18
Dinner was safely consumed and they arrived at the theater with only ten minutes to spare. The front was devoid of Pippin's fans, but they parked in the alley so Origa could use the front door to make his entrance. They walked inside and found the lights were either off or dimmed. The group moved down the short hall where they heard noises on the stage as chairs were pushed across the boards and footsteps rang out over the house. Voices flowed over the scuffle.
"Here's another chair," Hulda offered. "And I think there's one more Mr. Marlowe was using in the back hall."
Hickey appeared from the stage and jerked to a stop when he noticed the four shadows in the eerie darkness. He drew a short wrench from his pocket and held it up. "Who's there?" he called out.
"It's only us, Mr
