“Break a leg,” I told Krystal as I hurried to join Bill and Janine, the other two members of Auditions ’R Us who were seated behind a utility table set up at the foot of the stage. “Sorry, Janine,” I said. “I’m going to have to ask you to move.”

She frowned at me. “What are you talking about?”

“Tonight I’m Paula,” I explained. “Everyone knows Paula always sits on Simon’s right.”

“Who’s Simon?”

“I’m Simon,” Bill said in a British accent so atrocious it had me rolling my eyes.

With a shake of her head, Janine switched places. “Don’t tell me. Let me guess. If you’re Paula and Bill is Simon, I must be…”

“Randy.”

“Isn’t there a pretty brunette? And what about the new one?”

“I thought we’d keep with the original three judges.”

“OK, OK, I get it. Paula, Simon, and Randy have seniority.”

I settled into the chair Janine vacated and rummaged through my purse for a notebook and pen.

Janine leaned closer. “I wonder about you, Kate. First you fixate on all those crime and punishment shows on TV. Now it’s American Idol. Surely so much television can’t be good for a person. Maybe you should find another interest.”

“Such as?” I could sense Bill following our conversation with interest.

“Take genealogy as an example. Many people enjoy learning more about their ancestors. I’ve heard there’re some great software programs out there.”

“I’ll take the matter under advisement,” I said, mimicking Sheriff Wiggins’s words from earlier that day.

Genealogy vs. Idol? I’m not sure how finding out your great-grandfather was born in a country that no longer exists measures up against young hopefuls competing to become the nation’s new singing sensation. I took Janine’s advice with a grain of salt. I know she meant well.

“Time to get down to business,” I said. “Janine, your part’s easy. Just keep using the expressions ‘yo dawg’ and ‘Hey, check it out, dude.’ ”

“What about me?” Bill asked.

“Just roll your eyes and shake your head after I give my opinion. Easy as pie, right?”

Janine brought out a notepad and prepared to take notes. “After I check it out, dude, what exactly do you do?”

I batted my eyelashes and simpered, “I tell everyone how nice they look. I want everyone to like me.”

Bill gave me a nudge and whispered, “Remind me again why I let you talk me into this.”

Rita, in her official capacity as stage manager, hustled over to our table. “Here,” she said, placing a sign-up sheet in front of us. “This is a list of the people auditioning. I thought it might be easier if we paired them up. You know… male and female. Claudia and Lance? Roxanne and Troy?”

I skimmed the list and recognized most of the names. Krystal’s, it seemed, had been an add-on.

“Showtime!” Rita clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “All of you take a seat until your name is called.” She consulted a copy of the list. “Monica, you’ll read with Ed Beckley.”

Considering the debacle of her earlier audition, I confess to being surprised Monica was giving this another shot. I guess she aspired to greater heights than being the prop princess. I had to hand it to her, though; she had grit. But no matter how hard you tried, grit wasn’t spelled t-a-l-e-n-t.

Monica and Ed ran through the scene. They had their lines down pat, but infused as much emotion as someone reading the phone book. Next up were Trixie, a gal I knew from golf clinics, and Jerry Buckner, another Serenity Cove resident. Trixie was already complaining that rehearsals would take time away from golf. In spite of her whining, she gave a commendable performance as Roxanne. Jerry, on the other hand, was just this side of terrible.

“Well,” Bill whispered, “what do you think?”

“Yo, dude!” Janine growled, getting into the swing of things. “For me that was a little pitchy.”

Bill’s lips twitched as he tried to hide a smile. “And you, Kate, er, Paula?”

Smiling demurely, I propped my chin on my folded hands. “Dare to follow the path of your dream.”

Bill frowned. “I don’t understand a word of what you said.”

I smiled vacuously and gave his shoulder a playful jab. “Precisely.”

We-Paula, Simon, and Randy-rocked on through a series of readings. At last, Rita called Krystal front and center. I was shocked, no better word for it, when I heard Gus Smith’s name called as her partner.

Just as I’d anticipated, Krystal blew away the competition with her rendition of Roxanne. She literally breathed new life into Lance’s insipid dialogue and made the show come alive. Gus, however, caught me totally unaware. The guy was as opposite as a guy could be from Lance Ledeaux. Where Lance was handsome, Gus was, well, plain. Lance commanded attention; Gus blended into the woodwork. But onstage, Gus underwent a metamorphosis. His voice deepened, his paunch melted, he stood taller. He turned into a credible Troy.

When auditions were over, the decision was unanimous. Krystal and Gus were the reincarnated version of Claudia and Lance pretending to be Roxanne and Troy.

Rita thanked everyone for coming for tryouts. “It’s a wrap.”

But it wasn’t a wrap for me-far from it. I kept thinking about Krystal’s previous experience onstage. Could acting have been her link with Lance? And just how well had they known each other? How odd that her arrival coincided with Lance’s departure.

Curious and curiouser.

Chapter 23

It was like old times. Almost.

Claudia and I lounged in the comfy, chintz-covered wicker chairs in her four-seasons room overlooking the fifteenth fairway, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate-not just your run-of-the-mill hot chocolate, but Godiva’s finest. There’s nothing like hot chocolate on a chilly afternoon to cure what ails you.

I glanced over at Claudia, curled like a giant tabby in a corner of the settee. She reminded me of Tang, that dad-blame cat Krystal was determined to tame. I have to admit that the girl was making progress coaxing him inside, using my albacore tuna as bait. The silly animal was as picky about people as he was about his diet. He showed a distinct preference for Krystal while pointedly ignoring me.

“I wish you had kicked me in the shin at the sheriff’s office,” Claudia murmured.

“The Claudia of old would have kicked back.”

“BJ warned me to keep my big mouth shut. But did I listen? Instead, I spouted off about what a jerk Lance turned out to be. I might as well wear a big letter M on my chest for ‘motive.’ ”

“Everyone knows you’d never hurt a flea.”

“Everyone but Sheriff Wiggins.” Claudia stared out the window. “He’s bound and determined to send me to prison-or worse.”

Worse, I knew, meant the death penalty. I shivered, cold in spite of my turtleneck. It would mean the sheriff would have to upgrade the charge from manslaughter to first-degree homicide. But first he needed to build a stronger case.

For a while neither of us spoke. Instead, we sipped our hot chocolate, which had grown lukewarm, and avoided looking at each other.

“I haven’t told this to a soul, Kate,” Claudia admitted, “but Lance and I were having serious problems.”

“Problems?” I repeated putting on an innocent act. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this, but what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t listen? In some instances knowledge may be power, but in this case knowledge might be incriminating.

“It wasn’t bad enough Lance turned out to be a phony, but he was slowly killing me financially.”

Killing? I shuddered inwardly at her poor choice of words.

“At the rate he was going, it wouldn’t take long. The bank called to inform me Lance withdrew thirty thousand dollars. When I confronted him, he claimed it was for a surefire bet on the Super Bowl.”

“Wow!” I blew out a breath. “Thirty thousand? That’s a huge chunk of change.”