Marie accepted the congratulations of the cast and select members of the audience her mother had deemed worthy of visiting her backstage, but she couldn’t help but look around for Johann. She had managed her ability to take on the role, and while sometimes it had felt like a runaway team of horses, she had wrested control and had the best performance of her life.
Finally he appeared, and although he grinned when he saw her, the lift of his cheeks didn’t match the tension around his eyes. Inspector Davidson followed behind him like a shadow.
“What’s wrong?” Marie asked him.
“I came to congratulate you, and the inspector is here to protect you. Parnaby Cobb is in the audience, and we don’t know what your friend downstairs is going to do.”
“You didn’t answer the question.” She was sweatin
