turned toward him, and instinctively, he raised his gun. He realized it was Gil and Julian and lowered his weapon. Scout disappeared down a row to his left, and the room suddenly filled with the voices of the actors speaking on-screen.
“Don’t move, or I’ll shoot the boy,” said a voice from the shadows.
“Felicia?” Isla said.
“How did you find me?” Felicia emerged from behind the curtains along the left side of the theater.
“Actually, Scout found him. My son’s suffering a life-threatening diabetic reaction and is in desperate need of my assistance. Please, there’s not much time.”
“Don’t move! Either of you.” The woman turned to Karl. “And I suggest you drop that gun on the floor, cop, if you don’t want the boy to die.”
“Okay. Take it easy. I’m putting it down now.”
Realizing he had no other choice, he placed his gun down on the tiled floor and then stood up straight and held his arms up for her to see. He could barely make out the woman’s face because of the shadow enveloping her.
“Felicia, please let me attend to my son before it’s too late,” Isla pleaded. “I’m begging you.”
“If you try anything, I’ll shoot the both of you,” Felicia said.
“I promise you that I’ll do whatever you say if you let me give him his dose. He’s sick and could possibly die if he doesn’t get it.”
“You’re ruining my show.” Felicia pointed toward the screen.
“Please.”
“Hurry up, then.”
“I’ll need the lights on.” Isla ran to the left middle row in order to tend to Raisin.
“Fine. But I want the cop to keep his arms up and to sit down in one of the seats in the back row. And slowly.”
Karl gently toed the revolver under a seat in the last row, then sat in that very seat. He dragged his foot back as far as he could to locate the weapon but struggled to find it. He looked up and watched as the woman moved behind him and switched on the lights. Isla lowered her head behind the theater seat to get a reading on Raisin’s blood sugar. He sensed Felicia standing behind him with gun in hand, pointing it at his head.
Feeling helpless, he aimed his gaze toward the drama unfolding on-screen. It took a few seconds before he realized that he was watching a younger version of Felicia Briggs, back in the day when she starred on that TV show. He hadn’t seen Lost ‘n’ You until now. What struck him was how beautiful and glamorous Felicia was back then. She very much resembled her daughter, only softer and less angular, and with curly blond hair.
“Thank you, Felicia,” Isla said, breathing a sigh of relief. “He was low, but he should be okay now. I’ll need to test him again in fifteen minutes.”
“I suggest you do as you’re told if you want your son to stay alive,” Felicia said.
“Of course. Anything you want,” Isla said.
Felicia directed her attention to the drama on-screen. “Look at me up there on-screen. So beautiful and young. Gil said he would make a big star out of me.”
“But you already were a big star.”
She laughed. “Not big enough. Gil promised that I would be in movies and win Academy Awards and become a household name. For years, he claimed to be writing a screenplay with me in mind. Of course it never materialized, because of her and that stupid reality show.”
Karl kept his gaze on Gil and Julian, both of whom were still sitting in the front row, although on opposites sides of the aisle. Their head movements seemed unnatural, and Karl wondered if Felicia had drugged them.
“Why are you doing this, Felicia? You have a wonderful husband and an extremely talented daughter. You don’t need to be a star again to validate your life,” Isla said.
“A wonderful husband? Ha!” Felicia switched off the lights, and only the glow of the screen cast light upon them. “That piece of shit forgot all about me as soon as I had her.” Her voice dripped with hatred.
“I don’t understand,” Isla said.
“Everything I did was for Gil. So my husband would love me like he once did and make good on his promise to turn me into a star again. We were madly in love and had the most wonderful times together when we first started dating. It was why I broke up with that moron Dean. Then she came along and ruined everything—my career, my marriage, and my beautiful body.”