Lindsey sighed as she poured her own cup. The boy had a point. So now, on top of losing her friend, poor Violet was probably going to lose her theater as well.

• • •

A meeting was called for all of the cast and crew for seven o’clock that evening. Lindsey was one of the last to arrive, as she’d gotten caught up with helping Mrs. Fisk research the legal forms she needed to give her daughter power of attorney when she died.

Mrs. Fisk was nowhere near death. She was only fifty-five, but she was a nervous sort who liked to have everything in order just in case.

As Lindsey walked her bike from the library to the theater, she couldn’t really fault Mrs. Fisk. Given that Robbie, who had only been in his late thirties, was now dead, it was pretty clear that you never knew when your number was up and it was good to be prepared. Lindsey wondered who would inherit Robbie’s fortune. If Kitty was his beneficiary, it certainly gave her a heck of a motive to kill him.

She locked up her bike and then slipped through the door to take a seat with the rest of the crew. Mary and Nancy were sitting with Ian and Sully. The cast was sitting closer to the stage, and she could just make out Beth’s spiky black hair in the second row.

Violet was in front of the stage. She looked pale and tired, and Lindsey imagined that she hadn’t gotten much, if any, sleep.

“How’s she holding up?” Lindsey asked.

“As well as can be expected,” Nancy said.

“Good evening, everyone,” Violet said. “Thank you all for coming.”

There were murmured greetings in return. Lindsey scanned the room to see who had shown up. She saw Lola sitting down in front with the cast, but there was no sign of Kitty. She wondered if Robbie’s wife was too grief struck to attend or if she had been detained by the police.

“Now, I know that most of you have heard the rumor that Robbie is dead. I’m sad to say it is true.” Violet paused. There were a few mutters, but mostly the room absorbed the news without surprise.

“I imagine many of you think that without Robbie, we will cancel the show,” Violet said. “But I refuse to do that. I’m sure you have all heard the stories that Robbie’s death was no accident. Well, I’m here to tell you that those rumors are also true.”

A gasp rippled through the crowd. Surprised, Lindsey returned her attention to Violet. She didn’t think that Emma had announced the cause of Robbie’s death and she was surprised that Violet was saying anything that hadn’t been confirmed by the police as yet. Then again, Robbie had been a close personal friend to Violet, so her grief was probably getting the better of her.