Chapter 30 - Nadia

Dorian and I spent the next day helping set up tents for an art festival in Central Park. Dorian turned it into a game of setting up the tent poles, and then doing a sexy pole dance around them while humming burlesque music. I almost died laughing when he put too much weight on one pole and the entire tent came crashing down on top of him. After a glare from the event coordinator, we did the rest of the work more seriously. It took a lot longer than passing out fliers in Times Square, but we got paid twice as much. And it still beat helping rich women try on shoes.
Rehearsal that night was tense the moment we walked inside. The part of the stage damaged by the spotlight had been cut out and repaired, but the new wood was a slightly different stain color and stuck out like a healed wound. Andy and Ryan were up in the catwalks, double-checking all the lights before we began rehearsal. Most of the cast stood around stage whispering about what was going to happen while avoiding the newly-repaired square of stage.
“Was she outside?” one of the backup dancers asked me.
“Who?”
“Tatiana,” another girl said. “Nobody has seen her. And Atkins is still in his office with the door closed.”
The first girl leaned in close. “I heard she took the first flight back to Boston yesterday.”
“Why Boston?”
“I don’t know. It’s just what I heard.”
“Well I heard she had to be medicated,” said the other dancer. “And she’s been in a catatonic state since the accident.”
Dorian elbowed me. “Maybe you’ll get to run the show tonight as the lead!”
“Maybe.” I glanced at Braden, who had broken off from our group to stretch his legs by the wall. He doesn’t know how he feels. I wondered if the chemistry of doing our lines together again would help him figure out what he wanted.
I stretched my legs and did some vocal warm-ups in the hall backstage while waiting for Atkins to come out. But when his door opened, it was a stranger who walked out.
A stranger wearing an NYPD detective badge.
“Evening,” he said, nodding to me. He was wearing plain clothes, although the crew cut and hard face made him out to be a cop even without the badge. “Are you Nadia?”
“I… yes?” I said.
“Mind if I ask you a few questions?”
It may have been phrased as a request, but his tone and stare implied I didn’t have any choice. I nodded and followed him farther down the hall away from the other cast members.
The detective didn’t introduce himself. He pulled a notepad and pen from his pocket and then turned his stare back on me. “You’re the understudy to Tatiana? The lead?”
“That’s right,” I said in a squeaky voice. He suspects that I’m the saboteur. I had the biggest motive to want Tatiana gone.
“Are you aware of the strange events surrounding the show?”
“I am,” I replied.
“Please list some of these events, so I know we’re on the same page.”
“Umm. The spotlight crashing yesterday. That could have killed someone. Ryan, the stage hand, told me screws have been loosened from lighting housing up in the catwalks. I think that’s all I’ve heard of.”
He nodded and wrote in his notepad. “Have you noticed anything suspicious in the theater in the past few weeks?”
“There was a strange sound in the catwalks the other day,” I said. “The same day the spotlight fell. Dorian and I heard it before rehearsal.”
“What were you two doing here before everyone else?”
“Practicing,” I said. “He was giving me pointers on my track.”
“Track?”
“The path you move during a scene,” I explained, gesturing at the floor. “Each actor has a different track for their role. Where they’re supposed to be on stage at any given point. As a backup dancer, my tracks are more complex than anyone with singing roles.”
“I see.” He scribbled some more in his notepad. “That’s all I had for you. I mostly wanted to corroborate what Director Atkins said about the suspicious noise you heard.”
“Oh,” I said. I still felt like a cornered deer waiting to get shot. Why was he toying with me? “Do you know who…”
The detective barked a laugh. “The way I see it, this old theater has a lot of quirks. And if all the budget-cutting is true, then I doubt the stage hand has done a thorough job setting up the lights. That makes more sense than sabotage. Who would want to sabotage this crummy show? No offense.” He nodded as he left. “Thanks for your time.”
I blinked a few times before walking back to the stage. I’d expected the questioning to go on much longer than that. Why hadn’t he given me more direct questions about my involvement? Asking if I had an alibi or something?
“You okay?” Dorian asked when I returned to the stage. I quickly explained the detective and what he’d asked.
“Oh, wow,” Dorian said. “I guess it’s good that they’re taking it seriously, huh?”
“I guess.”
When Director Atkins’ office door eventually opened, he and Tatiana came walking out like a principal who had just scolded a student. Her face was totally blank, which was shocking for someone so overly expressive. Maybe she was heavily medicated, like the other dancer had suggested. Or something Atkins said had spooked her.
Or she’s afraid of the spotlight that almost crushed her. That was enough to make anyone go pale for a few days.
“Alright everyone,” Atkins announced. “I hope your day off has been helpful. We’ve identified the issue with the lights and have taken every measure to ensure your safety.”
Ryan leaned over the edge of the catwalk and gave us a thumbs-up. His eyes met mine, and he smiled for an instant before returning to his work.
“If anyone has a problem with the working conditions, please tell me now so I can find replacements,” Atkins said.
He looked around the stage, but nobody said anything. His gaze ended on Tatiana. She shook her head softly, and then Atkins nodded like it was something they had talked about.
“Then let’s get to work. We have a lot to cover tonight…”
The first few numbers we practiced weren’t examples of our best work. The cast kept glancing up at the catwalks as if expecting another spotlight to suddenly smash into the stage, which caused everyone to miss their tracks and make mistakes.
But the second number was better than the first, and after that everyone began to forget what had happened as they got into a groove.
I watched Braden and Tatiana as they danced together, ending with Braden dipping her down into bed and giving her a kiss. It was impossible not to feel jealous. Tatiana was less of a diva tonight than usual, but despite her best efforts she just wasn’t very good. Her dancing was a step behind everyone else, forcing Braden to slow his own track to match hers. When Atkins critiqued him for it afterwards, I could tell he wanted to blame her. But he took a deep breath, let it out, and told Atkins he would try harder.
He wouldn’t have to if he had a real partner instead of the spoiled granddaughter of the producer.