A Midsummer Night's Scream

When they were seated in two of the remaining chairs in the workroom and had their canvases out, Shelley asked, 'Do you think everyone who was threatening to walk out would have done so if Ms. Chance hadn't stopped us?'

'Wasn't she fabulous?' Jane replied. 'I aspire to be that outspoken one day. Yes, I think they would have. All but Imry's replacement for Denny. Most of them are volunteers. Only Tazz and the Buntings stood to lose money. And there are probably others. I don't think you'd trust lighting to volunteers unless they were professional electricians and theater was a hobby.'

'You're forgetting me, Jane,' Shelley said. 'I'd have been out on the deposits to the caterers. But if he'd continued to be so obnoxious, it would have been well worth it.'

'Do you think he really learned anything about how to behave?'

'Not at all. He was just cornered and scared spitless.'

'I wonder if Ms. Chance was right that he's the primary suspect for Denny's death? I'd guess that's what Mel thinks. Of course, I could be wrong about that. He never really said so,' Jane qualified.

'Everything we know, which isn't much, seems to point to him,' Shelley said. 'My impression of him is that he's one of those bullies who knows deep in his heart that he's not as smart or

talented as those he's bullying, and furthermore, thinks they won't realize it.'

'It was unfortunate for him that he had a replacement lined up for Denny,' Jane said. 'And stupid besides. Denny was unwise, and was being a show-off by humiliating Imry in front of everyone, but the honorable thing for Imry would have been to fire Denny before choosing a successor. And Imry should have realized that Denny was right that Imry really should brush up on his grammar or hire someone to vet the script.

'On the other hand,' Jane went on, 'Imry didn't seem to have the kind of courage it takes to actually kill someone.'

'It doesn't always take courage, Jane. Probably the fear of continuing humiliation could be enough to push someone as insecure as Imry to do something violent in the heat of anger.'

'You might be right.'

'Was that the sound of a truck?' Shelley asked. 'It was. I'll put your needlepoint things away for you.'

That night's caterers were the most imaginative, Shelley later declared. Along with colorful, sturdy plastic plates, they also had provided fruits and vegetables, meaN and pastas, and sauces that were fresh and unusual. Broiled kiwi fruits with a mysterious tasty glaze. Tender scallops with lime sauce. Hot fingerling potatoes

crusted with salt and some spice nobody could quite identify. There was also a creamy cooled rice salad with quartered green grapes, sliced blood oranges, and Vidalia onion chunks served with the best sourdough bread Jane had ever tasted.

'This is a lot more than a mere snack,' Tazz said, helping herself to generous portions of everything.

'You get what you pay for,' Shelley whispered to Jane.

Even Steven Imry complimented the caterers. 'Now, that sounded genuine,' Shelley said to Jane in an undertone.

When the meal was over, and Shelley had watched the cleanup and filled in her forms, they said good night to the others.

'Want to stop at Starbucks for a cup of good coffee and a dessert?' Shelley asked.

'Why not? All I need to do at home is replace the nasty triangle I needlepointed earlier.'

It was warm outside, but not as searingly hot as it had been earlier. They sat at a table where no one could overhear them.

'Did you notice that Mel was on the stage, out of sight of Imry, when Evelyn Chance took him on?' Jane asked.

'Yes, I did. He was making notes.'

'Do you really think that Imry is capable of killing anyone?' Jane asked.

'I think so. But we really don't know anything about him, Jane. Where and how he was brought up. What he's like with friends — if he has friends. Our sole experience with him is when he thinks he's in charge of something dear to him. His awful script. The accolades he's anticipating from the audience and his college.'

'Nor do we know much of anything else, and we'll never have the chance, or desire, to know him better,' Jane said. 'Probably Mel won't either. But Mel is the one entitled to ask hard questions and look into Imry's whole life. It will take a while, anyway, for the pathology report on the cause of death.'

'Shouldn't that be easy? Look for a wound or test for poison?' Shelley asked.

'What if they find both? How would they decide what the primary cause was?'

'Good point. Of course, having seen the body, Mel must have some idea of what might have killed him.'

'Even if he does know,' Jane said, 'it might not help him figure out who was responsible.'

'He'll find out eventually,' Shelley stated. 'He always does.'

'But a few times we've managed to provide a clue not available to him.'

'And you know how angry that makes him, Jane. I think we should probably stay out of this. It's not as if we're deeply involved with thesepeople. We hardly know most of them. And when the two weeks of rehearsals are over, we're probably not ever going to see any of them again.'

'Except for Gloria Bunting and Tazz Tinker, I wouldn't care. I like both of them. And while I admire Evelyn Chance, I wouldn't want to be chums with her. You don't have to keep catering when the production of this awful play starts, do you?' Jane asked.

'No. It won't start until seven forty-five. That gives everyone involved plenty of time to provide their own dinner before they go on stage. Now they have to be there at six, which is why they need the snack supper.'

'Has doing this helped you with your catering problems?' Jane asked when they'd thrown their cups and napkins in the trash and started walking toward Shelley's minivan.

'Unless someone does a whole lot better than tonight's catering, this catering company is the one I'll use for Paul's employee dinners. They were only slightly more than the cost of the first two, and much, much better at presentation, taste, imagination, and timely, efficient cleanup.'

When the rehearsal was over, Mel stepped out onto the stage and said, 'I'm sorry, but you're all going to be a bit late getting home. I need to question everyone. I'll post an officer in the room with the big table and will summon you one at a time.

You may use your cell phones, if you have one, to call home and warn your family.'

Clearly no one liked this, Mel included. This was just the first set of interviews he'd do himself, and it had been a long day already. He had an officer sitting behind the interviewees taking shorthand notes on what was said.

The first person Mel called for was Norman Engel, the young man who was now the substitute for Denny' s role. Mel gave him the standard warning. Norman said he didn't need an attorney.

He launched into his explanation without any prodding. 'I'm one of Professor Imry's students. He asked me to turn up last night at the rehearsal. I had no idea why he wanted me there. So I obediently showed up. That's it.'

'He didn't explain that you were to replace Denny?'

'Not a word. I went back to the dorm, wondering what the point had been. It wasn't until Imry called me early today that I understood. That's when he admitted he was going to drop Denny and replace him with me.'

'He didn't mention that Denny was already dead?'

'Not until the end of the conversation. I'd told him I didn't think it would do my career any good to be secretly hired to replace another actor. That's when he told me that Denny had died, so Ihad to