Violet let out a deep sigh. She crossed one arm over her middle and rested her head on the fingertips of her other hand.

"This is a nightmare," she said. "I suppose I should call Chief Plewicki."

"She'll definitely want to know what's happening," Lindsey said. "And Robbie should file a report."

"Speaking of our favorite thespian, someone should keep an eye on him," Ian said. He glanced at Lindsey. "Shall I volunteer Sully for the task?"

"Oh, I don't see that going well," she said.

"Hey, where did everyone go?" Nancy asked as she and Mary arrived from the hallway with costumes draped over their shoulders. "We were hoping to do some fittings."

"There was an incident," Ian said as he moved to stand beside his wife. He put his hand on her shoulder as if to reassure himself that she was okay. "Robbie was cut with a knife."

"On purpose?" Nancy asked. Her blue eyes were wide as she looked at Violet in horror.

"We suspect so," Violet said with a nod of her head. "Between the stabbing tonight and the set falling on him the other day, I'd say someone is not too happy with him. Still, I can't imagine who would-"

"Oh, can't you?" Ian asked. "How about his wife, Kitty?"

"Or his girlfriend, Lola," Mary added.

"Harvey Wargus certainly is not a fan," Nancy said.

"Or Brian Loeb, who seems to think that Robbie slept with his wife," Lindsey added.

"Yes, Robbie does have a few jealous males with him in their sights, doesn't he?" Ian asked. He was looking at Lindsey, but she refused to acknowledge his thinly veiled reference to Sully. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that Sully had nothing to do with Robbie's injury. Sully was much too honest and direct for that.

"Well, I guess I'll send everyone home for the night and call the police in to investigate," Violet said. "I know Robbie can be . . . well, a handful, but he's one of my closest friends and I will not let any harm come to him when he's been good enough to help me stage this production."

The others nodded, but then Lindsey paused.

"Violet, I hate to suggest this, but do you think it could be your ex-husband, Sterling Buchanan?" Lindsey asked. "Do you think he'd go after Robbie to hurt you?"

Violet paled. "I don't . . . that's a very good question. It seems I have several calls to make. If you will excuse me?"

"I'll come with you," Nancy said. "I can make a pot of tea and sit with you while you make your calls."

Violet looked at her friend and squeezed her arm. "Thank you."

"Do you want me to close up the theater for the night?" Ian asked.

"Leave the stage lights on," Violet said. "I'll be in the office and I want to show the police where everything happened. But please send everyone home and go ahead and lock up the rest of the rooms."

"Will do," Ian said.

"Do you want a lift home?" Mary asked Lindsey.

"Oh, thanks, but Beth and I rode our bikes," Lindsey said. "I'm going to go outside and see if I can find her."

"Lindsey, be careful," Ian said. "If someone does have it in for Robbie Vine, they might not like that he seems to have taken a shine to you."

Lindsey nodded and Mary gave her a quick hug. She could only hope that Ian was wrong. She went back to the wardrobe room to retrieve her things. She wondered what Emma Plewicki would make of the situation and if she would recommend closing the show.

A few of the cast and crew were still loitering about outside. She saw Beth standing with Dylan and Heather and made her way over to them. She assumed Perry must have already left.

Dylan was the first to spot her. "Ms. Norris, will Mr. Vine be all right?"

He looked pale and shaky, and she realized it was probably the first time these teens had seen anything like this.

"I think so," she said. "The wound wasn't deep and the bleeding had pretty much stopped."

"Is it true that he was stabbed on purpose?" Heather asked. "Did someone try to kill Mr. Vine?"

Lindsey blew out a breath. She didn't want to scare them but she didn't want to give them false platitudes, either.

"I honestly don't know," she said. "The police have been called and I'm sure they're going to check into it."

Just then an SUV pulled up. Lindsey saw that it was Joanie, Dylan's mother. Under the streetlight that shined through the window, she looked decidedly unhappy, and Lindsey wondered if word of what had happened in the theater had already spread through the small community.

"My mom is here," Dylan said. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

He opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat. Lindsey and Beth both waved to Joanie, but she immediately began speaking to Dylan and didn't see them. Judging from the expression on her face, she was not happy.

"I think it's safe to say that Dylan does not get his charm from his mother," Beth said.

"He's adopted," Heather said. Lindsey and Beth both looked at her. "He told me the other night after his mom yelled at him for being backstage when he was supposed to be out front."

"I wonder if she'll make him quit the show," Beth said.

"She can't!" Heather cried. "He loves it and he's a really, really good actor."

"He is very naturally talented," Beth agreed. "But I didn't get the sense from his mother that she approves of his desire to be on stage."

Another car pulled up; Heather's mom. Unlike Dylan's mother, she rolled down her window and chatted with Lindsey and Beth before they left.

"So, now that they're gone," Beth said as they walked toward the bike rack, "tell me what you really think. Did someone try to harm Robbie on purpose?"

Lindsey bent over to unlock her bike. She put the lock in the back basket and lifted the bike out of the rack. She waited while Beth did the same. As they walked their bikes to the curb, she pondered Beth's question.

"It looks like it, but I honestly don't know," she said. "There are a lot of people who have reason to dislike Robbie, but murder? That's pretty harsh for the merry wanderer of the night."

Lindsey was in her office at the library the next morning when the Chief Plewicki stopped by. Emma was a dark-haired beauty with a heart-shaped face and a wide, warm smile.

When Chief Daniels had retired over the summer, Emma had applied for his position and been hired as the new Briar Creek chief of police. She also had the distinction of being the town's first female chief of police. Lindsey had noted that during Emma's first few months, she had been quick to enforce the rules that had gone a bit lax under the former chief's watch. Lindsey wondered if the pressure of being the first female made Emma more strict or if it was just because she was new.

As a native Creeker, Emma knew most everyone in town and knew how to work the small-town politics to her advantage. Lindsey liked having one more woman in the town department head meetings, as it evened out the boardroom.

"Hi, Lindsey, do you have minute?"

"For the chief of police?" Lindsey asked. "Always."

"That never gets old," Emma said. She grinned at Lindsey as she came in and sat down.

"Chief Plewicki does have a nice ring to it," Lindsey said. "What can I do for you?"

"I went to see Robbie Vine today," Emma said. "He's quite a charmer."

"Agreed," Lindsey said. She felt her face get warm at the memory of his kiss but she pushed the thought aside. He had been teasing her, she was sure of it. Okay, mostly sure of it.

"What's your take on what happened last night?" Emma asked.

Lindsey blew out a breath. "It was scary. The lights went out. Everyone was stranded in their spot, and then Robbie was stabbed."

"So you don't think it was an accident?" Emma asked. "Maybe he jabbed himself on a piece of set in the dark? Maybe one of the set builders jabbed him with a tool by mistake?"

Lindsey looked at Emma and considered what she said. Could the whole thing have been a freak accident? Then she remembered the gash on Robbie's arm.

"No," Lindsey said. "Admittedly, I know nothing about wounds, but it looked too clean to me."

"The doctor who stitched up his arm agrees with your assessment," Emma said. "Definitely a knife."

"Then why are you asking if it was a piece of set?"

"Because I wanted your impression, and I'd really have liked for it to have been an accident," Emma said.

"So someone is trying to harm Robbie?" she asked.

"Quite possibly," Emma said. "It could also be that they are trying to ruin the show, given that Robbie's the star, and hurting him would be an effective way to shut it down."

"Oh dear, poor Violet," Lindsey said. "Will she cancel the show?"

"She thought about it," Emma said. "But Robbie insisted that the show must go on."

Lindsey could see him doing that. He was so very passionate about the stage.

"I don't think that's the wisest choice," Lindsey said.

"Agreed." Emma nodded. "Listen, Lindsey, I don't want to put you in an awkward position, but Robbie seems particularly fond of you, so I was hoping you would be willing to keep an eye on him."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, he managed to work you into the conversation when I talked to him last night and again this morning."

Lindsey felt the heat of embarrassment creep into her face but decided to ignore it and hoped that Emma would do the same. "No, I meant how do you want me to keep an eye on him?"

"Don't do anything that would put you in harm's way. Just if you see anyone in the theater who seems angry with him, talks bad about him or threatens him, or seems to want to cause him harm, could you let me know?"

"I can start you out with a few names right now." Lindsey recounted her conversation with Violet, Nancy, Mary, and Ian from the evening before. After naming Kitty, Lola, Brian the jealous actor, and droopy Harvey Wargus, Lindsey felt better.

"Violet gave me the same names," Emma said. "I've got some officers out talking to them already, and I'll follow up by questioning them myself. It sounds like it could be any one of the four of them. But I don't want to fixate on them and miss someone else. If you see anyone approach Robbie in a threatening manner, will you report it to me immediately?"

"Absolutely," Lindsey said. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"Not yet, but I'll let you know," Emma said as she rose from her seat. "I'm really hoping this was just a person acting out and that it doesn't get any more serious. My officers and I will be taking shifts at the theater, so that might prove to be enough of a deterrent."

"Let's hope," Lindsey agreed.

Emma rose from her seat and walked to the door. She turned and looked at Lindsey.

"There was one thing I wanted to know," Emma said.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where Sully was at the time that Robbie was stabbed?"

"What?"

"You heard me," Emma said.

Her face wore a mild expression, but Lindsey knew the other woman well enough to know that she was cataloging Lindsey's every reaction.

"Emma, if you think Sully would ever harm anyone-" Lindsey began, feeling indignant on Sully's behalf.

"No, I don't," Emma interrupted. "But I had to be sure, and as his former girlfriend, I figured you'd know if he might be having turf issues because of Robbie."

"No," Lindsey said. "As far as I know, there are no turf issues. In fact, when we spoke the other night, Sully was very clear that I should do whatever made me happy."

The words were harder to get out than Lindsey would have thought. Emma pressed her lips together in understanding.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"No need," Lindsey said. "I know you're just doing your job."

Emma nodded and left the office, leaving Lindsey feeling sad. She hadn't thought much about her conversation with Sully because it depressed her, but now, at least it made him look free and clear of the incidents with Robbie.

Now that Emma and her officers were going to be at the theater, Lindsey couldn't help but wonder what tonight's rehearsal would bring. She hoped a whole lot of nothing.

Three nights later, the tension level in the theater had diminished and once again everyone was beginning to feel at ease. There had been no further incidents involving falling scenery, the lights going out or actors suffering knife wounds.

Lindsey had finally gotten her papier-mche donkey head to look like a donkey and was happily painting it gray while she watched the cast rehearse on stage under Violet's watchful eye.

She had seen Sully earlier, and while he had greeted her as if everything was fine, she couldn't help but feel like there was a growing chasm of distance between them. She missed him. She missed what they'd been together and she missed him as her friend. She didn't see how she could change things; maybe it was only something time could manage.

Robbie, on the other hand, had been constantly underfoot when he wasn't on stage. He was funny and charming and Lindsey couldn't help but like him. He never mentioned their kiss from the other evening, and he didn't try to kiss her again, either.