I can’t come up with anything.”
“I was contacted by a Mr. Welting, an attorney who I’m supposed to meet here.” She took one last look over her shoulder, then moved a bit closer to Mallory. “I wanted to get here a few minutes before him so I could explain a bit to you before he showed up.”
Mallory tugged her robe more tightly around her. “Explain what to me?”
“This whole business is so rushed and odd,” she muttered with a shake of her head. “Mr. Welting contacted me just before five this afternoon. He’s an attorney for Saxon Mills.”
“Saxon Mills? Money, business, wine,” Mallory muttered. “What was his attorney doing contacting you?”
“Offering you a job.”
Mallory almost laughed. “A job for me? Well, I’m desperate, so if he wants me to crush grapes, tell him I’m willing.”
Elaine flicked that away with one hand and only the shadow of a smile. “No, he wants you for an acting job.”
“That’s even better. I’ll take it.”
“You don’t even know what it is.”
“They’re closing the play as of tonight, Elaine. I’m free and broke. I’ll take anything.”
“I thought they might have to close. With this lousy weather and the economy, it’s hard to keep small companies going.”
“And the restaurant’s cutting back, too. I’ve lost two of my shifts, so I need whatever I can get.”
“Then this’ll work out better than I thought. It’s good timing for everyone.”
“It is for me. Now, what’s the part and when do I start?”
“Tomorrow, actually, and it runs through New Year’s. You’re going in as a replacement for someone. One of Welting’s people saw you when you were working at the Garnet last month in the Simon play. He remembered you when this position came up, and Mr. Welting says that you’re just right for what they want.”
“What play is it?”
Elaine looked a bit embarrassed. The woman usually had an answer for every question. “I’m sorry. This all happened so fast I didn’t get that. But when the man gets here, you can get all the details. All I know is, it’s in the Napa Valley area, a dinner theater of sorts, and they’re doing a Christmas piece.”
Sara Springer, the actress who played Tiny Tim’s oldest sister, came out of the dressing room and met Mallory. “I’m going down the block to pick up some pizzas for everyone, sort of a holiday wake. Do you want some?”
“No thanks.”
“Do you mind if I use your umbrella to go? Mine blew inside-out on the way here.”
“No, go ahead.”
“Thanks,” Sara said before she went back into the dressing room.
Mallory turned back to Elaine. “It’s up in Napa?”
“That’s what he said.”
“Then I don’t see how I can do it. I’ve got the restaurant—what little time they’re giving me—and commuting would be too much. My car’s on its last legs, as it is, and that would kill it.”
“Actually, you’ll have to forget about the restaurant for a while and stay in Napa if you want this job.”
“I can’t afford to—”
“Listen, you’re being offered a per diem and three times scale. Mr. Welting said it was an emergency. They’re willing to pay what they need to get you to take over the part.”
Mallory did some fast figuring and realized that even though she didn’t celebrate Christmas or put any stock in it, she was getting a genuine holiday present with this job. She could last at least two months on that money, even without working at the restaurant. “I guess I can’t refuse. But I’ll have to contact the restaurant and see what I can work out with them.”
“Good.” Elaine looked very relieved. “I knew you’d do it.”
The stage door opened abruptly, and for a moment the storm invaded the narrow hallway with pouring rain and a cold wind that curled around Mallory’s bare legs. Then a man ducked inside, a blur of dark clothes and height. The stranger. He’d come back, and for a second her heart lurched with the idea that he was the attorney Elaine had told her about.
But as he turned and brushed at his raincoat, then skimmed off a dark fedora he was wearing, she knew how wrong she’d been. He might be tall, but he was totally bald and more slight, with a pallor to his complexion that was in sharp contrast to the black coat. He could have been anywhere from fifty to seventy, with a narrow, furrowed face that looked devoid of any tendency to humor.
He spotted Elaine and headed right for her. “Ms. Bowers,” he said in a clipped voice that was tinged by a nasal quality. “I am sorry for the slight delay.”
“No problem, Mr. Welting,” Elaine said as the man stopped in front of her. “It gave me a chance to fill Mallory in on what you need.”
“Excellent,” he murmured, turning to look at Mallory.
Pale blue eyes, under bushy gray brows, narrowed, as the man pointedly stared at her with no hint of apology. His gaze traveled over her in what would have been a suggestive way if there had been any sexual overtones to it. But there were none. His scrutiny was cold and calculating, and as emotion free as the stranger’s gaze had earlier been emotion laden.
“You will do just fine,” he finally murmured, then gave her an oddly formal partial bow. “I am Henry Welting, representing Mr. Saxon Mills. It is a pleasure meeting you, Ms. King.”
She wished she could say the same, but the man made her skin crawl. “Elaine was just explaining your job offer to me.”
“Did she outline the financial aspects of the offer?”
“We went through all of it,” Elaine said quickly.
“And it’s satisfactory?” he said, never looking away from Mallory.
“Yes, it’s satisfactory,” Mallory said.
“Good. I would hate to haggle over a few dollars.”
The pay wasn’t exactly a “few dollars” to Mallory, but to a man wearing obviously expensive, hand-tailored clothes, the money was probably a pittance. “She also mentioned a per diem.”
“Yes, of course. Since it’s not in this area, we thought it best to offer you that.” He stared at her without blinking as he lifted one eyebrow slightly. “Since you are basically alone in the world, we didn’t feel that there would be any problem with relocating for the two weeks. There won’t be, will there?”
She was taken aback by his statement about her personal life, but said simply, “No problem at all.”
“Then
