Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
I jumped as a heavy sandbag crashed to the floor, barely missing my head. I stared at it in shock as a swirl of dust choked my lungs, making me cough.
"Are you all right?" Morgan asked, rushing toward me.
"I'm okay. Let's get off the stage." I grabbed her hand and rushed her down the steps before anything else could tumble from the rafters.
As we hit the first row of seats, a guy came rushing onto the stage. He looked at the sandbag and then up into the rafters. Then his gaze turned toward us. "What happened? Did you see this fall?"
"Yeah, it almost hit me in the head," I yelled back. "Who's up there? How did that happen?"
"I don't know. I thought everyone was gone. Who are you?"
"Vivienne's niece," I said. "She just left a few minutes ago. I was standing on the stage when that sandbag almost knocked me out."
"It must have been left on the catwalk." He looked above him and frowned. "I don't know why it would have been up there. Sorry about that."
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Henry," he muttered. "This wasn't my fault. I just came back to get my sweatshirt and then I heard a crash. Did you see anyone?"
"No."
"Well, glad you're okay."
As he disappeared, Morgan dragged me up the aisle and into the lobby.
There was no sign of Nate in the ticket office, no sign of anyone, and my aunt had said something about going to her office, which I didn't want to try to find now.
Instead, we went down the side hallway, out the door, and across the breezeway.
A few key clicks later, and we were back upstairs in the warm apartment, which made everything feel slightly better.
At least for me. Morgan was still worked up.
"That wasn't an accident, Tessa. That bag didn't just fall. Someone pushed it over. Someone wanted to hurt us."
"Probably more me than you."
"I was close enough to get hit, too. This isn't good, Tessa."
"It could have been just an accident. Things do fall from the catwalks on occasion."
"You don't really believe that, do you?"
"I'm trying not to jump to conclusions."
"Cassidy should be here. I'm not cut out for this on-scene stuff," Morgan said, clearly panicked. "Look what has already happened. The threatening note with the flowers, the car that almost ran you over, and now a heavy bag almost knocks you out."
"Thanks for the warning, by the way. You made me move just in time."
"You were lucky. But what about next time?"
"I'm going to be more alert to my surroundings. But I can't run away from this, Morgan. I can't let someone scare me into leaving. And the fact that someone is trying to make me leave is a sign that Paige's death wasn't an accident."
"And yours won't be either if they come after you or after us," she said darkly. "You might have the personal connection to these people, but I'm right by your side."
Seeing the fear in her eyes, I said, "Do you want to quit, Morgan?"
"We should both quit, Tessa."
"I can't, but you can. I won't hold it against you. This is my deal. I can do the on-site interviews, and you and Cassidy can help me research and put together timelines and all that."
"I can't let you stay here alone."
"I appreciate that, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable."
"No." She shook her head. "I can't keep letting you and Cassidy handle the on-scene investigations. It's what's taking our podcast to the top. I'll stay."
"Good." I turned as the doorbell buzzed. "Let's go have dinner with my aunt and try to relax, at least for a little while."
Vivienne was warm, funny, and very interested in the podcast, so dinner conversation flowed easily, and I was feeling much more relaxed by the time we shared a tiramisu to wrap up a delicious Italian feast. Morgan's tension had eased as well under my aunt's engaging demeanor, which made me happy to see.
I didn't really want Morgan to leave. With so many people expressing dislike for me, it was nice to have someone who had my back and was in my corner.
"Tell me about your life, Morgan," my aunt said. "We've talked about Tessa long enough."
"Well, Tessa has always been more interesting than me," Morgan said with a laugh.
"I doubt that. Tessa said you all worked together and got laid off at the same time. Were you also in marketing for that company?"
"No. I was in HR and recruiting. My job involved more paperwork and less fun."
"Morgan is very good at analyzing people," I interjected. "She's also super organized, detailed, and great at research."
"Please, you're being way too complimentary," Morgan said.
"The truth is that I'm not nearly as brave as Tessa or Cassidy.
I prefer to read and talk about true crime rather than to live it.
So, I'm more comfortable with the research aspect than anything else.
I'm still a little shaky after what happened in the theater. "
"What happened in the theater?" Vivienne asked.
"Oops," Morgan said, sending me an apologetic look.
"It's fine," I told Morgan. Then I turned to my aunt.
"I don't want to alarm you, but after you left us alone on the stage, Morgan and I were chatting.
We thought everyone was gone and as we turned to leave, a heavy sandbag fell from the catwalk and almost knocked me out.
Morgan could have been hurt, too. Some guy named Henry came onto the stage.
He said he'd come back for his sweatshirt and heard a crash.
He didn't know how it could have fallen. "
Vivienne was shaking her head in anger before I even finished talking. "That's completely unacceptable. I run a safe set. I have numerous backup procedures in place involving our sets, the catwalks, everything. I'm going to look into this. Rest assured."
"I don't think anyone will admit to it because it was another warning."
"Well, maybe you should heed that warning. Seriously, Tessa. What if you had been hurt? Would this really have been worth it? You can't bring Paige back. But you still have a life."
"I didn't get hurt, and incidents like that only make me think that Paige's death wasn't an accident. Otherwise, why would everyone be so nervous?"
"I don't know, but now I'm nervous for you. You should go back to New York."
"I'm going to stay for at least a few more days. There are people I need to talk to. I'll be careful."
"I'm sure you thought you were being careful today." Vivienne turned to Morgan. "You should convince her to leave."
"I understand why she wants to stay," Morgan said, not admitting that's exactly what she had been trying to do before dinner.
Vivienne let out a sigh as she gave me a frustrated look. "I've never been able to talk you out of anything you have set your mind on, Tessa. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"There is one person I don't have contact information for yet, and that's Sloane. You mentioned that she does some artwork for you. Do you have her number? Actually, her address would be even better. I'd like to surprise her."
Vivienne hesitated. "I'm not sure I should give you her address, Tessa. She's a sweet woman and a private person. I have her number if you want to call."
"Then I'll take that."
"I'll text it to you." Vivienne gave me another troubled look, then said, "If you happen to pick up a copy of last month's Chicago Living, her house was featured, and they did an interview with Sloane and her husband. You might find that interesting."
"Thank you," I said, meeting her gaze.
"That information comes with a price."
"You don't have any leverage. You already gave me the information," I told her, quite sure I knew where this was going.
"Your dad is playing at The Independent on Saturday night. He comes in Saturday morning and is planning to stay until at least Monday. He'll be at my house. I'd really like for you to see him. He is your dad."
"He was never much of a dad, Aunt Viv."
"I know. And your mother was never much of a mother, but they're still your parents, and they both care about you, even if they don't know how to show it."
"We'll see how the week goes. That's the best I can do for now."
"I'll take that." Vivienne motioned for the waiter to bring our check. "I am glad we had a chance to sit down and talk. I'm happy you're doing so well in New York now."
"Me, too."
"I have to ask, though, how did it feel being back in the theater?"
"It made me miss it," I admitted. "I always loved the stage."
"Ever since you were a little girl. As soon as I got you into the theater, all your stress went away."
"Because I could escape into another world, where anything could happen. But I'm not a little girl anymore, and rent is real, and money is important. I'm thrilled that the podcast is allowing me to be creative and to be my own boss. Plus, I get to work with my two best friends."
"Tessa is the big driver of our success," Morgan said. "She's the one who has always had the big dreams, the vision of where we could go. Sometimes, she's had to drag us kicking and screaming, but we're lucky that she's helped us make all this happen."
"Relationships are the most important thing in life," Vivienne said. "And I'm glad you found two good friends, Tessa. Shall we go?"
"I'm ready."
"Will you be coming to the theater tomorrow?"
"Since it's right next door, probably at some point."
"Good. I want to keep up with what's going on."
"Of course." Despite my answer, I had no intention of getting her further involved if I could help it. She didn't like scary things, and my life was filled with nothing but that.
When we got back to the building, we waved goodbye, then headed down the breezeway. Before we went inside, I paused. "Morgan."
She gave me a wary look. "I don't like the sound of that."
"I just said your name."
"There's more coming, and I'm not going to like it, am I?"
"Probably not. It's a little past eight o'clock. The sun has set. It's shadowy enough for us to go to the lakefront and shoot a short video from the location where Paige's body was found."
"I knew I wasn't going to like it."