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

hoping to do some fittings.”
    “There was an incident,” Ian said as he moved to stand beside his wife. He put his hand on her shoulder as if to reassure himself that she was okay. “Robbie was cut with a knife.”
    “On purpose?” Nancy asked. Her blue eyes were wide as she looked at Violet in horror.
    “We suspect so,” Violet said with a nod of her head. “Between the stabbing tonight and the set falling on him the other day, I’d say someone is not too happy with him. Still, I can’t imagine who would—”
    “Oh, can’t you?” Ian asked. “How about his wife, Kitty?”
    “Or his girlfriend, Lola,” Mary added.
    “Harvey Wargus certainly is not a fan,” Nancy said.
    “Or Brian Loeb, who seems to think that Robbie slept with his wife,” Lindsey added.
    “Yes, Robbie does have a few jealous males with him in their sights, doesn’t he?” Ian asked. He was looking at Lindsey, but she refused to acknowledge his thinly veiled reference to Sully. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that Sully had nothing to do with Robbie’s injury. Sully was much too honest and direct for that.
    “Well, I guess I’ll send everyone home for the night and call the police in to investigate,” Violet said. “I know Robbie can be . . . well, a handful, but he’s one of my closest friends and I will not let any harm come to him when he’s been good enough to help me stage this production.”
    The others nodded, but then Lindsey paused.
    “Violet, I hate to suggest this, but do you think it could be your ex-husband, Sterling Buchanan?” Lindsey asked. “Do you think he’d go after Robbie to hurt you?”
    Violet paled. “I don’t . . . that’s a very good question. It seems I have several calls to make. If you will excuse me?”
    “I’ll come with you,” Nancy said. “I can make a pot of tea and sit with you while you make your calls.”
    Violet looked at her friend and squeezed her arm. “Thank you.”
    “Do you want me to close up the theater for the night?” Ian asked.
    “Leave the stage lights on,” Violet said. “I’ll be in the office and I want to show the police where everything happened. But please send everyone home and go ahead and lock up the rest of the rooms.”
    “Will do,” Ian said.
    “Do you want a lift home?” Mary asked Lindsey.
    “Oh, thanks, but Beth and I rode our bikes,” Lindsey said. “I’m going to go outside and see if I can find her.”
    “Lindsey, be careful,” Ian said. “If someone does have it in for Robbie Vine, they might not like that he seems to have taken a shine to you.”
    Lindsey nodded and Mary gave her a quick hug. She could only hope that Ian was wrong. She went back to the wardrobe room to retrieve her things. She wondered what Emma Plewicki would make of the situation and if she would recommend closing the show.
    A few of the cast and crew were still loitering about outside. She saw Beth standing with Dylan and Heather and made her way over to them. She assumed Perry must have already left.
    Dylan was the first to spot her. “Ms. Norris, will Mr. Vine be all right?”
    He looked pale and shaky, and she realized it was probably the first time these teens had seen anything like this.
    “I think so,” she said. “The wound wasn’t deep and the bleeding had pretty much stopped.”
    “Is it true that he was stabbed on purpose?” Heather asked. “Did someone try to kill Mr. Vine?”
    Lindsey blew out a breath. She didn’t want to scare them but she didn’t want to give them false platitudes, either.
    “I honestly don’t know,” she said. “The police have been called and I’m sure they’re going to check into it.”
    Just then an SUV pulled up. Lindsey saw that it was Joanie, Dylan’s mother. Under the streetlight that shined through the window, she looked decidedly unhappy, and Lindsey wondered if word of what had happened in the theater had already spread through the small community.
    “My mom is here,” Dylan