Murder in the Second Row by Bev Robitai

that
always the way?’ agreed Clara-Jane casually. ‘So you’re not wildly
keen on Nick, then?’
    ‘Oh he’s nice
enough. Nothing wrong with him.’ Jessica’s eyes narrowed. ‘Why are
you asking?’
    ‘Just checking.
I like to live vicariously through my friends. If there’s any
romance in the air I want to know about it, that’s all.’
    ‘Good God,
woman – that’ll be the day! There’s nobody in the theatre crowd who
appeals, and who’s got time to meet new men when we spend all our
evenings in this place? No, night-times it’s just me and the cat,
curled up in comfort. Sad but true.’ She snorted at a sudden
thought. ‘If you want vicarious entertainment you should follow
Tamara around some nights.’
    ‘Ooh, you have
been spending too much time with the cat!’
     
    The following
Saturday it rained. Heavily. Jessica sighed as she hunted out
buckets and towels to deal with the many leaks dripping onto the
stage. By the time the rest of the construction team arrived she
had mopped up most of the puddles and placed buckets under the more
persistent dribbles.
    ‘You’re going
to have to work round the rain, guys. Either that or climb up on
the roof with some chewing gum and bung up the holes.’
    ‘Ah, a bit of
rain never hurt anyone,’ said Gazza as a large drip hit his cap
brim. He removed his cap and shook it. Seeing the droplets splatter
to the floor, he added, ‘Though it might pay to make sure we’ve got
the isolating transformers plugged in to the extension cords
though, for anyone who’s using power tools.’
     
    They got to
work assembling a series of flats designed to represent the rocky
outcrops of Petra.
    ‘This is a bit
wet for a desert, isn’t it?’ said Howard, picking up the battery
drill and driving in a screw. It squeaked loudly, echoing in the
empty auditorium.
    ‘More
lubrication!’ yelled the rest of the team in a practised response.
Stewart giggled nervously.
    They built a
high wall with steps up to an opening and a flat area, a platform,
in front of it.
    ‘How much room
do they need up here?’ called Gazza from the platform.
    ‘Leave enough
space for a chair and for someone to stand behind it,’ Howard told
him, after checking the set design.
    ‘How big a
chair?’
    ‘How the hell
should I know? Best make room for the biggest one in the props
room.’
    ‘That sounds
right,’ put in Jessica. ‘Ada Boynton sits in it and she’s supposed
to be “a vast obese woman, rather like an idol” according to the
script.’
    ‘An idle what?’
asked Howard, grinning.
    ‘An American
idol!’ said Jessica. ‘Seriously, the script says she’s
American.’
    ‘I’d better put
some extra reinforcing under this bloody platform then,’ came a
voice from above.
    Amid the wave
of laughter that followed, Nathan appeared at the side of the
stage. Today he had interesting red and blue colouring sprayed
through his dreadlocks, which were tied back into an unruly bunch.
At least they toned in with his tie-dyed red t-shirt, thought
Jessica, but she wasn’t too sure about the blue and purple
patterned pants.
    Stewart
however, leaped to his feet with enthusiasm. ‘Wow, cool pants man –
where d’you get them?’
    ‘Course
assignment,’ said Nathan. ‘Block printing. It was these or
curtains.’
    ‘Great
colours.’ Stewart reached forward tentatively to feel the fabric
but wavered halfway. He changed the direction of his hand, instead
gesturing towards the other side of the stage. ‘Er, the paint
room’s over there. You want to see what colours we’ve got for the
Petra set?’
    He took Nathan
over to the small but well-stocked paint room, where Jessica
watched them prise the lids off several cans to check the contents.
She edged over to Howard and nudged him. ‘Looks like wee Stewart’s
found himself a friend.’
    Howard
straightened up from rummaging through a box of screws, and
followed her gaze to where the fair head and the dreadlocked head
were close together,