A Murder’s Gruesome Premiere (Preview)

Chapter One

Maggie Fulton had no words to describe the feeling of stepping out onto a stage in front of an expectant audience and slipping into a new identity. There was a rush that propelled her forward, dragging her along as she forgot herself, lost herself to a new reality.

The air backstage was electric, causing the hairs at the back of her neck to stand up in anticipation. It was nearly time. People hurried back and forth, all feeling the same nervous energy to get things done and perfect before the curtain rose. There was an undercurrent of tension that was unfamiliar to Maggie, but then again, this production hadn’t exactly proceeded as normal. They were rushing back and forth as they prepared for the performance, knowing that time was precious and that it was running out. To make things worse, people were uneasy, constantly looking around suspiciously.

Goosebumps erupted over her arms as Maggie heard the roar of the audience taking their seats. It always stole her breath when she contemplated how her performance might turn out. After decades of walking the boards, she was surprised that she still felt the same passion burning through her veins. Wasn’t passion reserved for youths and new lovers? No. She knew it wasn’t. She’d always feel that trembling elation so long as she was able to perform.

Maggie had always been an actress. As a child, she used to fold out a box in her living room and give drawn-out performances to her younger sister. Elaine, Maggie’s junior by three years, was at first an adoring audience. As they got older, Elaine grew more restless and bored, but Maggie had never stopped performing. When she was older and had to run away from a domineering father who was intent on turning his daughter into a nurse, it was the love of her vocation that had kept her going until she found steady work. Elaine had stayed behind, became a nurse, married young, and made their father proud until his untimely death a few years ago.

Now, a much older Maggie was running her lines in her head as she waited for her cue. The stagehands bustled around her, and her costars were all busy doing their backstage rituals. After many years in the industry, Maggie had seen all sorts of rituals, ranging from the inconspicuous to the utterly bizarre.

For example, the actor who played the villain in the production, Noah Adams, was sitting against the wall running a rosary through his hands. What made his actions strange was the fact that he was also standing barefoot in a little tub filled with mayonnaise. His shoes were waiting neatly beside the bucket with his socks folded next to them. His assistant was waiting patiently with a little hand towel and some water.
Meanwhile, the female lead, Skylar James, was pacing back and forth, muttering to herself while she munched on an apple. She was fidgeting with her costume, a red and black American-Revolution-era dress that looked gorgeous against her creamy skin and black ringlets. She felt Maggie’s glance and looked up in annoyance. Maggie offered a small smile, but Skylar merely rolled her eyes and looked away.

“Have you seen David?” a stagehand with a frantic expression asked, referring to the male lead. As Maggie frowned thoughtfully at him, she realized that it wasn’t just a stagehand, it was the stage manager, Matthew Banks. It was slightly puzzling that the stage manager would be concerned about the whereabouts of an actor, but Maggie didn’t think too much of it. He was probably trying to work out cues with David or something.

“No,” Maggie said with a frown, looking around curiously. True enough, David was nowhere to be seen. “Don’t worry,” she said soothingly, putting her hand on Matthew’s arm and causing him to blush, “he’s always late.”

Matthew nodded but didn’t look any less anxious as he hurried away.

Maggie sighed and turned back to the stage. She was waiting in the wings, ready for her cue. She still had a few minutes until she’d have to be onstage, but she found that the closer she was to the stage, the less nervous she was. In a way, it was soothing, watching the stagehands hurry around. Watching the chaos made her feel separate from it all, as if she was only an observer, little more than an audience member. This sort of anonymity was part of her process. It helped her to step into a different person’s shoes.
As they hurried past, the stagehands would give her friendly smiles. They knew better than to interrupt her process, but they couldn’t resist giving some sign of their support. When they came to Skylar or Noah, though, they’d look down and scurry past, not wanting to be noticed by either of the stars. If they were accused of disturbing the actors, they’d be facing an unpleasant tantrum.

As she surveyed the organized chaos, a figure stood apart from it all. Maggie recognized him as the playwright, Thomas Bridges. Tom, as he was known to his friends, was a celebrated author with a long list of bestsellers. Maggie hadn’t spent a lot of time with him because he preferred to keep to himself. This was his debut as a playwright, and she could tell he wanted it to go smoothly.

He caught her looking and met her gaze evenly. Maggie found herself blushing and turning away. His piercing blue eyes reminded her of the beach on a sunny day. She looked back cautiously, feeling a little like a shy schoolgirl, and found that he was watching her intently. As she lifted her hand to wave, something else drew her attention.

“Maggie!” a warm voice called out, causing her to smile automatically.

“Jeff.” She turned to her long-suffering manager. “I was afraid you weren’t going to show.”

She looked back toward where Tom was standing. He was biting the end of his pen now, glaring at his copy of the script as if it had insulted him. Maggie shook her head lightly. She didn’t have time for handsome playwrights. Even if they did have a full head of oak-brown hair that only had a few streaks of gray at the temple. The gray made him look even more distinguished—not that he needed help with that, she thought wryly.
“You know it’s more likely that the moon would fall out the sky,” he said, scoffing slightly.

In his hands he held a massive bouquet of white calla lilies—her favorite. He offered it to her with both hands, and she took it with a grateful smile. Maggie immediately buried her face in the lilies, breathing in deeply. This was her own ritual.

Ever since her first starring role, coincidentally in this very theater, Jeff had presented her with a bouquet of white calla lilies. The sweet scent managed to ground her and fill her with a comfortable warmth. When she was a child, her mother had grown the flowers in her garden, and they reminded Maggie of a happy childhood spent with her family.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said with a grin.

It took him a second longer to return her smile, but in that short time she could sense that something was wrong. He was hiding his hands from her and looking around nervously. Her heart sank immediately.

“Jeff?” she prompted hesitantly.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking down at his feet. “I don’t know… I guess…”

Her heart sank in disappointment and she looked away, trying to blink back the tears that were stinging the back of her eyes. She sniffed slightly and forced herself to smile bravely.
“They haven’t called, have they?”

Maggie had no patience for technology and hated anything to do with it. She’d grown up in a time when letters, phone calls, and seeing each other in person were the only real means of communication. She hated to admit it, but technology made her feel out of place and clumsy. She had enough of that, being an older woman in the entertainment industry, so she tried to avoid it at all costs.

Jeff usually had her phone in his possession. Since they saw each other so often, it made sense for him to keep it. She only had it about three days out of the week before losing her temper and giving it back to him. It was important to note that those weren’t three consecutive days, but rather the collective amount of time she kept it with her or attempted to master the secrets of her iPhone.

“No.” Jeff frowned, shaking his head solemnly. “I’m sorry.”

Maggie had been married, once upon a time. It had been a mistake. Ten years of her life that she’d never be able to get back. The two children that were born from that relationship, however, were not a mistake. She loved them with every fiber of her being, even more than she loved being an actress. Unfortunately, they were both off at college learning how to be independent people, and they hardly ever called or visited.

“It’s fine,” Maggie lied, trying not to let her disappointment show. “They’re probably busy. NYU and UNC are competitive schools. It’s good that they’re so focused on their grades.”

Jeff sighed heavily and gave her a massive hug. She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes as she rested her chin against his shoulder. He was a few inches shorter than her, but she still felt safe in his arms. Her blonde ringlets scratched her face and she had to move a strand of hair out of her mouth. As she stepped back, the material of her dress crinkled and she looked around, making sure everything was still in place.

“I always thought I was born in the wrong era, but now I’m just grateful I get to take this corset off when this is all over.”

“Well, you look amazing,” he promised, grimacing at the thought of wearing a corset. “You’re going to blow everyone away. You know the theater is sold out, right?”

“Sold out?” Maggie gasped slightly, her hopes soaring. “That hasn’t happened in years. This is great news! We might be able to save the theater, after all!”

“Of course, we will,” Jeff scoffed. “The Starlight is an institution. Once people find out it’s in trouble, they’ll want to support it!”

“And here I thought people were just excited to see me,” Maggie teased, rolling her eyes.
“You know they are,” Jeff said soothingly. “I just meant that the Starlight will never be in any real danger.”

Maggie pursed her lips. They had differing opinions on this. Maggie had seen the decline of this beloved theater for years now. It was nowhere near its former glory. When she’d come to the first rehearsal of the play, Maggie had wanted to cry.

The theater, which was now over a hundred years old, had been in a shabby state. Over the past few weeks, there had been a few minor renovations to spruce it up for the performance, but it wasn’t enough. Everyone knew that this production was the Starlight’s last hope. It was the reason so many “celebrities” had agreed to star in it.

In truth, there were a few well-known actors on the cast, but none of them were household names. Despite her years in the industry, Maggie herself was little more than a minor celebrity. People wouldn’t flock to her on the streets, but every now and then someone would do a double take when she passed. Maggie tried to comfort herself with the fact that she’d spent her life doing what she loved, but deep down she was already mourning the fact that she would eventually pass into obscurity.

A sudden shriek caused them all to jump and look in Skylar’s direction. She was holding a large swath of her dress in her hands, looking at it in horror as though she were holding a snake.
“What happened?” Maggie asked in surprise, rushing forward to help her.

“Don’t!” Skylar held up her hand, as if warding Maggie off. “Stay away from me!”
“I’m sorry,” she said. Maggie held up her hands in surrender, her cheeks flaming. “I was just trying to help.”

“Yeah, help yourself to a bigger share of the spotlight,” Skylar spat. “For all I know, you probably did this!”

“I was nowhere near your dress,” Maggie said calmly, still holding her hands up as she gestured to a stagehand.

“I’m about to go on,” Skylar moaned. “I can’t be seen like this! My costume is ruined!”
“What’s going on here?” the director asked, hurrying up to them with a harassed expression. “Skylar, what did you do to your dress?”

A passing stagehand hurried up to Maggie and listened intently while the director, Nomad, stared in despair at Skylar’s costume.

“I didn’t do anything!” Skylar burst out, stamping her foot in irritation. “I was just getting ready for my part when I heard a rip. Someone tampered with my costume, Nomad. Look at the material! It wasn’t like this yesterday.”

“Calm down,” Nomad said exasperatedly.

Their director was a man who looked like he belonged to a hippie commune. He wore sandals no matter the weather and clothes made out of hemp. His hair was styled into dreadlocks that smelled vaguely of tea tree oil. He had a lean figure with squat features that reminded Maggie of a pug. Maggie always felt vaguely uncomfortable around him, but she had to admit that he was one of the best directors she’d ever worked for.

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Skylar screamed, getting red in the face. “I want my assistants. Now! This is your fault! All your stupid rules are killing me.”

Nomad had made it clear that he didn’t want any personal assistants backstage during the performance, threatening anyone who broke that rule with unemployment. Maggie had to admit that he had a point. Skylar had three personal assistants, and Noah had two more. If everyone had their assistants backstage with them, there wouldn’t be any space to breathe, let alone move as needed. Maggie’s own assistant had her own seat in the audience and was allowed to stay at home if she wanted.

Maggie finished talking to the stagehand and walked toward the bickering pair. Jeff took one look at the situation, squeezed Maggie’s arm, and quickly walked away. Nomad looked like he was going to lose his temper, but he closed his eyes tightly and rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

“Skylar,” Maggie said in a calm tone, “we need to stop quickly and just figure it out. It’s not the end of the world, we can fix this. I promise.”

She was careful not to get too close to Skylar or reach out for her again. It was clear that Skylar wasn’t in the mood to be soothed. She reminded Maggie of a wild horse—it would take caution to get her to settle down.

Skylar was a woman of remarkable beauty. She had unblemished creamy skin and a smile that blinded people with her pearly teeth. Her thick black hair and wide brown eyes made for a striking picture. Her fashionably slim body was the result of hours of hard work every day, and she went to impossible efforts to ensure that she was always the most beautiful woman in the room.

Maggie’s own looks were nothing to be scoffed at, but Skylar had a way of making people feel insecure when they were around her. Despite her own feelings of inadequacy, Maggie was determined not to treat Skylar badly. She smiled kindly at the younger actress and arranged her features so that she could convey her worry.

“Oh, really?” Skylar sniped. “Isn’t it the end of the world? How clever! We all know you did this. You really are jealous of me, aren’t you?”

Maggie took a deep breath and tried again.

“We’re on the same side, here,” she said, causing her voice to be firmer. If soothing wasn’t going to work, she was going to try strict. “You’ve got to go on in a few minutes and screaming at people isn’t going to fix your dress.”

“If you scream at me again, I’m calling your understudy,” Nomad threatened, his eyes gleaming with anger.

“As if she could carry this thing,” Skylar scoffed. “Most of those people out there are waiting to see me. The second they realize I’m not coming out, they’re going to riot.”

Skylar was part of a popular teenage drama. Her character was a fan favorite and had a massive social media following. Unfortunately, this meant that Skylar often overestimated her own importance.

“Oh, please,” Noah said, wiping mayonnaise off his feet and looking at the group disdainfully. “At least eighty percent of the audience is a part of the Ark.”

Noah was a heartthrob who made his living taking his shirt off on various teen dramas. Even though he was well into his thirties, casting agents kept putting him in the same types of movies aimed at high school and college students. His fanbase referred to themselves as the Ark, and individual fans were referred to as Notes. None of it made sense to Maggie. She’d forgotten he was in earshot and wished she could move.

“In your dreams!” Skylar hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. “This isn’t one of your pathetic little teen movies. This is a serious production. Your little teenage sycophants wouldn’t even be able to read the playbill!”

Skylar seemed to be conveniently forgetting that most of her fans were also teenagers.
“That’s a big word, do you even know what it means?”

“Shut up!”

“I need some alcohol,” Nomad growled, rubbing his temples in frustration.

“Sir!” Matthew called, hurrying up to them. “We can’t seem to find David anywhere, and his costume is still in his dressing room.”

Nomad swore and kicked at Noah’s mayonnaise bucket, which went flying and splattered all over the floor. Noah’s assistant had conveniently disappeared when Nomad arrived, so there was no one to clean up the mess.

“I’ll have you know that my last movie was almost considered for an Oscar!”

“Who was doing the considering?” Skylar sneered. “A high school?”

“I picked the wrong week to go on a cleanse,” Nomad cried, yanking at the bead necklace around his neck. Maggie winced, noticing that the beads were starting to chafe from all the pulling.

She suddenly felt like she was on a boat that was being carried along by a strong current toward a massive waterfall. Everyone around her was panicking, and the captain was having an anxiety attack. She knew instinctively that there were rocks at the bottom of the drop.

The sound coming from the audience seemed to get louder, and to her ears it sounded like they were getting restless. The stagehands were all stopping now, looking at Nomad in horror and glaring at Skylar and Noah, who seemed seconds away from a brawl.

The current was getting stronger, the waterfall closer, and Maggie’s heart was beating a mile a minute. She couldn’t swim, she thought faintly. She’d always meant to learn, but she’d never gotten the chance. Nomad was muttering to himself; Noah was threatening to kill Skylar, while she threatened to film him and ruin his career.

It was all getting louder. Louder. Louder! And then, silence. Maggie took a deep breath, steeling herself, then looked around, coolly assessing the situation. Nomad was gulping large amounts of air, Skylar was filming Noah, who was taking his phone out to film her, and Maggie felt a calm certainty fall over her.

She knew what she had to do.

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“A Murder’s Gruesome Premiere” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

Maggie Fulton was born to perform on stage. She’s a talented actress who is capable of enthralling a crowd with her captivating performance. Unfortunately, her talent has been dramatically overshadowed by her age these days, as she is constantly turned down by casting directors who favor younger actresses. When she is offered a part in an upcoming production, Maggie knows that she has to make the most of what might be her last chance to perform in front of an audience. On the night of the premiere, tensions run high and everyone is on edge, as suspicions of sabotage plague the cast. No one could have been prepared though for the nightmare this night is about to turn into…

The male lead is shockingly murdered on stage right in front of hundreds of onlookers and collapses lifeless in Maggie’s arms. She’s plunged into a very risky investigation, and the police seem to have only one suspect- Maggie. Her world turns upside down as the media swarms around her, and the dead protagonist’s fans demand justice. Maggie joins forces with the mysterious new playwright, knowing that she needs all the help she can get before her reputation goes down in flames. Together, they’ll take on a journey into every aspect of the entertainment industry to find the truth, from the glittering stage to the seedy parts hidden in the shadows. But how far into the darkness are they willing to go in search of the truth?

There seem to be no shortage of suspects, and Maggie is forced to take center stage in an ordeal she never asked to be a part of. To make matters worse, a sinister presence haunts the theater, threatening anyone who’s part of the play. Time seems to be counting down fast and the spotlight is suddenly on Maggie and her ability to solve the mystery of this terrifying chain of events. Her quest becomes even more urgent when she turns into the murderer’s next target, as she must fight fiercely to catch the killer and save her own life too. Will Maggie manage to expose the truth in time and bring justice to light? Or will the killer get to her first, turning her into the next victim to die on stage?

“A Murder’s Gruesome Premiere” is an intriguing cozy mystery novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cliffhangers, just pure captivating mystery.

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