Once a Thief

Ten

Danielle’s heart sank as she stood in the wings and watched the pretty blond actress read for the part of Peg. Perfectly. She was wonderful. What chance did Danielle have against someone so beautiful who obviously knew what she was doing?

“Thank you, Miss Jackson. We’ll let you know our decision in a day or two.”

The actress left the stage, and another girl with the same air of self-confidence took her place. She, too, seemed perfect to Danielle. Maybe she’d better leave before she made a complete fool of herself.

“Miss Danielle Gray.”

Danielle started at the sound of her name. She inhaled deeply then stepped onto the stage. She stood for a moment staring out into the shadowy cavern in front of her. She hadn’t known it would be like this. But maybe it was better that she didn’t see their faces. Perhaps that would be even more frightening.

“Whenever you’re ready, Miss Gray.”

As the disembodied voice called out, Danielle cleared her throat and stepped closer to the front of the stage. It seemed to her that she went through her lines in a daze, hardly knowing the line she’d just spoken and yet somehow finding the next. As the last word fell from her lips, she bowed and stumbled into the wings.

You were terrible. Terrible. Thoughts bombarded Danielle as she hurried to the coat room. Everyone must be laughing that you would dare to try out for a part in this wonderful musical play. Blake must be so ashamed.

Fighting back tears, she grabbed her coat and hat and hurried from the theater. She barely noticed the strong, biting wind as she rushed to the station.

All the way home, she chided herself. Why had she thought she could do this? Why had she let Blake talk her into it? Pride, maybe? Or a desire for fame? She took a deep breath. No. There may have been a little bit of those, but her reason had been to make a way for Jimmy to have a better life. But why would God allow her this wonderful career when she hadn’t even obeyed Him and told the truth?

She stepped from the train and was halfway down the street when she heard the clopping of a horse’s hooves against the brick street.

“Danielle, wait, please.” She turned and saw Blake’s buggy rolling slowly along beside her.

Unable to restrain the tears any longer, she turned her face away and burst into sobs.

She felt strong arms around her, and Blake led her gently to the buggy and helped her in. He handed her a handkerchief and clicked at the horse. A moment later they pulled up in front of the Kramers’ house and he turned to her with a wide grin.

“So you think it’s funny that I made a fool of myself?” she stammered.

“Danielle, darling, look at me.” He took the handkerchief and wiped her eyes. “You got the part.”

She gasped. Had he called her darling? Then the rest of his words sank in. “What? What did you say?” Her words were hardly more than a whisper, but it was all she could manage.

“You got the part. You did a wonderful job and Bosley loves you.”

A loud whoop came from somewhere, and she realized it came from her own mouth. “I got the part? Really? I’m going to be Peg? Are you sure, Blake?”

He laughed and grabbed her hands, which were pounding his chest. “Unless there is another Danielle Gray around, I’m sure.”

“Oh. Come in with me. We have to tell the Kramers and Mrs. Parker and Sally.”

Arm in arm, they practically skipped up the walk and went inside.

❧

Blake hummed Peg’s theme song as he drove next door and put the horse and buggy in the carriage house. As he went to find his mother and Pop to give them the news, reality hit him and he bit his lip. While it was true that Bosley had been impressed with Danielle’s freshness and her natural approach to Peg, what Blake hadn’t told Danielle was that Bosley was still uncertain that she could carry it off with the rest of the cast. They had one week of practices to prove to him that she could. If he had any doubts at that time, he would give the part to Susan Jackson.

❧

“Sutton wants to see you, Danni.” Cobb leaned against the wobbly shed and gave her a sympathetic look. “He said you have to talk to him face to face.”

Danielle bit her bottom lip and clenched her trembling hands into fists. She absolutely would not show fear. Not to Cobb or Sutton or anyone else.

“I can’t imagine why. I said I have a job and will start paying him. Did you tell him that?” They’d been rehearsing for nearly two weeks now, and Danielle calculated she’d be getting her first paycheck in about three days.

“Yeah. He said if you think the pittance you might earn from whatever you’re doing is gonna take care of what you owe him, you’re wrong, and he wants to know why you haven’t emptied out that safe yet.”

“Well, I’m not wrong. He’s quoted what I owe him many times and I can pay if he’ll just be patient.” Danielle wasn’t exactly sure that was true, but she had to trust God.

“And the safe?”

“If I pay him back out of my wages, I shouldn’t have to touch the safe.”

Cobb narrowed his eyes. “Are you going soft, Danni?”

“No, of course not. I just don’t want to get caught and go to jail.” Okay, that was true, too. She should tell him about her newfound faith, but he’d just laugh at her. What should she do about Sutton? She’d almost rather face a wolf. However, if she didn’t go, he might do something to Jimmy just to spite her.

“Okay, can’t blame you there. What about Sutton? You going to see him or not?”

“All right. Let’s go now.”

It wasn’t far. When they turned into the familiar alley, Danielle almost changed her mind. But her brother’s trusting face flashed in her mind, and sorrow assaulted her. Oh, Jimmy.

Cobb unlocked the door and Danielle stepped through.

“Danni!” Hobbling on his crutch, Jimmy thumped over and stopped short two feet from her. “Hi.”

“Hi? Come here, you.” She rushed forward and grabbed him in a tight hug until he shoved her away.

“Hey, stop the mush stuff.” He growled and blinked hard. But not hard enough to keep one tear from dropping from the corner of his eye. At twelve, Jimmy was small for his age but tried to make up for it in toughness. He had to at Sutton’s or the other boys would make life unbearable.

“Okay, little brother. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, I guess.” He grinned. “You’re just a girl.”

“Well, well. And what have we here?” Sutton stood in the doorway to the kitchen, a mocking smile on his face.

A chill swept over Danielle. Déjà vu took her back to the first day she stood in this room.

“Hello, Sutton.” She forced a cheerful tone into her voice. She’d fooled him before.

“Hello yourself, Danielle. And to what do we owe this unexpected visit?” His face had a few more wrinkles and there was gray in his hair, but otherwise he was the same as the first time she’d heard him say those words.

“Here at your beck and call, of course.” She flashed a grin to make him think she was joking. “Besides, I wanted to see Jimmy.”

“As you can see, your brother is doing well. After all, I’m quite fond of the boy and have taken good care of him. Right, Jimmy?”

“Sure.” But something in her brother’s voice didn’t ring true.

She examined him more closely. There were no visible bruises, so he hadn’t been beaten. And he didn’t appear deprived of food. So what was going on?

Dread hit her. She knew what she had to do. “Maybe I’ll stay. I’m tired of living with those people.” She almost choked on the lie as she looked around at the squalor of the room. Apparently it had been cleaned very little since she’d been gone.

Sutton threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, I don’t think so, my dear.”

“Why not? You don’t want me to stay?” Surprise cut through her. What was he up to?

“Oh, I’d love for you to stay, dear girl. But not quite yet. First there is a little matter of a safe that needs to be unburdened of its contents.” He scrutinized her face. “And I’m very much interested in hearing more about this job you’ve acquired.”

Her heart thumped wildly. What could she tell him? Maybe a short version of the truth would be best.

She put on a bright smile. “You aren’t going to believe this, because I hardly believe it myself, but I’ve acquired a small part in a musical. You know I’ve always liked to sing.”

Amusement crossed his face. “Well, you surprise me. I never thought you’d lower your sweet self to being a chorus girl. And you won’t earn much money that way. That is, unless you catch the eye of some rich wolf on the prowl.”

Mortified, she felt her face burn, but she breathed an inward sigh of relief. Let him think she was a chorus girl somewhere.

“And now let’s talk about the family you’re living with and the elusive safe.”

“Wh–what do you want to know?”

“Who they are, where they live, and the contents of the safe.” The words shot from his lips like bullets.

Danielle swallowed hard. Please, God. Breathing deeply, she fired back, “I’m not telling you who or where, but I will tell you about the safe. If that’s not enough, then you can tie me up and beat the life out of me. But I still won’t tell where I’m living or with whom.”

Sutton’s eyes blazed with anger for a moment, then he laughed shortly. “Well, still spunky, I see. Very well, then, tell me about the safe and why you haven’t done the job yet.”

Relaxing a little, Danielle searched her mind for words that would satisfy the man without forcing her to lie.

“I don’t know everything that’s in there, but I do know there are diamonds and cash.” There, that much was true. She’d heard Mr. Kramer ask his wife one day to wait in the carriage while he got some cash from the safe. Another time, Mrs. Kramer had handed a diamond necklace to her husband and asked him to put it back in the safe for her. “I’m trying to discover the numbers for the padlock. Then I’ll have to wait until I’m alone in the house.”

A greedy look crossed Sutton’s face followed almost instantly by suspicion. “You’d better not be lying to me, girl.”

❧

“I told you she’d be good, didn’t I?” Blake grinned at Bosley, who slowly took the band off his cigar.

“Yeah. You did. And you were right.”

“So you really like her? She’s perfect for the part, isn’t she?”

“Calm down, Blake. You’re acting like a schoolboy with a crush.” Bosley cast a half smile at him.

Blake felt his face flame. “That’s ridiculous. I’m simply happy to finally have my Peg.”

“Well, she really is good at the part. You had that right. Not that she’s perfect. She needs to work on her lines. Tell her not to overdramatize every sentence.”

“I know, I know. She overdoes the lines a little, but we’re working on it. She’ll be fine before opening night.”

“Well, you seem confident, so I’ll take your word on it. Remember, we open two weeks before Christmas.” He waved and headed backstage.

Blake walked to the lobby and waited for Danielle. His mother had suggested they come to lunch and do their rehearsing in the library. He suspected she planned to be there.

Grinning, he thought about Pop’s revelation. Blake hadn’t yet found the opportune moment to ask Mother about her short stint in show business, but he had every intention of doing just that when the right time arose.

Danielle walked into the lobby. One long curl had escaped from the wide sweeping hat she wore, and she lifted a small hand to tuck it back. She glanced around, and when she saw him waiting, her face lit up. Quickly she composed her expression and walked over. She laid one hand on his proffered arm and they stepped out onto the broad sidewalk.

Blake resisted the urge to cover her small hand with his. A sudden need to protect her rose in his chest. Surprised at his own feelings, he laughed inwardly. Like she needed protecting.

As the buggy rolled down the streets toward home, he shoved the feeling aside and turned to her. “Don’t be surprised if Mother watches us rehearse. She’s very curious about how you’re doing.”

“Really? Oh, I hope I don’t make a lot of mistakes, then.”

“If she makes you nervous, I can try to make an excuse to banish her from the room.” He laughed and waved his arm dramatically.

“No, I don’t think it will bother me to have your mother there. I like her.”

Warmth filled Blake’s heart, and he smiled. “I’m glad. She likes you, too, you know.”

“Does she really? I’m so glad.”

They pulled up in front of the wide steps, and a stable boy appeared to take the reins.

❧

“My dear, that was wonderful.” Mrs. Nelson stood and clapped her dainty hands. “You are just about perfect.”

Danielle blushed. “Thank you for your kind words. I know I’m still a long way from perfect.”

“Well, you are just as good or better than most of the girls we see on the stage today.” She gave an emphatic nod and turned to Blake. “Don’t you agree?”

Blake grinned. Here was his opportunity. “Absolutely, Mother. And you should know. After all, you were in the business yourself once, weren’t you?”

Danielle cast a surprised glance at Mrs. Nelson, who gasped and blushed. “Well, I. . .that is. . .” She took a deep breath. “Yes, as a matter of fact I was on the stage for a while. That father of mine. He told you, didn’t he?”

“I don’t think he meant to, Mother. But why be so secretive about it?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I was afraid it would hurt your father’s career, I guess, or at least his social position.” She looked at Blake sternly. “But never for an instant should you think your father felt that way. He didn’t care who knew.”

“Then why is he so against my show?”

“I think he feels it’s different for a man. The law firm will be yours someday. He knew I’d give up the theater in a minute for him. I did, too. But the man is the breadwinner. He wants to make sure you have a reliable means of supporting yourself and the family you will undoubtedly have someday.” She cut a glance at Danielle and gave her a smile.

Warmth rushed to Danielle’s face, and she stared at Blake’s mother. Surely she didn’t think. . . Oh no. Danielle cast a glance at Blake, who seemed oblivious to his mother’s misunderstanding of their relationship.

“So, Mother, tell us a little about it. What did you do in show business? And how did you get started?”

Mrs. Nelson sat back down on the settee and stared across the room with a faraway look in her eyes. “I was so young. I’d just turned eighteen. I remember arriving in Chicago that day. That’s where I saw your father for the first time, Blake dear. I ran right into him. But it was just for an instant. Then he was gone and my father was there holding me close.

“The smell of smoke hung heavily on the air. It was the summer before the Great Fire and already the horrible drought was causing an outbreak of fires throughout the city. But I was so excited to be riding down the street with Pop toward the theater, I hardly noticed.

“Then we drew up in front of a large, colorful building. There was a big sign across the top. HARRIGAN’S MUSIC HALL AND THEATER. I loved it from the moment I stepped inside. At first Pop wouldn’t hear of my performing. But then, Mr. Harrigan talked him into allowing me to sing before the opening each day and night. I felt like I was in heaven. Later, one of the actresses was injured, and Pop allowed me to step into the small part of the girl who took her place.”

A smile tilted her lips. “Your father reserved the same seat every night. First row, middle seat. Then the fire came. They eventually rebuilt the theater, but by then I was engaged to be married to your father. He would have let me go back. But I no longer had much excitement for the stage. I had only one love. Sam Nelson. And I’ve never regretted devoting myself to him.” She gave Danielle an intent look and smiled.

Oh dear. Danielle bit her lip. She must let Mrs. Nelson know there was nothing between her and Blake.