Timmy

CHAPTER EIGHT: ENCORE PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER EIGHT: ENCORE PERFORMANCE

Inside the boy’s dressing room, while Brandy talked to the girls, Jason entered the room to find all of the boys in tears with sad, solemn looks on their faces. Scott was sniffing, rubbing one eye while shaking a loose fist with his other hand to his side.

“I take it you all know.” Sadly, Jason said.

Scott nodded. “We heard Timmy talking to the girls through the vents.” His voice quivering, he said. “He’s been busted.”

  “Relax, Scott.” Calmly, Alex said. “The girls are cool; I don’t think they’ll purposely give our friend away.”

  “I’m surprised they got him to open up.” Softly, Race added. “To hear what happened to his parents…”

  Jason nodded. “I was in the ventilation system, looking for Timmy and heard every word he and the girls had said.” He gulped. “It seems as if there is something hidden inside this theater that someone is willing to kill to keep secret.”

  “What’s worse is whoever they were shot Timmy and left him for dead.” Angrily, Scott muttered. “He probably would have died if you and Jeff had not decided to hide in that crawlspace.”

  “He mentioned seeing a tattoo.” Serious, Leuey said. “That is a solid clue to the mystery.” He sniffed. “The poor kid; I bet doesn’t know what to believe any more.”

  “Wait a minute!” Frightened, Jeff blurted out. “Doesn’t Max have a tattoo like that?”

  “He does!” Shocked, Jason replied. “A single rose caught in a bright flame on his wrist!”

  Tex swallowed hard. “You mean that Max is the one who...?”

  Paul sneered angrily. “If he is, I’ll...”

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions.” Quickly, Alex warned. “We are way in over our heads on this one; we have to be careful.”

  “So what do we do?” Annoyed, Ken demanded. “We can’t just sit here and do nothing! He’s our friend!”

  Alex threw Ken a stern look. “We keep our ears and eyes open and our mouths shut until we can learn more.” Darkly, he countered.

  “And if we’re right?” Whispering, Stan questioned.

  “We serve him a feast of knuckle sandwiches.” Shaking a fist, Scott muttered. “I’ll bring on the main course.”
A soft knock at the door moved the boys to silence as Brandy entered the room with a light smile. She was still shaken by the sadness she saw on the girls’ faces.

“Let’s shake a leg, boys.” Firmly but kindly, she called. “You have less than ten minutes to...” She stopped short seeing the boys in tears with the same sadness dominating their expressions. “Not you guys too! I wish someone would tell me what is going on around here!”

  “It- It’s nothing, Mrs. Stravis.” Wiping his eyes, Alex said. He turned to the other boys. “It’s show time, guys.”

  With that, he walked passed Brandy, with the boys silently following, into the hall.  Jeff was at the end of the line and Brandy pulled him aside as he reached her. “Give me a moment, Jeff.” Pushing the door closed, she said. “You could never lie to me and I don’t think you’re going to start now so tell me truthfully; what is going on here?”

Jeff gave her mother a shrug, letting out a weary sigh. He could never lie to her; she and John had been too good to him and his brother. On the other hand, he did not know how mom would react if she knew about Timmy.

  “I wish I could tell you, mom.” Tearfully, he said. “I gave him my word; all of us orphans give him our word. I can’t give him away to anyone, not even you.”

  Brandy sighed. “So there is something going on.” “I’m very proud of you and your friends for not breaking your word, Jeff.” Looking into his eyes, she said. “Still, I may be able to help this person. Who did you and your friends give your word to? I’ll talk to him myself.”

  “I don’t think he’s ready to talk to anyone, mom.” Honestly, Jeff stated. “He’s scared; it was a long time before he even spoke to us.”

  “Will you at least let me try?”

  Jeff sighed. “I’ll talk to him, see what I can do.”

  Brandy smiled, satisfied, for the moment. “Thank you.”

  Back inside the girl’s dressing room, Timmy sat as still as he could in his chair with his back facing the mirror while Angel and the other girls finished giving him a makeover. They would not allow him to look at his reflection as they worked on him which worried him slightly. All the girls would tell him was that they were putting a little color here and a little color there. He about jumped out of the seat as Rachel began to pluck at his eyebrows.

  “Ow! What are you doing!?”

  “Your eyebrows are a mess.” Serious, Rachel explained. “They need to be cleaned up a little.” She smiled. “I promise I’ll be more careful.”

Timmy sighed and reluctantly nodded as Rachel returned to plucking away at his eyebrows. He was relieved when she finally stated she was done with them and moved on to his nails. He was surprised when she added a second coat. “Why are you painting them again?”

“Don’t worry; I’ll leave some polish remover for you to use to take it off later.” Smiling, Angel said. “We need to make your disguise as convincing as possible.”

Timmy winced as the girls moved on to his hair, remembering how much it hurt him to take out all of the knots and make it smooth. Only, to his surprise, the comb went through his hair very easily. “I have never seen a boy with such smooth hair.” Surprised, Karen remarked. “My brother’s hair is always so full of knots.”

“It’ll save us a lot of time.” Happily, Annie said. “We still need to hurry though; Brandy will be coming to collect us soon.”

Finally, the girls announced that they were done and took a step back to admire their work.  They turned to look at Stephanie, sleeping soundly on the small couch then turned back to Timmy.  They seemed very pleased with their success.

  “I think we did fairly well.” Smiling, Karen remarked.

  “We did a much better job than I had expected.” Holding back a giggle, Lauren agreed. “The diamond earrings are a nice touch.”

  “This is too freaky!” Impressed, Sue said. “If didn’t know better, I would swear that Timmy and Stephanie were sisters!”

  “That’s the idea.” Serious, Rachel countered. “The more Timmy looks like Stephanie, the better his chances are to fool everyone.”

  “Let me see.” Speaking up, Timmy said.

  The girls giggled as Angel turned Timmy’s chair around so he could see himself in the mirror. “What do you think?”

  Timmy gazed at his reflection, his mouth half opened in shock.

  “What have they done to me?”

  The delicate layers of make-up gave his face the same gentle, angel like glow he had found radiating from Stephanie the first time he had laid eyes on her.  The small shimmering diamonds clipped to his ears and the light shade of soft pink on his lips greatly enhanced the effect.  The bright red color the girls had painted onto his fingernails went well with the red sash on the white dress he was wearing.  The long, flowing southern belle hairstyle they had given him perfectly matched the one Stephanie had worn.  The wild green cosmetic contact lenses Rachel had carefully placed over his eyes completed the costume. All in all, it was just as good if not better than he had done himself under the guidance of the spirits.
  Just as before, he also saw the ghostly image of a young girl’s face over his own, making the effect nearly flawless.  The reflection winked and smiled at him as she raised a finger to her lips, causing Timmy to smile as well.  Although he knew that it was going to take him a long time to make himself look and smell like a boy again, the disguise could not have been more perfect.  With the young spirit helping, it was as if he were looking at Stephanie through a glass window rather than his own reflection in the mirror.  To Timmy, it seemed as if he had, once again, somehow become Stephanie herself.
 
  “Oh, wow!”

  “Do you like what you see?” Smiling, Tarra asked.

  “You girls did a great job.” In awe, Timmy said. “It’s a lot better than I could have done.” He paused then added, “Even if I had help.”

  Tarra laughed. “Well, we’ve had a little more experience.”

  “We finished just in time too.” Looking up at a clock, Rachel stated. “Brandy will be here to take us to the stage any minute.”

  Angel grabbed Timmy’s hand. “We’d better met her out in the hall; just in case.” Urging him to stand, she said. “Welcome to the girls’ cast.”

  Timmy rose from the chair and walked over the couch where Stephanie was sleeping; all curled up under a blanket they had thrown over her earlier.  He took the light blanket and carefully fixed it so that it comfortably covered her from shoulder to foot. Once he was satisfied she would be comfortable, he took a moment to watch her sleep.

  “Timmy seems to be really growing attached to Stephanie.” Watching him, Angel commented. “He’s beginning to treat her like a little sister.”

  Sue suppressed a small chuckle. “With the way he looks at you, Angel, I’d say he was growing attached to you as well.” She winked, adding, “Only I think he sees you as something more than a sister.”

  The other girls giggled as Angel smiled and turned away from them, trying to hide the fact she was blushing.  Her smile, along with the smiles of the other girls vanished, however, as Timmy spoke.

  “For all I know, I have a little sister that looks a lot like you out there, somewhere.” Tearfully, he whispered. “Get well soon, Stephanie.”

  He raised a hand to touch her face but he stopped himself and slowly pulled it back, uncertain.  Finally, with a heavy sigh, he turned back to the girls and again perfectly imitating Stephanie’s voice as he spoke.

  “The show must go on, are you ready?”

  The girls nodded and they all walked out of the dressing room where they met up with the boys who were already waiting.

  “It took you girls long enough to get ready.” Frustrated, Alex scolded.  “We’ve been waiting for you to finish up.”

  “Deal with it.” Frowning, Tarra countered. “We had to help Stephanie with her makeup.”

  Alex turned to Timmy and was surprised by how much he truly looked like Stephanie. “Unbelievable, Timmy never ceases to amaze me.”


  Timmy looked up and exchanged a knowledgeable smile as they caught each other’s eye. Angel, realizing that Alex knew, let out a silent gasp.

  “It’s okay.” Whispering, Timmy explained. “They’ve known about me for a long time, they won’t tell anyone.”

  Angel relaxed then nodded at the boys. “I take it we all know?”

  The boys nodded. “We know.” Softly, Alex said. “Jeff and Jason filled us in and we heard Timmy telling his story through the vents.” He turned back to Timmy and chuckled. “You look great!”

  “We were all blown away when we found out it was really you on the stage instead of Stephanie.” Chiming in, Race said. He smiled, shaking his head. “You truly are the Broadway Specter.”

  Angel giggled. “Just try to remember that it’s the boys who bow; we girls have to curtsy.”

  The children laughed quietly, causing Timmy to blush brightly. Still, he broke into a laugh to spite himself. “I’ll do my best.”

  They all fell silent as Brandy entered the hall with Jeff close behind.  He too caught Timmy’s eye and was amazed by how perfect his disguise was.  He gave him a quick nod, which Timmy returned as Brandy spoke.

  “I wish you kids would tell me what is bothering you all so deeply.” Worried, she scolded. “We will drop the subject for now but everyone please try to remember that any of you can talk to me about anything that may be troubling you.”

  Timmy hid a saddened frown. “Not anything.”

  Suddenly, Brandy stopped and looked at Timmy, smiling.

  “Stephanie!  You look absolutely breathtaking!”  She laughed. “I guess a little make up does make you a different person.”

  Timmy blushed, smiling.  “You have no idea, Mrs. Stravis.”

  All of the children, including Timmy, could not help laugh, which brought a smile of relief to Brandy’s face.

  “Now that’s what I like to see.” Calmly, she said. “Try to smile a little more often, okay?”

  With that, she led the boys and girls to through the halls towards the stage with Angel at the end of the line with Alex, Jason, and Jeff just ahead of her.

  “The girls and I really want to help Timmy.” Carefully, Angel whispered to Alex. “He has been living all alone in this theater for too long.”

  “I know how you feel.” Not turning around, Alex whispered. “The boys and I have tried to talk him into living with us and our families but he is still insists upon waiting here for his parents.”

  Angel shook her head. “That’s not the help I had in mind. There has to be something we can dig up somewhere that will give us some clues that might point to what led up to Timmy’s mom and dad getting shot.”


  “Jeff could look through the theater’s old records or we could search the newspaper archives at the library.” Mussing, Sue suggested. “Perhaps Jason can find a worker who knew Timmy’s parents.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.” After a pause, Jeff replied. “We’ll have to be careful, though; it’s possible Max was involved.”

  “I’ll talk to my folks and the theater staff.” Knotting his jaws in decision, Jeff said. “Maybe I can get a few clues out of them.”

  Jason nodded. “I have access to the theater’s records; I’ll see what I can dig up.”

  “When we go back to the hotel, I’ll get the boys together and visit the local library.” Serious, Alex said. “With all of us digging, we’re bound to come up with something.”

  Angel smiled at them gratefully. “Thanks, guys. I really want to help Timmy get to the bottom of this so he can move on.”

  Minutes later, the children reached the stage at stage right and walked passed Mr. Stone who was standing aside near the doorway.  He watched them walk by but stopped Angel by gently grabbing her arm.

  “Just a minute, Angel; I want to ask you something.”
 
  “What did she do, Stone?” Pulling Angel away, Brandy demanded.

  “Nothing; I just need to ask her some questions about yesterday. I promise it won’t take but a minute.”

  “All right, but make it quick.  Angel is needed on the stage.”

  Brandy walked off to join the other children but she made certain to stay within hearing range.  On the stage, Timmy turned and watched Stone as he talked to Angel.

  “Is something wrong?” Nervous, Angel asked.

  Stone shook his head.  “I’m not sure, yet.  Yesterday, just a few minutes after I had hurried you and Stephanie along to the dressing rooms, I happened to run into Mrs. Stravis in a hall on the first floor.”

  Angel gulped. “What does that have to do with me?”

  “Angel, she told me that she had just left the girl’s dressing room where she found Stephanie napping on a couch.” Firmly, Stone replied. “Now, unless Stephanie can be in two places at once, I do not think the girl you were with in the hall was her.”

  Angel’s mouth opened half way as she fought the urge to scream. Fortunately, her time in the court room during both her parents divorce and her lawsuit taught her to control her emotions. “The girl I was with was not Stephanie? Have you told Brandy about this?”

  “No, I don’t want to worry her just yet.  But I must ask you if this child you were with said anything; anything at all that seemed unusual or suspicious to you.”

  Angel’s mind raced as Timmy’s voice echoed inside her head.

  I think someone was after them.....Mom and dad found something somewhere in the theater; something someone did not want them or anyone else to see...

Finally, Angel shook her head. “No, sir; she or whoever the kid was did not say anything that seemed out of the ordinary.”

  “Okay; thank you.” Politely, Stone said. “You had better hurry onto the stage before Mrs. Stravis has my hide for keeping you.”

  Angel gladly walked away from him, onto the stage where Brandy and the others were waiting for her.  Brandy saw the frightened expression on Angel’s face and became concerned.

  “You look a little shook up, dear.” Concerned, she said. “Did Stone say anything that upset you?”

  Angel, still shaking from her encounter with Mr. Stone, managed to calmly shake her head. “No; the man just gives me the creeps.” Frowning, she replied. “I’m not comfortable being anywhere near him.”

  Brandy nodded in agreement. “He does have that effect on most people, doesn’t he?” She giggled, placing a reassuring hand on Angel’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, dear.  If he gives you any grief, you just let me know and I will set him straight.”

  Angel smiled, gratefully. “Thanks, Brandy. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Brandy smiled. “Take your place on stage.”

  Angel hurried off to join the others while Brandy walked off of the stage to join her husband in the front row of the audience.  As she sat down, however, she again became concerned.  She had heard Stone’s brief conversation with Angel and pieces of a mysterious puzzle were beginning to form within her mind.

  “This doesn’t make any sense. Stephanie was in the dressing room when I found her. Who was Annie with in the halls?”


  Then, Jeff’s words echoed within her mind. I gave him my word; all of us orphans give him our word. I can’t give him away to anyone, not even you… I don’t think he’s ready to talk to anyone, mom.” Honestly, Jeff stated. “He’s scared; it was a long time before he even spoke to us.

Brandy frowned, the wheels in her mind turning. “I’d better keep my eyes open, just in case.”

  Behind her, deeper into the audience, Sara and Tom sat, eyeing the stage, searching for any signs of the specter child they had captured on film the day before.  Only this time, they seemed more cautious.

  “We’ll have to be on our guard from now on, Tom.” said Sara, quietly. “I don’t trust that Stone.  There’s something about him I don’t like.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Tom, setting up his camera equipment; he gave us a cool grand for the first few pictures we had caught of the specter.”

  Sara frowned. “Have you ever seen a security guard having a grand in his pocket?” Raising an eyebrow, she asked. “Call it women’s intuition or a reporter’s instinct but I smell a bigger story here.”  She shrugged. “Keep your eyes open; I don’t trust that Stone character. I have a bad feeling he’s hiding something.”

  At Stage left, as Stone watched the children take their places, Max stepped forward from the shadows of the dark hall behind Stone.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “She knows something.” Darkly, Stone whispered. “Until I can determine whether or not she knows too much, I want you to just keep an eye on her.  We can’t afford any more mistakes.”

  “And if she does know too much?”

  “Then we will have to deal with her as well.  For now, we must focus all of our attention on getting that boy out of the way.”

  Then, Al emerged from the dark hall behind Max.

  “It’s just as you had suspected, sir.” Calmly, he said. “Stephanie is sleeping on a couch in the girl’s dressing room.”

  Stone nodded.  “You both know the plan, wait for my signal.”

  Max and Al nodded and left him, through the shadows of the dark hall.  After they were gone, Stone sighed as he continued to watch the children perform on the stage.

  “Now, my little Broadway Specter, we will see how good you truly are.”

  The rehearsals went smoothly throughout the entire day.  All of the children had found a new fire through Timmy’s tale, giving their roles a true life of their own.  The only two who had become frustrated were Tom and Sara who, thanks to the girls’ assistance, were unable to see through Timmy’s disguise or his encore performance.

  “Where is he?” Frustrated, Sarah whispered. “I thought he would at least show up somewhere.”

  Tom shook his head. “I don’t know.  Maybe he got wise to us.”

  Sara sniffed. “I doubt it.”  She sighed, her frustration growing. “Well, it doesn’t look like he’s going to show up but keep your eyes open anyway; the rehearsals are not over yet.”

  “Okay, kids.” said John Stravis, sitting in the front row of the audience. “Let’s end today’s rehearsals with the number, ‘Adoption Dreams, orphan’s version.’  Take your places, please.”

  Stone, watching from stage left, turned to Max, standing at stage right, and gave him a quick nod.  Max nodded back and pulled a small radio from his belt and hit the transmit button. “Al, bring the girl to the stage.”

  Angel, Alex, Timmy, and Scott, unaware of Stone’s plan, took their places on the center thrust stage as the number began.

  As Angel sang her part, she could not help cry.  Just thinking about how Timmy had lived all alone for so long inside a cold, empty theater tore at her heart.  What touched her more was how deeply the song seemed to reflect her concern for him.

Adoption dreams do come true.

But they can’t come true by prayer alone.

We have to get out tonight,

We have to wake up this town,

We got to let people know orphans need a home...

  As Alex jumped in to sing his part, he could not help shed tears of his own; Timmy’s sad tale was still pulling at his heartstrings.  What made it worse was that the song seemed to parallel his friend’s plight.

Listen to what you are saying.

The streets of this burg are dangerous and mean.

They will wear you down; they will drag you under.

They will take you to places where you will never be seen...

  Timmy sang his part, crying as well.  The verse, the entire song sadly reminded him of the one possibility he had always tried to deny.  His parents may not ever be coming back as they had promised.  He was truly alone; he was an orphan.

I really don’t care.

Fate left me alone in the cold.

All I have left are tears!

There is nothing to fear.

Adoption dreams are all I have left to hold...

  Finally, Scott sang his part of the song.  Only he did not even try to hide his tears, as he normally would.

Penny, open your eyes.

There is far more danger than you know.

No one cares to see your tears.

They don’t care to hear your fears.

Kids like us are always on our own.

  There was not a dry eye among the boys or the girls as Angel and Timmy sang the final verse of the song together.  With tears flowing from their eyes as they held hands, they finished the sad song facing the two boys in a way the audience could see all of their faces.

I don’t care!

I have been an orphan long enough-

I want OUT OF HERE!

The two paused; ever so briefly as their cry echoed into the audience then softly finished singing,

So what’s it going to be?

Are you a prisoner or are you free?

Adoption Dreams!

  Although the tears were not planned, it moved everyone within the small audience of family members and staff to cry with them.  Once they had finished the number, the children were all quickly rewarded with a standing ovation from the audience.

  “Excellent; these were the most flawless rehearsals yet!” Beaming, John yelled. “All of you have truly given your roles a new life of their own!” He turned to Timmy and Angel. “I do not know where you two got that fire but keep it up, it seems to be catching.”

  This was followed by another round of applause, which the boys responded with a quick bow.  The girls responded in turn with a curtsey only this time Timmy remembered to curtsey with them. They all exchanged knowledgeable glances and giggled. No one other than them had any clue that Stephanie’s role was played by Timmy, the little Broadway Specter.  Then, to the children’s surprise, they heard a familiar voice rise from the audience.

  “Oh, Stephanie, you were fantastic!” Happily, a young woman cried out from her seat. “I am so proud of you!”

  “Who is she?” Whispering carefully, Timmy asked.

  Sue’s mouth opened slightly as if to gasp then turned to Timmy’s ear and whispered, “That’s Mrs. Angelic, Stephanie’s mom!”

  “Surprise, honey; we’re here!” Waving at Timmy, a young man called out. “Mr. Stravis called us up last night and told us you were doing a simply magnificent job on the stage.  Your mother and I just had to get off work early and come see you perform!”

  As Timmy smiled at the young couple, he discretely looked to one side of the stage where he spotted Mr. Stone who gave him a sly smile.  Timmy then turned to the other side of the stage and caught a glimpse of Wayne dragging Stephanie through a door to the backstage floor.

  “What are we going to do?” Worried, Rachel asked quietly.

  “Unzip my costume.” Quickly, Timmy said. “I’ve got an idea.”

  There was no time to argue, Angel quickly unzipped Timmy’s costume and he slipped behind the children, backing through the curtains. Just before he vanished from sight, he threw Stone a sly grin of his own.

  Frowning, Stone turned to his radio. “The kid has something up his sleeve; be ready for him.”

  Backstage, Wayne heard Stone on his radio and began to carefully scan the darkness as he struggled to drag Stephanie to the stage.

  “Let go of me!” Annoyed, Stephanie warned. “You’re hurting my arm!”

  “I’m sorry, kid.  But you are needed on the stage.”

  Stephanie had enough; she was not feeling well and did not take kindly to being manhandled. She had fought and screamed all the way down the stairs but now she saw that action was needed. She threw her heal down hard onto Wayne’s toes, hurting him just enough to force him to loosen his grip. It was all she needed to squirm free and dash away from him towards the light shining through a crack in the curtains. She paused as a dark shadow ran passed her and felt something landing into her arms.  She did not see who it was but she was more concerned with getting away from the man who had dragged her out of her dressing room. She pushed her way through the curtains onto the stage where she discovered that she was holding her costume dress.

  “That must have been the Broadway Specter. I wish I could have thanked him for taking my place on stage while I was sick.”

  At the same time, behind the curtains, Wayne felt someone slap him on the shoulder from behind.

  “Just leave me alone!” Angrily, Stephanie’s voice warned from the dark.

  “I am sorry, kid.” Turning around, Wayne said. “As I said, you are needed on the...”

  His voice trailed off as the hair on the back of his neck nervously stood on end; there was no one there. He instead heard a low mad laughter echoing from a deep inside a small ventilation duct.

  “Here I am!” On the stage, Stephanie announced.

  Wayne jumped and looked around him, confused. “What… How…” Then, he remembered what Stone had said over the radio and he could not help but smile. “Cute, kid… Real cute…”

  On the stage, the children were just as confused as they saw the real Stephanie walk through the curtains until they saw Timmy wave at them from the prompter’s box before vanishing from sight again.

  “Oh, he is good!” whispered Rachel.

  Stephanie’s eyes widened in shock as she saw Timmy’s face; the boy looked so much like her it was almost uncanny.

  Tarra giggled, seeing Stephanie’s surprised look. “The girls and I all gave him a quick makeover. He complained a little but I think he liked the attention.”

  Stephanie tried her best not to giggle at the mysterious boy. He had willingly allowed himself to be made over and dressed up as a little girl just to perform on stage in her place until she got better.

  “What a sweet boy. He’s too cute.”

  Angel cleared her throat and asked, “Where did you run off to, Steph?”

  “I just slipped behind the curtains for a second to get out of my costume.” Thinking quickly, Stephanie replied. “I’ve been roasting in it all day!”

  “I would be roasting too if I wore my street clothes under my costume.” Smiling, Karen scolded. “What were you thinking?”

  Stephanie shrugged then turned to her parents. “I’m really glad you were able to watch me rehearse today, mom and dad. Can we go home now, I am really tired.”

  “You are all free to leave as soon as you change out of your costumes.” said Mr. Stravis. “Everyone make sure you get plenty of sleep; tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.” He paused, smiling. “Whatever you do, please don’t lose that fire.”

  “I’ll take care of that for you, dear.” Taking Stephanie’s costume, Brandy said. “You just go on home and get some rest.” She then turned to her sons, Jeff and Jason. “Would you two be dears and escort the performers upstairs while your father and I talk to their parents?”

  Jeff and Jason nodded and replied in unison, “Yes, ma’am.”

  The children followed Jeff and Jason off the stage, through stage right, talking quietly among themselves as John and Brandy Stravis spoke with the children’s parents.  They walked passed Stone who’s eyes held a cold mixture of irritable disbelief and dangerous anger. He did not say a word to the children who kept as much distance from him as the hall would allow as they passed him but he grunted as he turned back to the stage.

  “That child is seriously beginning to annoy me.”

  His thoughts were interrupted by the shaggy dog, Rags, letting out a low whimper as he looked up above the stage. Curious, Stone followed the dog’s gaze to catch a glimpse of Timmy soundlessly running across a high gridiron catwalk.

  “Yes, of course; the dog.”