The Book of Masks (Vol. 1)

The Final Shot of the Story

Previously: "Exit, Stage Left" 

You drop the book back into the box and turn your attention back to Laura. When some of her friends gather, you agree to drive out with them for a post-rehearsal dinner and party. Roberta is there, but you do no more than exchange a few tense but polite words with her. You certainly don't ask her about that book you found backstage.

And that is basically that. The semester ends and another begins, and eventually it's May and the last day of school. You're carrying your stuff out to your truck for the very last time when you see Roberta leaning against the side of the theater, texting on her phone. You'll probably never have another chance to talk to her again, so on an impulse you swing over to say "Hi." She actually greets you with some warmth, and that impudent smile of hers pops up when, after a little catching up, you ask what she did with that book. Did she wind up burying it?"

"No," she says. "You remember what they did with the Ark of the Covenant at the end of Raiders?" You nod. "Something like that," she says.

You don't say anything about what you spotted backstage last October in the theater, but you do ask if she's sure that kind of strategy will work. "What if someone finds it and opens it and gets curious?" you ask.

"I don't think they will," she tells you. "You remember how all those pages wouldn't open? Well, I glued all the pages shut, including the cover. It just looks like a stage prop now. I'm pretty sure that's all people will think it is."

And with that, you feel that you don't have to ask any further about what became of it.

The End

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"Table of Contents (Vol. 1)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 1)"