He gave her an exasperated look. He crossed his arms over his chest, and she noted that his long-sleeved T-shirt sat well on his broad shoulders.

"Is that what you think of me?" he asked. He wasn't smiling now; Lindsey wondered if she had hurt his feelings.

"You do have a reputation," she said.

"Most of which I haven't earned," he said. His green eyes studied her face and he leaned close and whispered, "Now, if I could earn the reputation of being the plunderer of pretty, blonde librarians, well, that's a reputation I could live with."

A small squeak came out of Lindsey's mouth, which she tried to cover with a cough. His grin was decidedly wicked now, and she had the sinking feeling that she was in way over her head.

"Lindsey!" a voice called from behind her.

She turned to find Sully striding toward them. Robbie straightened up, and Lindsey felt a hot heat fill her face. Again, she had a twinge of guilt, which was ludicrous, since she and Sully were no more.

"Yes?" she asked. She hoped she sounded casual but judging by the flat stare Sully was giving her, she didn't.

"Nancy sent me to find you," he said. "She's holding a meeting for costumes in the back room."

"Oh, that's right." Lindsey turned back to Robbie. "Sorry, I have to go."

"That's okay," he said. "We'll talk more later."

How did he make such a simple sentence sound so laden with innuendo?

"All right," she said. She turned back around and went to pass Sully, who fell into step beside her.

The theater had several back rooms used for storage and rehearsals that ran along one side of the building. She pushed through the door on the far side of the theater, which led to a dark, narrow hallway. She had assumed Sully would return to the backstage area where the set crew worked, but he didn't. Instead he stayed right beside her.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and felt her heart pinch. His jeans and T-shirt were covered in sawdust, and his thick, mahogany curls were pushed back by a blue bandanna he had tied around his forehead, probably to keep the sweat from dripping into his eyes. His jaw was set tight and his mouth was in a narrow, straight line. He did not look happy.

"Thanks for coming to get me," she said. The room where the meeting was to be held was on her left, and the hallway would take Sully back to the loading dock.

"No problem," he said. His voice made it sound as if it was anything but.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked.

"Nope," he said. "Why would I be mad?"

"I can't imagine," Lindsey said. "But you sure seem cranky."

"Well, maybe it's because every time I see you, you've got Robbie Vine twisted around you."

His voice rose in volume and Lindsey blinked. Sully never raised his voice. He was the calmest person she had ever known. Frankly, it was nice to see a display of emotion even though his ire made her defensive and she found herself snapping back.

"I don't see why you care, since you dumped me!"

"I didn't dump you," he argued. He turned so he was facing her. "I wanted to give you time."

"Time I didn't ask for," she said. "Which, for your information, makes it a dumping."

"You were supposed to be figuring out how you felt about your ex," he said.

"I didn't need to figure anything out about him," she said. She threw her hands up in the air, mostly to keep from wrapping them around his neck. "I knew how I felt. I was perfectly clear about how I felt."

Sully leaned in close so that his face was just inches from hers. "Yeah, I saw how you felt when you thought he was dead."

He opened his mouth as if to say more but then he stepped back and shook his head. "You're right. It's none of my business. Do whatever makes you happy. Have a great time with your little actor buddy."

He turned and strode down the hallway, anger thumping in his every step.

"Argh!" Lindsey growled and turned and smacked the concrete wall with her hand. Ouch! Okay, that was dumb.

She was shaking out her hand when the door opened and Nancy's and Mary's heads popped out.

"Was that . . . um . . . Sully we heard?" Nancy asked.

"Yes," Lindsey said. She glanced at Mary to see how she was handling the thought of Lindsey and her brother mixing it up in the hallway.

"Good," Mary said. She did not seem fazed in the least. "About time he got off his duff."

She stepped back into the room and motioned for Lindsey to enter. The three of them sat down at a small table in the center of the room. Nancy had brought a pitcher of lemonade and there was a plate loaded with oatmeal raisin cookies. Lindsey sat down and Nancy poured her a glass while Lindsey helped herself to three cookies.

"So, did you two clear the air?" Nancy asked.

"No, I think we just fogged it up even more." Lindsey shrugged. "That man is hard to read."

"That's because he keeps it all bottled up," Mary said. "He always has, ever since we were kids."

"That can't be good for the digestion," Nancy observed. "No wonder he's feeling ornery. I should make him some pumpkin cookies."

Mary and Lindsey both smiled at Nancy's home remedy, and the tension was broken.

"I don't know about his digestion, but he certainly seems to have a strong opinion about Robbie Vine," Lindsey said.

"That's because he's jealous," Mary said.

"Of what?" Lindsey scoffed. "The man is married."

"Sort of," Nancy qualified.

"That's like being sort of pregnant," Lindsey said. "Married is married, whether they live together or not, and I am not dating a married man."

"Good for you," Nancy said. "It's much less complicated that way."

"I don't know," Mary said. "The way that Robbie has been looking at you, you might be the motivation he needs to cut loose the old ball and chain."

"Oh, I don't think so," Lindsey said. "Robbie is . . . mesmerizing. Of that, there is no question, but if I interest him at all it's just as a curiosity. I don't imagine a life in the theater gives an actor much exposure to librarians, and as everyone knows, we are a fascinating bunch."

"No doubt," Nancy agreed, ignoring Lindsey's teasing tone. "But don't sell yourself short."

"Yeah," Mary agreed. "Not only do you have Robbie interested, you're the only woman I've ever known to make Sully pine."

Lindsey raised an eyebrow and studied her ex-boyfriend's sister. "Pine?"

"He has been as mopey as a lovesick puppy all summer long," Mary confirmed. "Ask Ian if you don't believe me."

"Then why-?" Lindsey was about to ask Mary why Sully had dumped her, but she stopped herself. Sully was the one who needed to tell her whatever was going on in that male brain of his. "So, are we really having a meeting or was this just an excuse to gorge ourselves on cookies and lemonade?"

"Excuse to gorge," Nancy admitted. "But since we're here, I suppose we should review where we are with each of the costumes."

She retrieved a three-inch red binder from a tote bag by her feet. The binder had tabs separating each character and their costume requirements.

She started with the main characters, and they reviewed what needed to be done for each one, working their way through the book. There were only a few characters left when the lights went out.

The darkness was so complete that Lindsey couldn't even see Nancy and Mary, although they were seated just a few feet away. A small emergency exit light was the only thing visible in the room, but while it illuminated the door it did nothing to cut through the gloom.

"Do you think it's the whole building?" Mary asked.

"I don't see any light coming from the hallway, so I think so," Nancy said.

"I'm going to see if anyone knows what happened," Lindsey said.

She stood up and felt for the wall. She bumped her leg into another table and stumbled, but her fingers found the concrete wall and she followed it toward the door.

She traced the outside of the door frame until she felt the doorknob. She pulled the door open and noted that the hallway was just as dark as the room behind her.

"Do you see any light?" Nancy asked from the table.

"Nothing yet," Lindsey said. "Wait here, maybe I can rustle up a flashlight."

She stepped out into the hallway. She could hear the excited murmur of voices coming from the stage area. She felt her way along the wall, trying to remember where the door into the auditorium was.

Her fingers closed on a door handle and she pulled it open.

She stepped into the room just as a scuffle and a shout sounded from the stage.

"Get off!" a voice that was unmistakably Robbie's shouted. "Hey! Ah!"

There was the sound of a thud as if a body had just collapsed against the stage.

"Robbie? Was that you?"

"Who's there?"

"Ouch!"

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Could somebody please hit the breaker?"

There were too many voices to pick out any one voice. Lindsey hurried forward, but it was still pitch-black and she slammed into a row of seats, almost knocking herself down. She began to feel her way along the seat backs, trying to get to the stage.

"Quiet!" Violet's voice commanded. "Everyone be still. If you move in the dark, you could hurt yourself."

The loud voices and shouts quieted to a low murmur. Lindsey took the opportunity to step into the aisle, which had small yellow floor lights that would lead her down to the stage. She was getting close when a beam of light snapped on near the stage.

It swept the stage, catching everyone in the position they had been in presumably when the lights went out. Then it swung back and lowered. Lying on the stage was Robbie; a dark stain marred his white shirt, and it took Lindsey just a moment to realize that it was blood pooling from a gash in his arm.

As Robbie was illuminated by the light, a scream sounded and the entire room erupted into chaos. Lindsey rushed forward and clambered up onto the stage, reaching Robbie first. Violet knelt beside her.

"Robbie, are you all right?" Lindsey asked. Her hands were shaking and she blinked. "Ugh, sorry. Clearly, you're not."

He glanced up at her from where he lay. "No, no, it's just a flesh wound in my arm, but I was afraid to move lest I meet my adversary's knife point again."

"What are you saying?" Violet asked.

"Someone stabbed me, love," he said. His voice was low so that only the two of them and the person next to Violet with the flashlight could hear him. "Shortly after the lights went out the knife went in."

11.

"Shine the light here, please," Lindsey said.

The person holding the flashlight knelt down, and she saw that it was Sully. He shined the light onto the gash on Robbie's arm. It looked like a messy stabbing. Robbie's shirtsleeve was ripped and soaked in blood. When Lindsey pulled back the edge of the fabric, she could see that the cut was a deep slice made by a very sharp knife.

She glanced up and met Sully's gaze in the glow of the light. Her own concern was mirrored in his eyes.

"It's still bleeding," she said. "I need something to tie it off."

"There's a first aid kit out on the loading dock," Sully said. "I'll go get it."

He handed the flashlight to Violet and disappeared.

"Moves like a shadow, he does," Robbie said as they watched Sully leave. "Impressive for such a big man."

Lindsey frowned at him. Surely he was not implying that Sully had been the one with the knife?

"I think your shirt is beyond repair," she said. "Do you mind if I use it to stop the blood flow?"

"Be my guest," he said.

Lindsey tore the sleeve off where the fabric had been slashed by the knife. She folded it into a pad and pressed it onto the cut. She hoped the pressure would slow the bleeding.

"I don't understand," Violet said. "How could this happen?"