Chapter 5 - The Trap Above the Stage
Adrian moved in front of Clara.
Barker laughed.
“Still playing protector?”
Adrian's voice was quiet.
“You tried to drop a chandelier on me.”
“No. I tried to end a dynasty.”
“You're failing.”
“Am I?”
Barker pointed upward.
Clara heard machinery moving.
A counterweight carriage began descending.
She recognized the sound.
“Adrian, don't move.”
He glanced back.
“Why?”
“The stage floor.”
Clara saw a narrow line beneath his shoes.
A trapdoor.
Barker smiled.
“Smart girl.”
Clara looked around.
The rigging controls were twenty feet away.
“Why involve me?” she asked.
Barker shrugged.
“Your father's daughter discovers a structural problem. Chandelier falls. Moretti dies. Investigators discover your family has a history with the building.”
“You wanted it to look like revenge.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian said, “You erased surveillance.”
“Most of it.”
“Not enough.”
Barker's smile weakened.
Clara noticed.
He didn't know about the waiter footage.
She kept him talking.
“You ruined my father's life.”
“Your father ruined mine.”
“He reported theft.”
“He was a maintenance worker who didn't understand business.”
“He understood bolts.”
Barker's jaw tightened.
Clara continued.
“And apparently better than you.”
Adrian looked sideways at her.
Barker stepped forward.
That was what Clara wanted.
“Now!” she shouted.
Adrian lunged sideways.
Clara grabbed a release lever.
The scenery curtain dropped between them and Barker.
Barker cursed.
Adrian reached Clara.
“What did you do?”
“Bought us five seconds.”
“Useful woman.”
“Compliment me later.”
They ran toward the wing.
Barker pushed through the curtain.
Clara reached a manual fire-control station.
She slammed the emergency switch.
House lights exploded on.
Every work light in the theater illuminated simultaneously.
Barker stopped.
Security cameras rotated toward the stage.
Clara smiled.
“No darkness anymore.”
Marco's voice thundered from the balcony.
“Barker!”
Security entered from both sides.
Barker looked around.
No escape.
Adrian stepped toward him.
Marco shouted, “Boss, don't.”
Adrian stopped.
For several seconds, he and Barker simply stared at each other.
Barker sneered.
“What? The great Adrian Moretti won't handle this personally?”
Adrian's expression stayed cold.
“No.”
Sirens sounded outside.
Barker's face changed.
Adrian continued.
“You wanted everyone to believe my family operates above the law.”
He looked toward the police entering backstage.
“Tonight, you get to discover you're wrong.”
Barker was arrested.
Clara watched officers lead him away.
Victor approached slowly.
“It won't erase what happened to your father.”
“No.”
“I should have investigated eight years ago.”
“Yes.”
Victor nodded.
No excuses.
Adrian looked at Marco.
“Get every document connected to Thomas Hayes.”
Victor asked, “Why?”
“Because we're reopening his case.”
Clara stared at Adrian.
“You don't have to.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No. Your uncle does.”
Victor looked at her.
Clara held his gaze.
“You signed the papers. Maybe somebody forged your signature, but you chose not to ask questions afterward.”
Victor nodded.
“You're right.”
Adrian turned toward Clara.
“And Barker?”
“What about him?”
“You spotted him. You exposed him. You helped trap him.”
“I spilled four glasses of Cabernet on you.”
Adrian looked at his ruined shirt.
“That remains your most serious offense.”
Clara smiled despite herself.
Marco approached.
“Police want statements.”
Adrian sighed.
Clara started toward them.
Then stopped.
“Adrian.”
He looked at her.
It was the first time she'd used his first name.
“What?”
“The chandelier wasn't the only thing Barker sabotaged.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“What else?”
Clara held up one of the old maintenance reports.
“My father listed seven structural problems.”
Marco took the page.
Six had been repaired.
One hadn't.
The main roof truss above the ballroom.
Adrian looked upward.
Three hundred guests were still inside the building.
May you like
“Evacuate everyone.”
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