Read It and Weep (A Library Lover's Mystery) by Jenn McKinlay Page A

side,” she said. She stood beside them, clutching the first aid kit to her chest.
    “After you,” Sully said. He nudged Robbie in the direction of the stairs—and he was none too gentle about it.
    “Well, I see what you mean about the worst,” Robbie muttered to Lindsey as he passed her. He made a mock horrified look at Sully, and Lindsey smiled.
    “Thanks for taking care of me,” he said. Then he blew her a kiss and Lindsey felt her face get hot.
    She watched as he walked up the aisle and pushed through the door to the lobby. She barely caught a glimpse of Lola as she pounced on Robbie once he stepped outside. She knew it shouldn’t bother her, but still she turned away from the sight.
    Sully was standing there watching her, and Lindsey felt inexplicably irritated with him. “Go ahead and say it.”
    “Say what?” he asked. His voice was mild as if he had no idea what she was talking about. This made her even more annoyed.
    “Go ahead and tell me that Robbie is bad news and I should stay away—you know, the whole spiel. Get it off of your chest,” she said.
    “I wasn’t going to say that,” he said. He looked genuinely hurt and Lindsey felt her annoyance slip away.
    “No?” she asked.
    “No,” he said. He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and blew out a breath. “You should do whatever makes you happy. You deserve to be happy.”
    Lindsey stared at him. All she could think when she studied his handsome face was,
you make me happy
. But of course she didn’t say it. Instead, she said, “Thanks for taking him to the doctor. That’s very good of you.”
    Sully stepped close to her, and she could smell that particular scent that was his: a citrusy, sea air–soaked smell that filled her senses and made her dizzy.
    “Just be careful, Lindsey,” he said. “Like I said, you deserve to be happy, but I’d hate to see you get hurt.”
    She watched as he left through the doors to the lobby.
    “Do you think it’s safe enough to have everyone come back in?” Violet asked Ian.
    They were walking across the stage toward Lindsey, and she turned to see Ian run a hand over his bald head.
    “I think so,” he said. “But Violet, whoever tampered with the circuit breaker meant business. We need to call Chief Plewicki and tell her what happened.”
    “Do you think whoever damaged the circuit breaker did it to get to Robbie?” Lindsey asked. The coincidence was just too much.
    Violet and Ian both looked worried and Lindsey knew that was her answer.
    “But why would someone want to stab him?” Lindsey said. “I mean I understand that he puts some people off, but to cut him, I mean, that’s . . . well . . . scary.”
    “It’s worse than that, I’m afraid,” Violet said.
    “What do you mean?” Lindsey asked.
    “We don’t think they meant to just stab him,” Ian said. “We think they planned to murder him.”

12
    “M urder?” Lindsey gasped. “Surely it was just a warning of some sort, maybe, from someone who wants to stop the show?”
    “Lindsey, you dressed the wound,” Ian said. “If it had been over just a few more inches, it would have been his heart.”
    “And the attack wasn’t made using a prop sword, either,” Violet added.
    “No,” Lindsey agreed. “That cut was most definitely made by a very sharp blade.”
    Violet let out a deep sigh. She crossed one arm over her middle and rested her head on the fingertips of her other hand.
    “This is a nightmare,” she said. “I suppose I should call Chief Plewicki.”
    “She’ll definitely want to know what’s happening,” Lindsey said. “And Robbie should file a report.”
    “Speaking of our favorite thespian, someone should keep an eye on him,” Ian said. He glanced at Lindsey. “Shall I volunteer Sully for the task?”
    “Oh, I don’t see that going well,” she said.
    “Hey, where did everyone go?” Nancy asked as she and Mary arrived from the hallway with costumes draped over their shoulders. “We were