Who Invited the Ghost to Dinner: A Ghost Writer Mystery by Teresa Watson Read Free Book Online Page A

help.”
    Diane’s eyes bulged out of her head just before she grabbed Rachel by the throat and started choking her again. Richard and I moved at the same time, and pried Diane’s hands away. Rachel held her throat with one hand and moved backwards, slipping on some of the pearls and falling down on her butt. I let go of Diane to go help Rachel, while Richard somehow managed to drag a hissing Diane backstage.
    I was helping Rachel onto the sofa when Simon returned with a glass of ice water. “What happened?” he said as he handed her the glass. “Where’s Diane?”
    “Richard led her off that way,” I replied, pointing toward the left side of the stage. “She and Rachel had another disagreement.”
    “Disagreement?” Rachel sputtered. “She tried to kill me again!”
    “Maybe you shouldn’t have egged her on,” I said.
    She blushed, clearly embarrassed.
    Richard came back onstage without Diane. “She’s refusing to come out of her dressing room,” he said, flopping onto the oversized chair across from the couch. “How are we supposed to finish rehearsal without her?”
    Simon looked over at him. “Get someone to read her lines. The rest of us can manage. We’ll just react like Diane is where she’s supposed to be.”
    “I don’t know,” Richard said, shaking his head. “We really need her out here.”
    “Come off it, man,” Simon replied. “She knows this play like it was a nursery rhyme she reads every night. How many shows did she do on the West End in London? We don’t need to worry about her. It’s the rest of us that need the work.”
    “Speak for yourself,” Rachel said. “I know my part perfectly.”
    Simon sighed and rolled his eyes. “Of course you do, my dear,” he said, patting her hand. “But it would help the rest of us to work on it. I’m sure you don’t mind helping us out. If we look good, then you look good.”
    She sat up straighter on the couch. “That’s a very valid point. I don’t want to look bad in front of Mr. Showalter.”
    “What are you talking about?” Richard said.
    “I invited him down to watch our opening night.”
    “You what?” Simon said, clearly shocked. “When did you do that?”
    “When I saw him at the Ritz Carlton a couple of weeks ago,” Rachel responded. “He’s one of Mother’s oldest friends. They went to high school together. He said he thought she was the prettiest girl in school, and that she was still beautiful.”
    I rolled my eyes, but didn’t say anything.
    “Anyway, he called her when he came into town, and asked if she would join him for dinner. She agreed, as long as I could come along. We had a lovely evening, discussing his work on Broadway, and what he was working on. Mother casually mentioned that I would be starring in a production here, and he said he would be delighted to attend. I couldn’t tell him no.”
    Of course not, I thought to myself. No wonder Diane wanted to kill her.
    Richard jumped out of the chair and started pacing the stage. “I can’t believe you did that. Oh my God, Stephen frickin’ Showalter is coming to my show. This is a nightmare. This has disaster written all over it,” he fretted, repeatedly running his fingers through his salt and pepper hair. “We’ve got to rehearse all night.”
    “But we can’t, not without Diane,” Simon pointed out.
    “Oh yes, we will,” Richard said with a determined look on his face. “She’s going to come out here and act like a professional, or I’ll make sure she never works again.” He stormed off again, and we could hear him shouting her name. “Diane! Get your butt out here, right now!”
    I glanced at Rachel, who was sitting there with a smug look on her face. I turned and walked away, shaking my head.
    “What happened?” Mac said as I rejoined them at the table.
    “I have no idea,” I told him, “but I don’t have a good feeling about it.”
    Mother rushed into the room just then. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here. Come on,” she