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?”

“Really, Violet?” Robbie asked. “I know you don’t cook, but surely the purpose of a knife hasn’t escaped you.”

“You know what I mean—” Violet began but she was cut off as a body came tripping toward them out of the dark.

“Robbie!” Lola crouched down on his other side and hugged him close. “Are you all right? What happened? Did you fall?”