Body on the Stage (15 page)

“The main account is fine,
savings account is fine, credit card is about right…oh my God.” Her
voice went up. “The tax account should have thirty grand in it
ready for this year’s provisional tax payment, and it’s gone.” She
pulled up the account details with shaking hands. “Look at this. A
heap of deposits that don’t belong there, taking it up to a hundred
and twelve thousand, then a series of withdrawals up until a few
days ago.” She turned to him, stricken. “How did you think to look
for that?”

“Just a hunch from seeing how
sums were being moved around. If someone was stealing from you, the
amounts would have to go somewhere accessible to get them out of
the system and that seemed the most logical way to do it without it
being noticed straight away.”

He moved swiftly out of the
chair and guided her down into it as her knees buckled. “Here, put
your head down and breathe slowly. That’s it – take it easy.” He
rubbed her back gently. “Don’t worry, we’ll sort it out. It’s OK.”
He felt her draw in a shuddering breath. When she straightened up
at last, there was suddenly steel in her voice.

“If Vincenzo did this I will
track him down and eviscerate him!” She turned to Dennis, her blue
eyes flashing. “It has to be why he’s disappeared. That slimy
little toad has been ripping me off and I never suspected a thing.
Arrrgh!” She got up, paced, and kicked a filing cabinet in her
frustration, leaving a dent in the metal. “We have to find him! My
business can’t survive a loss like this. Once that provisional tax
payment is due the money HAS to be there. The Inland Revenue
department won’t waive their vicious penalties just because some
smarmy Italian took advantage of me.”

“There is one good thing,”
offered Dennis. “I expect the police will be more enthusiastic
about tracing him now he’s apparently committed a substantial
fraud.”

She brightened. “You’re right!
Good point! You always manage to make me feel better.” She hugged
him, and for a long moment he enjoyed the feel of her body against
his. He hoped she was drawing as much strength and comfort from the
touch as he was. A gentle fragrance of apple blossom lingered as
she broke away and sat back down at the desk. “I suppose I should
phone Jack, or maybe the police station?”

“Let’s try Jack first since he
knows what you’re talking about. He can pass the details on to the
right people.”

“Good thinking, Batman.” She
smiled up at him. “Now go and do your workout. I don’t want to feel
guilty that I’m interfering with your progress towards hunkdom. I
can take it from here.”

“OK, if you’re sure you’re all
right.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “Just let me know if
there’s anything I can do to help – anything at all.”

She put warm fingers over his
and squeezed. “Thanks, I really appreciate how much you’ve done for
me already. It’s good to know I can count on you.”

As he entered the locker room he
found Warwick and Jayden getting changed for their workout session.
Warwick had bulked up far more than his training partner, and
Dennis wondered if Jayden had queried why they were getting such
varied results.

“How’s it going, guys?” he
asked. Warwick just grunted, but Jayden seemed more
forthcoming.

‘Pretty good thanks. I’ll never
look like the Incredible Hulk here but then some women prefer a
more natural look, don’t they?”

“What the hell? Are you saying
I’m unnatural?” Warwick growled. “How’d you like a weight bar
shoved where the sun don’t shine? I’ve worked bloody hard to build
these muscles and you’re sitting there insulting me? Well screw
you!” He slammed the locker door with enough force to bend it and
stormed out of the room.

“Oh hell,” sighed Jayden. “He’s
getting awfully hard to work out with these days. I hate to think
what he’ll be like come show time. They say when you cut up for
performance your temper gets really bad.”

“Cut up?”

“It’s when you deplete your
carbs to bring out the shape of the muscle. It’s brutal, man, and
then for the actual performance time you stop drinking as well so
you’re dehydrated to make the muscles even more pronounced. Most
people get pretty crabby when they’re hungry and thirsty and their
blood sugar is really low.”

“Surely you guys won’t have to
do all that, will you?” Dennis was aghast. “It sounds like a
horrendous thing to do to your body. Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Only if you do it for too long
or too often,” Jayden shrugged. “Maybe Adam won’t be that concerned
about our shape for the show, but if we were competing in a
body-building contest that’s what we’d do.”

“Rather you than me.” Dennis
shuddered. “Anyway, while you’re here, did you see anything of
Vincenzo on Wednesday night? He seems to have pulled a fast one and
skipped town – Cathy’s a bit worried about it.”

“No, can’t say I noticed him
much. He’s an annoying little creep as far as I’m concerned and I
try to keep away from him. Thinks he’s God’s gift to the world,
that one. I won’t be sorry if he’s decided to leave. Hopefully
Cathy can find someone to replace him though, otherwise she’ll be
struggling.”

“OK, thanks Jayden. Enjoy your
workout – and good luck with Warwick.”

Dennis pulled on his shorts and
T-shirt and went to look for Mark, hoping his own workout partner
would be in a better frame of mind.

He found Mark hanging from a
pull-up bar with a twenty kilogram weight dangling from his belt.
His face was red and contorted as he pulled himself up and his arms
were shaking when he dropped to the ground.

“How’s it going?” said Dennis
cautiously.

“Fine,” he panted. “You?”

“Yeah, good as gold thanks.
Upper body today then? Yell out when you want me to spot for you.”
Mark towelled his face dry and nodded. Dennis moved to the nearby
chest press machine and waited until Mark looked able to speak.
“Hey, did you see what happened to Vincenzo on Wednesday night?
He’s done a runner, apparently, and Cathy’s trying to track him
down.”

“Didn’t see anything.”

Mark turned away, dried his
hands for a few moments and tackled the pull-up bar again. Dennis
shrugged and began his set, pushing the handles forward with quiet
determination. Perhaps Mark would feel more like talking after
their workout.

He didn’t get a chance to find
out, as an hour later Cathy came over to collar Mark after his
final set on the wall bars.

“Mark, I’ve got your
choreography notes here. Can you spare five minutes or so while I
go through the routine with you? That way the notes will make more
sense when you try to learn them.”

“Yes, OK. Have to do it
sometime, I suppose. What have you got?”

Cathy grinned, winking at
Dennis. “Well, Mr International Spy, your routine is set to a
medley of James Bond theme songs and other spy-related music – it
gives us a chance to play with all kinds of moves to fit the words
and the pictures we’ll be flashing up behind you. Adam has decided,
if you’re up for it, that we’ll have you enter from the balcony of
the circle, sliding down a rope into the aisle. You’ll grab the
nearest pretty girl and pretend to kiss her, then sprint towards
the stage. Up the centre steps, crouch and turn to face the
audience with a gun in your hand. Holster the gun, stand, and
slowly peel off the gloves you wore to slide down the rope. Toss
them into the wings.” Cathy demonstrated. “Now the dance routine
really gets going.” She went through the moves, miming the removal
of jacket, tie, shirt and shoes. “You have to get the shoes off
quickly ‘cause there’s nothing less sexy than a man trying to take
his socks off. Wear loose ones and shuck them off with the shoes.
Then it’s the big show of whipping off the pants.” She performed a
slick two-handed manoeuvre and hurled the imaginary pants off to
the side. Mark nodded, but, Dennis was transfixed. This was a side
of Cathy he’d never have imagined.

“What happens if I trip over or
get caught up somehow?” asked Mark.

“Well if you rehearse properly
it should all flow smoothly,” she said. “But if something does go
horribly wrong and you’re in danger of looking like a tit, the
effects guy will have a slide of Johnny English to flash up on
screen and people will think you’re being Rowan Atkinson. It’ll get
you a laugh and cover any hiccups. Any questions?”

Mark shook his head, glancing
through the notes she handed him.

“I have one,” said Dennis. “How
do you think of this stuff? Especially the Johnny English thing –
that’s brilliant.”

“Just forward planning really.
Always have a strategy to cover a worst-case scenario, then if
something does go wrong nobody panics.” The worry returned to her
face. “I just wish I’d thought of one to cover losing an employee
who may have emptied my bank accounts.”

Mark looked thunderous. “What?
Is that why you wanted to know where Vincenzo was? Has he ripped
you off? I must have been crazy to think he was a decent guy. What
a fourteen carat bastard!”

“No, Mark – please don’t get
upset! The police have been notified and I’m sure they’ll track him
down. It’ll be fine, really. And I’ve got no proof he was
responsible for the theft, only that he disappeared at the same
time as the money. I shouldn’t have mentioned it really – can you
try to forget I said anything?”

“Sure, if you say so. God, what
an arsehole, and he was always so charming.” A thought deepened his
frown. “Hey, do you have stocks of the protein powder we’ve been
getting from him? I’m almost due for a refill and I’ll need more in
a couple of days.”

“He’s been selling you protein
powder? You mean you paid him direct instead of buying it at
reception? What brand was it?”

‘Dunno, he said he bought bulk
amounts and divided it into zip-lock one-kilogram bags himself to
make it cheaper.”

Cathy looked stricken and Dennis
felt a fierce surge of anger towards Vincenzo. Was there no end to
his betrayal of trust?

“Do you know who else bought it
from him? It probably explains why our retail figures have been so
much lower lately.”

“I know Ricky and Warwick were,
but I don’t know how many others. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know he
was selling it without your permission.” Mark looked furious. “I
feel terrible – he seemed like he was helping us out, you know? We
thought what a great guy he was. If I’d known it was at your
expense I’d have poured his dumb powder down his throat with a
bottle of water and made a live protein shake of him.”

Dennis and Cathy both smiled at
that image.

“The milk foam would have come
out of his nose,” she chuckled. “Thanks for that, Mark, I needed a
laugh.” Her smile slowly faded as she turned to walk away, and when
she turned back her eyes were serious. “Just a thought, but it
might be a good idea to hold on to the last few grams of that
protein powder, just in case it needs to be looked at more closely.
You said you, Ricky and Warwick were using it, yes?” Mark nodded.
“So Simon, Jayden and Dennis weren’t, is that right?”

“Certainly right for me,” said
Dennis. “The plan was for me to slim down, not bulk up. Besides,
I’m not all that keen on milkshakes. I’d rather have a steak for my
protein.”

“What are you thinking?” asked
Mark, flushed and irritable. “What do you think might be in the
powder that’s got you worried?”

“I don’t know, Mark. Don’t get
upset. I’m just trying to look at the big picture and tally up a
whole lot of information to make sense of it. It’s probably
nothing, just a wild theory that’s suggesting itself. Until I have
more information I’m not going to speculate any further.” She
pointed at his notes. “Focus on learning your routine, it’ll take
your mind off anything else. Be the best spy you can be, OK?
Whetford’s women are counting on you!”

Mark gave a non-committal grunt.
“Just make sure you keep us informed. If there’s something we
should know for God’s sake tell us, and sooner rather than
later.”

“Of course.” She smiled wearily
at Dennis. “Now I’ll have much the same conversation with Ricky and
Warwick, I suspect.”

“Why don’t you leave out the
concerns about the protein powder? As long as you have a sample
from Mark, you don’t need to get them all wondering.”

“Good point. I’ll just give them
their choreo notes and leave them to it, I think.”

Dennis watched from across the
room as she gave out the pages to the other guys then spun and
twirled in a spirited rendition of their dance moves. For a moment
he wished that, perhaps, one day – he shook his head and sighed.
Never in a million years.

At the next rehearsal he was
delighted to see Cathy come into the Green Room where he was
putting a fresh bottle of milk away in the fridge. Her usual bounce
was missing, but her face lit up as he came out of the kitchen
area.

“Dennis! What a lovely surprise
to see you here. I expected a bunch of grumpy actors and it’s so
nice to see you instead.”

“You’ll still have to deal with
the actors, I’m afraid – that is why you’re here, isn’t it?”

“True. But at least I can talk
to you in a break, can’t I?”

“Of course! How are things going
at the gym? Any news of Vincenzo?”

‘No, not a word. There’s been no
activity at his apartment, no use of his bank accounts or phone,
according to the police. I reckon he skipped the country with a
false passport and is living up large overseas with my money by
now,” she said bitterly. “Heaven knows if I’ll ever see any of it
back.”

“What about insurance – is the
business covered for something like that?”

“Yes, up to a point. I think.”
She looked at him, her eyes suddenly huge with worry. “I’d better
take a closer look at the policy when I get back to the gym. It’s
been several years since I took it out and I can’t remember all the
fine details. Now you’ve got me really worried. If I’m not covered
I’ll be in big trouble.”