Stage Fright (Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Book 6) by Carolyn Keene, Franklin W. Dixon Read Free Book Online

Thalia represent tragedy, dance, music, and comedy. Together, they make a Broadway show. Now, the mosaic above our heads …”
    Joe nudged me and rolled his eyes. “Boring!” he mouthed.
    For once, I had to agree. I’m all for learning anything, anywhere, because you never know what might come in handy. But Damien lectured like a half-asleep kindergarten teacher.
    Slowly, he led us through the lobby, up into the mezzanine, back down into the orchestra, and all through the “front of the house.” That was how he referred to all of the areas that theatergoers were generally allowed into. Then, he took us backstage. It was surprising to learn how much had to happen to make a show run. There were as many people backstage as there were onstage, maybe even more. There were tiny rooms and hidden staircases, two levels of basement storage, and “the grid”—a giant set of walkways above the entire stage and audience. The grid was where things like the lights and planes hung from. I made a mental note to check it out later.
    Damien’s knowledge of the theater bordered on obsessive, but I guess that’s what made him good at his job. When we reached the stage, I had to interrupt his monologue.
    “Where’s the hole that Madonna fell through?”
    “The trap ,” Damien corrected me, “is over there.” He pointed to center of the stage. “I checked it myself. It’s fine. Someone must have left it unlatched. In the secondact, Claire is supposed to rise up from it when she escapes from her secret hiding hole in Nazi-occupied Paris.”
    “Who would touch this?” I asked.
    “Myself, the technical director, any number of production assistants … really, it could have been anyone. But no one should have opened it that early. It might have just given way under Madonna’s weight. She has seven pounds on Claire.”
    I shot Joe a look. That was an odd fact to know, and it seemed unlikely that seven pounds would be enough to break the trap door. I filed it away for later. Nothing seemed wrong with the trap, at least not at first glance.
    “I fixed the latch this morning,” Damien said proudly.
    No wonder there’s no evidence, I thought.
    A laugh rang out on the other side of the theater.
    “I love this girl,” yelled Claire. She flounced out of the rehearsal room dragging Nancy behind her. They were wearing matching WWII uniforms. Nancy looked a little embarrassed, but she was smiling. It was obvious things were going well between them.
    “Joe! Frank! Come here,” yelled Claire. “You have to hear what Nancy just told me.”
    Claire threw one arm over my shoulders and another over Joe’s. In general, girls make me kind of nervous. But Claire was the kind of person who made everyone feel like her best friend. I glanced over my shoulder asNancy told us a story about her last case. Damien was staring at us with unconcealed jealousy.
    “Where’s Linden?” I asked. “Wasn’t he with you?”
    “Yeah,” said Claire. “But he and Laurel are having their daily fight now.”
    She shrugged, making it clear it was nothing she cared about.
    “So Joe, you wanted to talk to me?” Claire grinned, kissed me on the cheek, and pulled Joe aside, leaving Nancy and me alone.
    “How’s it going?” I asked.
    “Good. Learning a show is a crazy workout!” she said. “But what are you doing with that creepy kid Damien?”
    My ears perked up. If Nancy thought he was creepy, that meant it wasn’t just my imagination.
    “He’s Linden’s assistant, I guess, though he seems a little young.”
    “A little young and a little stalker-y! Remember I told you about that guy who rescued me from the crowd yesterday, and how he knew all these odd facts about Claire?”
    “Uh-huh,” I nodded. I was pretty sure I knew where this was going.
    “That’s him!”
    “I’ll keep an eye on him today,” I promised. “He’s got my danger-senses tingling too.”
    But when I turned around, Damien had disappeared. Nancy rejoined Claire and