equipment. I always want to check things before anyone else is around. That gives me the time to bring out a ladder and replace a bulb or do any other wiring change without having to hurry or have people in my way. So that’s what I did. Then I went into the greenroom and chatted with people until about ten minutes before the performance when I climbed back up to the light box. Not much to do up there in this play. After the first scene ends, I have to adjust the lighting on the exterior of the set. The first scene takes place at mid-day. The second scene takes place the next day in the early evening. I was in the process of making the changes when we had that incredible lightning and thunder. Everything went black. I held tight for a bit, then I climbed down and headed out to the electrical services out back.”
    “Let me stop you for a bit. From your position in the…?”
    “Light box.”
    “What can you see? Was there anyone onstage when the lights went out?”
    “With this set, I can pretty much see everything onstage. I can also see what’s happening on the off-stage wing on my side. The other side is hidden by the set. So I have to separate what I know about who needed to be there with what I can remember. The properties person would have come through to make sure everything was in place, and I think I saw her. And then there was Malcolm coming through, being attended to by Florence Carlotta, our makeup person. Malcolm had a ghastly wound on his forehead. It was huge, like something you’d see at a Halloween party. I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on.”
    “I’m not following,” said Ray.
    “In this scene, Malcolm plays—not really plays, he’s just a prop—a body. We could have stuffed a suit and it would have worked as well. The character just fills a chair. I couldn’t figure out why he had that elaborate makeup on.”
    “Then what?”
    “They went over to the table where Protheroe’s body is found sprawled across the Vicar’s desk at the beginning of the scene. Malcolm sat down and Florence helped position him. It seemed to me that they were going to a lot of trouble for nothing. When she left, he just stayed in that position, like he was taking a nap.”
    “And no one else was onstage or in the wings on your side when the lights when out?”
    “Correct, that’s my memory.”
    “Okay, the lights go out, then what do you do?”
    “Like I was saying before, I waited for a little bit to see if the power was going to come back on, then I killed the power to the dimmers, climbed down the ladder, and headed outside to the electrical panels.”
    “What were you using for light?”
    “I’ve got one of those headlamps with the six or eight little bulbs. I keep it there just for this kind of emergency. This is not the first time we’ve been in darkness, the problem is more common than it should be. We’ve been overloading the system for years.”
    “Did you see anyone on your way out, and what door did you use?”
    “Strange, I didn’t see a soul. Guess they were all in the green room. I went out the east stage door. The electrical panels