why does Wyatt put up with her? Sometimes I wonder about his sanity.
Wyatt gives the top hat a quick shake before holding it out my way.
“Go ahead.” He nods. “Pick your part, Bizzy.”
I dip my hand in and stir the papers around a bit before my fingers snag on a ragged edge and I fish out a neatly folded note.
I quickly unfurl it. Character name—Corella Tinder. Occupation—pole dancer. Role—the killer.
A breath hitches in my throat as I look to the three of them.
“Thank you,” I say. “What do I do?”
Thomas peers at my paper a moment. “You’ll simply introduce yourself to the other characters when it’s time for introductions. There’s a back story on the other side.”
Wyatt and Molly excuse themselves and head over to a group of women behind me.
But Thomas leans in with a devious smile curling on his lips. “Congratulations. People would kill for your part. Pardon the pun.”
“Who do I kill?”
“Wyatt is the victim.” He shrugs as if he thought it was cheesy. “I’ll sound a bell about thirty minutes in. That’s usually enough time for all of the actors to introduce themselves and their roles to play out—including the death. Remember, your occupation is a pole dancer. You can’t expose the fact you’re the killer or even hint at it. If I were you, I wouldn’t breathe it until the end when it’s time for the big reveal. Let it be a genuine surprise. Once Wyatt fakes his death, the audience will take a moment and write down who they think the killer is. When you hear the bell go off, head to the back shelf. There’s a butcher knife sitting on a row of books just under the sign that reads cozy mysteries.” He points to the back of the room, and I spot the sign easily. There’s a picture of a cat holding a magnifying glass over it as well.
“And then what?” I ask, breathless. It’s almost as if a part of me has waited all of my life for this role. Little does Thomas know how hard I’ve been training.
“The bell will ring again. That’s when you grab the knife and step back to the center of the room and announce you’re the killer. I expect half the audience to get it right. It’s sort of our version of a murder mystery party. It’s fun. We’ve done it a couple of times using different scripts.”
“Sounds like a good time.”
“It will be a great time.”
Thomas takes off, and before long the cast is called to the center of the room.
Both Emmie and Leo step up beside me, as does Jasper.
“Who did you get?” I do a little dance as I wait for Emmie to flash her paper my way.
“My name is Ophelia Drummond, and I’m a successful homemaker.” Emmie frowns as if this didn’t sit well with her. “I want to know how you define successful homemaker.”
“You bake a mean pie?”
She waves her paper my way. “More like a mean lemon tart.”
Leo nods. “And that’s why they’re almost all gone.”
“What role did you get, Leo?” I ask.
He flashes his paper my way. “Plumber.”
Emmie gives a husky laugh. “It’s always the plumber that does it.”
A crooked grin glides up his face. “I’ll take that as an innuendo.”
Jasper averts his eyes. “What role did you get, Bizzy?”
“Pole dancer.” I shrug up at him. “If you’re good, I’ll show you my moves later. How about you?”
“Would you believe me if I said pole dancer inspector?”
I shake my head. “Try again.”
“I’m the arresting officer.” His brows pinch in the middle, giving him that vexingly sexy look that has ten different women sighing in his direction. “I’m beginning to think they’re typecasting this thing.” A naughty smile threatens to ride on his lips.
“Oh? So you think Emmie is a great homemaker and Leo knows where to put his pipes?”
He winces. “No, but I do know you have great moves.”
Thomas gets our attention, and soon enough we’re introducing ourselves as our characters to one another as we slowly build a story world. Wyatt is a land baron who is about to sell out the dirt from beneath a local strip mall and turn it into a landfill, thus sending every character in this murderous play to the unemployment line.
Mom, Georgie, and Juni each wave to me and offer a thumbs-up once I give my spiel about my new pole dancing gig. The audience laughs when Jasper insists I show up to his private chambers later tonight to demonstrate my