Page 93 of Script Swap
“And you,” Nora continued, “were doing your usual bungling.A tragedy, of course, but—” She smiled as she steadied the gun.“—you know what they say, Mr.Dane: the show—”
“The show must go on,” I said over her.Her mouth thinned into a line.“Yeah, you don’t like it when someone interrupts you, do you?Maybe you’ll think about that the next time someone is doing a grand reveal—”
“Dash,” a voice shouted overhead, “run!”
Fox.
It was Fox up there on the catwalk.
And then there was a thud, followed by a crash, and Betty cried out.
Nora’s head whipped back.The conflict above us distracted her only for a moment, but it was all I needed.I started to lunge—
Tinny beat me to the punch.Literally.All ninety pounds of her flew across the stage like some sort of Millennial ghost, and she clubbed Nora in the face with the prop pistol.Nora let out this weirdly dramatic moan, like you’d expect from an outraged dowager in a period piece.Her knees buckled.The hand with the gun flopped at her side.Tinny hit her again, screaming, “Neutrals go with everything!”And Nora collapsed.
Tinny followed her to the floor, bringing the prop pistol back, but by that point I’d recovered from my shock (awe?glee?).I caught Tinny’s arm to stop an incipient homicide—er,anotherincipient homicide.And then I kicked Nora’s gun away.
It ended up right in front of the set piece for the hidden tunnel under Hemlock House—the grand finale of the Daniel Dank saga.(He gets saved by Pippi in that version, or whatever her lightly fictionalized character’s name is.)
If that isn’t symbolism, I don’t know what is.
Above us the sounds of struggle stopped.Ragged breathing floated among the trusses.
“Fox?”I called.
Voice reedy, they answered, “Okay.We’re okay.”And then their voice tightened as they fought a wave of emotion: “It’s over.”
Betty started to cry.
Chapter 22
I still got in trouble.
Can you believe that?The injustice.
“But I didn’t do anything!”I protested to Bobby.“I did exactly what you said.”
Bobby, face grim, chose not to answer.
“I caught Tinny,” I told the sheriff.“I stopped her from destroying evidence.”
The sheriff did not appear convinced.
“I solved a murder,” I informed Salk.“I solvedtwomurders.And somehow I’m the bad guy.”
Salk nodded understandingly.And then he said, “I’ve got a cousin like you.My aunt makes him wear a leash.”
I honestly didn’t know how to respond to that—for one thing, I had so many questions.I settled for an outraged squawk that made Salk grin, and a few moments later, I caught him saying something to Bobby, and for this one, treacherous second, Bobby looked like he was going to crack up.
After Nora (who was fine, albeit slightly concussed) and a tearful Betty were taken away in separate cruisers, Tinny and Fox and I all had to give our statements at the theater.The sheriff let Fox go first.
“Tell people my story,” I said as they passed me.“Don’t let them make me disappear.”
“Is he always like this after one of these things?”Fox asked Bobby.
“He made himself a badge after that thing with Millie’s brother.”
My jaw dropped.“Bobby!”
