Chapter 10

Steven leaned back at his desk and pondered some of the recent developments. Peter Hertz had just been hired to play opposite Cornelia. Not confirmed by anyone yet, a rumor had his daughter and Ken split but she had been spotted with Peter. Ron Pratt had been rehired. His mother had talked the producer into it. The previous understudy, Penelope had married. Her new husband was Patrick O'Flaherty, the patrolman at the scene of the fire and then the murder. Another rumor was she was pregnant and it might not be Patrick's. Other rumors were that Cornelia had changed. She seemed to be harder to work with and she insisted on rehearsing enmass. Everyone complied but the other actors notably her leading man resented it. He wanted them to rehearse together without the others before they acted as a group. This was the rumor that raised his hope. He had seen his picture and had a thick dossier on Mr. Peter Hertz. He had been mentioned as the main reason for nine marriages breaking up. All of them had caused major distress to the families involved. Nine pregnant adulteresses and nine angry husbands added up to a deliberate pattern.

He sat and wondered. 'Here was a man with an intense dislike for people of the Jewish religion. Also, here was a man using his personal magnetism to seduce married women of that religion. Not only seduce but also impregnate them and then destroy their marriages. What kind of man was he dealing with here? There were probably other married women who had been seduced that had not made a fuss. Maybe he was a real suspect. Maybe he tired of the seduction scene and wanted more. Murder may be a bigger high than seduction.'

'Another possible suspect was Patrolman Patrick O'Flaherty. He had his regular beat there. He had his intended bride working in the play. Maybe Michael Moore did more than rehearse with his intended. Maybe he impregnated her. Then it became a motive for revenge and maybe murder. Patrick was a real suspect and a real worry for the department.'

'Another possible suspect was Ken. His daughter loved him whether they were a couple now or not. Yet there had been rumors about Michael and his daughter. In fact if he had known about Michael and his daughter he might have tried to kill him himself. But for most of his suspects he would have thought that a confrontation would have been used instead of stabbing him in the back. He had more research to do on Michael and the group he belonged to before he might solve this case.'

He wasn't the only one that had become rededicated.

Cornelia had become an actress focused to do her job and only her job. She did not tempt herself with one on one rehearsing with Peter. Her insistence that the entire cast be present allowed many full costume rehearsals. The producer had worried about his backers but they didn't hinder it. The director was delighted. He ordinarily never had enough time for all of the players together. The writer loved it since he didn't have to do piecemeal rewrites for weeks at a time. The understudies rehearsed with the stars in front of them and with others in the main cast.

Ken and Barbara worked on with their fellow crew and cast. They hoped that the work would keep their minds off of their personal problems and it did. The three of them were the only members of the play that did keep out of personal involvements.

Meanwhile Al and Helen decided to marry. She had become pregnant. Since they were going to marry anyway they tied the knot sooner. Her rabbi had married them. Al wasn't into religion. All he knew was she was the best. Helen urged him to solve the crime. But she told him that she wouldn't be surprised if one of her friends had done the deed. Then she told him about Peter and Michael. It disturbed him that these men had done such rotten things to her friends. He might find out who did it but he may not tell the authorities.

It had taken some time for the two of them to get even this far. Unlike the previous week, this week Barb had told Ken they needed to work together. They both agreed that the police may not have been too thorough in their search for a weapon inside the theater since it had occurred outside. With everyone's personal stuff it would have required a search warrant. So they had begun with the dressing rooms and had found nothing.

The next area was the large supply room. Barb had picked the costume chests. Ken was to look at the shelves. He had been poking around the corners of the supply room when he found a secret panel. It had taken fifteen minutes of effort but he finally opened it. There wedged in the small area was a dried blood covered knife. He knew immediately that it was the weapon that had killed Michael.

"Barb, I've found it! Now you need to tell the authorities. I'll stay here and guard the knife."

Barbara ran out to the producer's office. She phoned her father. Within minutes several patrol cars were on the scene. Barbara led them to the supply room. She knew something was wrong from the start. The room was dark and quiet. She turned on the lights.

"Ken! Kenny where are you?"

She heard a groan and ran to the area where she had left Ken. She found him in a pool of blood. She screamed and yelled for help. A policeman pulled her away and quickly pressed against the proper pressure point. Barbara was sobbing and a lot of yelling was going on but she heard Ken tell her before he passed out, "I love you Barbie." It was whispered but he may as well have yelled it out loud. It was so clear to her. He loved her and always had. She loved him and always had. He had to live!

Steven and Cornelia took turns comforting Barbara. It worried them that if Ken didn't make it then Barbara might go- they looked at each other and prayed. This was their baby and she needed both of them. Cornelia's tears weren't just for Barbara as Steven stroked her head. Steven had heard from the lab. They had gotten fingerprints from the knife they found in Ken. They were being analyzed as he sat with his daughter and ex-wife. Steven had found out that Ken was his baby's boy friend. But from the way she reacted he believed that he was more than that to her. It had taken some time for her to even recognize that he had her in his arms. He guessed that such deep concentration for the well being of another was because he was her lover too. He knew that he and Cornelia were passionate people. He began another prayer when he saw the continued wild-eyed worry that his daughter had.

When the doctor walked down the hallway from the operating room an hour later, Barbara fainted before he arrived. He rushed forward and got a nurse to find some smelling salts. While he did that he told them about the trouble he had stitching Kenneth up. Finally, just as Steven was about to get up and shake him for information if Ken had actually survived, the doctor told them that he had indeed made it and was in intensive care. Steven then arranged for around the clock guards to be posted at the door to Ken's room. The doctor told them that if he didn't get an infection, he stood an excellent chance of full recovery. The knife had missed all vital areas and hadn't even nicked the intestine. But he had lost some blood.