A Midsummer Night's Scream

hand.

Eight

    Mel called Jane just before eight o’clock the next morning. All she’d done since she’d heard the bad news was needlepointing. She couldn’t bring herself to work on a murder mystery novel on a day when someone she probably knew, however slightly, had been killed. And the needlepointing didn’t go as well as she hoped, either. She’d almost finished a big triangle when she realized the colors weren’t right, and she would have to carefully pull all the threads out.
    “Jane,“ Mel said, “this isn’t for the public yet, but I’m calling on my home phone. Tell Shelley I’ve had a crew in overnight with flashlights, floodlights, little vacuum bags of hundreds of things that probably won’t ever be relevant. Mostly candy wrappers and solidified chewing gum. We’ve gone over each inch of the main floor. They can resume the rehearsal tonight. We’ll still be there, doing the basement, balconies, and the flies.“
“Shelley will be glad to hear this. She can alert the caterers in time. Mel, who was the victim?“
    “Dennis Roth. Called Denny.“
    Jane sighed and said, “Thank goodness it wasn’t Ms. Bunting or Tazz. I wasn’t crazy about Denny, but it’s sad when someone so young, with his whole life ahead of him, has it snatched away.“
    Mel said, “I understand that both you and Shelley have been sitting in on the rehearsals.“
    “Not the whole duration. We get there later than the rest of them, but before the caterers come. As soon as they’ve cleaned up and gone, so are we. Gone, I mean.“
    “Still, you’ve been there for—what? Half the time?“
    “Pretty close to that. You can’t imagine how boring it is. And how obnoxious most of them are.“
    “Denny in particular?“
    “Not really. He was pushy and rude. But for sheer gall, the director, Professor Imry, is the worst.“
    “That’s my impression, too. I’ve already interviewed him once. He turned up early yesterday afternoon.“
    “I was somewhat surprised, frankly, that he wasn’t the victim,“ Jane admitted.
    “He’d have made a good one.“ Jane could hear the smile in his voice.
    “What have you learned about Denny?“
    “All too little. He only enrolled in the college summer session after it was announced that the play was being put on and the Buntings were starring. Which means nothing. Lots of the cast and crew signed up around the same time. Nobody we’ve talked to so far knows anything about Denny’s background. The college registrar says he claimed on his application that he’d only be there for the summer session. Gave credits for previous acting jobs that we can’t confirm yet. The application said he currently lived in a suburb of Los Angeles. I’ve got someone there asking the neighbors about him.“
    “And—?“
    “Not much of anything. It’s tacky furnished apartments, month-to-month rent, with all sorts of starving artists and actors who come and go nearly every week. Nobody so far admits to remembering him.“
    “So he really is a mystery man.“
    “What do you mean?“ Mel asked.
    “Just that you know so little about his background. Have you contacted his family?“
    “I’ve been trying repeatedly, but all I get is an answering machine that won’t take a message. As for knowing about his background, we’ll know everything eventually. It takes time, Jane.“ Mel paused. “I want your opinion on something.“
    That surprised Jane. “Ask away,“ she said.
    “What’s your view of Professor Imry? You’ve been around him longer than I have.“
    Jane thought for a moment. “Okay. A vast mountain of arrogance on the surface, and a small core of tasteless, suspicious gelatin underneath.“
    Mel laughed. “You should have been a writer.“
    “I am,“ she said indignantly.
    “That was a joke, Janey. I wouldn’t have put it that way, but you perfectly described my impression of him. He’s like most bullies—soft and scared inside. My cell phone is ringing. Have to go. Thanks for your insight.“
    Jane was astonished. She’d given her opinions to and occasionally forced her suspicions on Mel before, but he’d seldom asked her to. Her remark was a good answer. She told herself to write it down before she forgot it, so she could use it again sometime in a book.
    Having made a quick note to herself, she called Shelley to tell her that Mel said they could have the rehearsal that evening, even though the police were still looking for clues in the theater.
    “Thank you for