Page 26 of Script Swap (The Last Picks #11)

Several sheriff’s office cruisers were parked in front of The Foxworthy when Fox and I got there.

We hurried inside. The lobby was empty. The faded carpet swallowed the sound of our steps, and the overhead lights were off, leaving only the glow from the marquee bulbs around the concession stand.

Our reflections moved like selkies in the glass counter.

Someone had abandoned the restocking supplies, and a long, white tail of single-ply napkins fell to the ground, and the oil in the popcorn popper needed to be changed, to judge by the smell.

Voices came from the house.

I reached the doors first, but it was a close thing, and Fox grabbed a handle at the same time I did. Displaced air whispered as we swung the doors open.

The house lights were off, leaving only the work lights over the stage.

Nora stood there, along with Pippi and Sheriff Acosta and Bobby.

They were facing Jonni; this early, before costume and makeup, she wore her usual motley sweats, with an elastic headband holding back her curls.

It made her smaller. And older. With the curtain up and the sets exposed, the scene had the feeling of something out of a postmodern burlesque.

“Ms. Day,” the sheriff was saying, “you called me here because you said you had something to show me. I don’t think this approach is helping—”

“And I will show you, Sheriff,” Nora said. She sounded like she had in Women and Friends —cool, in control. As one of the other characters in the movie said, A woman not to be trifled with. “But first, I’m going to give her a chance to confess.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jonni said. “And this is a waste of my time. I’ve got stuff to do.”

When she took a step, though, Nora said, “No, Jonni. Stay right where you are. You’ve been running from this long enough.”

At that moment, Pippi spotted us and called, “Dash, hurry. Nora and I are about to solve the murder!”

“I don’t think so,” Sheriff Acosta said. “I think I’m going to have a conversation with Ms. Day—”

“It happened almost forty years ago,” Nora said. “It’s hard to believe it’s been so long. Aren’t you tired of running, Jonni? Aren’t you ready to tell the truth? You’ll feel better once it’s off your chest. You’ll be able to rest, finally.”

“I said I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jonni snapped. “And I’m tired of you wasting my time. Some of us are professionals. Some of us are going to make sure this show happens.”

Jonni turned toward the exit, and Fox shifted like they might try to intercept her, but once again, Nora spoke. “You killed Ray and made it look like a robbery.”

Jonni stopped. For a moment, her poise or control or—or self-image, or whatever it was, shattered. Her shoulders stooped. Her hands hung at her sides. Then she turned around and called Nora a word that once got Elizabeth Taylor thrown in the pokey.

(I made that up. Also, is it called a pokey? In the poke!)

“He was a dead weight,” Nora said. “You wanted to go to Hollywood. You were going to be a star. And Ray was dragging you down.”

“Ray was a thief,” Jonni said. When she turned back toward us, her face was red. “He ripped off the box office, and he ran, and he left me with nothing. Not a cent to my name. No job. No friends, not after what he’d done. And no husband either. Do you know what that’s like? I had nothing !”

“He didn’t run away,” Pippi said. “You killed him!” In a slightly less confident tone, she asked Nora, “Didn’t she?”

“That’s enough,” the sheriff said. “Deputy Mai—”

“Ray didn’t run away,” Nora said. “Ray never even left this theater.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Jonni waved a hand. “I don’t even want to know. I’m done talking to you.”

“That’s why you had to get rid of Kyson. Kyson figured it out. He made the mistake of trying to blackmail you, and you killed him, too.”

Jonni’s laugh was barely more than a breath. “You’re insane. Everybody knew you were bonkers; that’s why you can’t get cast anymore. But this is legitimately insane.” To the sheriff, Jonni said, “You need to get her some help. And get her away from me.”

“Your mistake was the dressing room,” Nora said, the words casual, almost conversational.

“Yeah,” Pippi said. “That was your mistake! The dressing room!”

A muscle in Nora’s jaw tensed.

(It was weirdly gratifying to see somebody else be on the victim of Pippi’s “help.” Even Fox looked like they were at the end of their rope.)

“What about the dressing room?” Pippi stage-whispered. (Literally! A literal stage whisper!)

“The dressing room?” Jonni said. “I wanted that room because it’s got a bathroom. And because I deserve it.”

“No,” Nora said. “You wanted that room because the leak in the sprinkler system last year damaged the ceiling significantly. You lucked out that Milton has always been slow at his job, but when you heard about it, you knew it was only a matter of time before someone opened it up and found what you’d left there. ”

Jonni didn’t say anything. Her hands froze while she was still adjusting the headband. The flush in her cheeks died.

“I had my suspicions,” Nora said, taking a dramatic step. “All these years, I’ve wondered. And then, when we were here again, I could tell something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Until poor Terrence came to me. He was so distraught.”

“What do you mean?” Fox said. “What did my father say?”

Distraught wasn’t a word you heard a lot. Distraught was a word from a book. Or a script.

“He told me he suspected something awful. He thought he knew what Kyson had been talking about—the crime Kyson had uncovered, before someone silenced him. He showed me the articles he’d kept from all those years ago, Jonni.” Nora paused. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

Jonni shook her head slowly, but realization crawled across her face.

“Ray,” Nora said with quiet satisfaction. “Ray is up there. Right where you left him.”

Her eyes glittered like glass. She wasn’t smiling, not quite, but it was a close thing.

But it was the way she was standing: it finally clicked, what had been tickling the back of my brain for so long.

She was holding herself exactly like the TV character based on Vivienne Carver—Genevieve Webster, from the Matron of Murder TV show.

She had done this.

The hair on my arms stood up.

Nora. Nora had done all of it.

“You’re nuts,” Jonni said, but her voice was thick. “You’re out of your mind. Why would I do this? Why would I do any of this? Switch Kyson’s script—” For a moment, she was at a loss for words. “—any of it, why? I’d come back and—and take care of things.”

“Yeah,” Pippi said. “Why would she switch the script? That only drew attention to the whole thing.”

Because that was the whole point. Because Nora had wanted everyone to see.

Shock kept me silent, though.

Eye twitching, Nora said, “Because nobody swapped the script. Kyson altered the lines himself. That was his first step in blackmailing you.”

Jonni was crying now, a few slow tears coursing down her cheeks, leaving tracks in her makeup. “You’re a real piece of work,” she finally said. “We were friends, Nora. A long time ago, but we were friends.”

“I’m afraid the memory of our friendship won’t be enough to convince me to conceal the truth,” Nora said. “Sheriff, you’ll find Jonni’s first victim exactly where I said he’d be. And I won’t be surprised if you also find the murder weapon used to kill Kyson.”

“You did this.” Jonni said the words slowly, as though they were coming to her now. “You did this. You did it.”

“Ms. Day,” the sheriff said. “Why don’t you—”

“You killed him!” Jonni screamed and launched herself at Nora.

Fox tried to get between them, but Bobby was faster. He caught Jonni around the waist and wrestled her back a few steps. Nora still wasn’t smiling, but then, she’d been—she was —a talented actor. Pippi, though, was staring sideways at her, eyes wide.

“He thought you walked on water!” Jonni screamed. “You took him from me twice!”

“Deputy Mai,” the sheriff said.

Somehow, Bobby got Jonni moving toward the door.

But Jonni wasn’t done yet. “She did this. She killed Kyson. She tried to kill Terrence. She’s not on stage for most of the play. She had plenty of time. She did all of it!”

And then Bobby herded her out into the hall, and Jonni screamed once. The sound went on and on until the door fell shut with a clang.

Pippi had lost all her color. She inched backward from Nora, clutching her skirt in both hands.

The sheriff had her hand on her service weapon. “Ms. Day, I think we all need to go down to the station and talk about this.”

“Of course, Sheriff. But I’d like to suggest that you inspect the space above the dressing room first.” With a little Vivienne Carver smile, she said, “It is technically a crime scene, after all.”

“I appreciate you pointing that out,” the sheriff said. She was silent for several seconds. And then she said, “Ms. Day, for everyone’s safety, I’m going to take you into custody. Would you put your hands behind your back, please?”

“I don’t understand,” Nora said. “Is this some kind of formality?” A hint of Vivienne’s highbrowed manner came through. “I did you a favor, Sheriff. I handed you an open-and-shut case.”

“And I appreciate that. Right now, please put your hands behind your back.”

Incredulity swept across Nora’s face, and then a darkening cloud of rage. “How dare you—”

“She didn’t do it.” The voice came from the wings. “Nora didn’t do any of it.”

“Betty?” Fox said. “What are you talking about?”

“Betty, no,” Nora said. “It’s fine. This is a misunderstanding.”

The stage manager emerged from behind the piece of scenery meant to depict Vivienne’s study.

She wore the familiar fishing vest and work pants combo, and she looked like she’d aged ten years overnight.

One hand played with one of the vest’s pockets, zipping and unzipping it over and over.

“Nora was with me during the performances. We kept each other company when she didn’t need to be on stage.

There’s no way she could have done any of this. ”

Pippi was shaking her head, her eyes still fixed on Nora, but whether it was in response to Betty’s statement or simply a continuation of her earlier reaction, I couldn’t tell.

The sheriff looked around one more time. And then, voice firm, she said, “All right, ladies. We’re all going down to the station.”