Amaryllis selected one at random. She had no idea what it was, only that it seemed to be made of metal and it fit her grasp.
She sensed rather than saw something move in front of her. The smell of the expensive Cologne was very strong in her nostrils.
She swung wildly with the long, heavy object that she had taken from the crate. Her makeshift weapon thudded against flesh.
"Uuumph."
Amaryllis did not wait to see the results of her handiwork. She dropped the metal object and bounded forward into the shadows. Her toe caught on something, a foot, perhaps. There was a muffled curse. She leaped aside and nearly fell.
She was totally disoriented in the darkness. The roar of the music was her only guide. She went toward it, hands outstretched to ward off any collisions with crates, stage props, or killers. She came to a jarring halt when one palm touched stone.
A wall.
Using her sense of touch, she made her way along the stone barrier. The music grew louder. She turned a corner and saw a sliver of light beneath a heavy blue stage curtain. The music was thundering in her ears now.
At that moment Lucas attempted another mind link. She knew from the strength of his energy thrust that he was very, very close. Amaryllis responded as she fumbled to find an opening in the curtain.
She felt a hemmed edge and yanked it aside.
Intense white light blinded her. The music was deafening.
Amaryllis blundered out onto the stage, blinking furiously against the brilliant light. The drummer saw her first. He shouted something at her, but she could not hear a word he said.
Two couples, one garbed in matching black leather and hoods, the other nattily attired in a few strategically placed silver sequins, simulated some very energetic sexual gymnastics at the front of the stage. Moans of excitement emanated from the audience.
Two handsome young men in red tights and flowing blond hair stood in one corner of the stage. Their faces were contorted with grimaces as they did an excellent impression of focusing the sexual energy that was being expended on stage.
It was obvious from the feverish sounds produced by the audience and the rising throb of the music that a climax, both literal and figurative, was close at hand.
Amaryllis ran to the front of the stage. The performers ignored her as she came to a halt in their midst. She frantically waved her arms to get their attention.
"Stop. Stop. There's been a murder. A killer is loose in the building." She realized that no one could hear her above the relentless music. "Stop."
The audience, apparently concluding that she was part of the act, went into a frenzy. The performers rose to the occasion in several senses of the word. Sequins and portions of black leather underwear fell to the stage at Amaryllis's feet. The musicians redoubled their efforts.
Out of the corner of her eye, Amaryllis saw a figure stagger through the dark blue curtain and emerge onto the stage. He stood there, dazed and blinking in the unrelenting glare. He clutched his shoulder with one hand. His hair was standing on end, and his elegant suit was rumpled, but there was no mistaking his identity.
Madison Sheffield.
He spotted Amaryllis at the same instant that she recognized him. Rage replaced the confusion in his eyes. He took one step toward her and then apparently realized that he was standing in front of an audience. He swung around and tried to flee back through the stage curtain.
Lucas came through the heavy velvet drapes in a long, low rush. He plowed straight into Sheffield. The two men crashed to the floor and rolled toward the front of the stage.
The musicians went wild. The overworked sound system shrieked in protest. Amaryllis could smell the performers' sweat.
Lucas managed to straddle Sheffield. He slammed a fist into the senator's jaw.
The audience went orgasmic.
"Vivien was obviously blackmailing Sheffield with the contents of the file that Professor Landreth left with her." Amaryllis, seated on the sofa in front of Lucas's exotic fireplace, pulled up her knees and bugged them. She still shivered from time to time, even though the room was warm. "It's hard to believe."
"I'm sure Sheffield's hoping the cops will find it hard to believe, too." Lucas picked up the two glasses of moontree brandy that he had just poured and walked toward Amaryllis. "He told the police that the reason he happened to be backstage at the SynCity tonight was because he was investigating the club's activities. Fulfilling a campaign promise, as it were."
Amaryllis gave a ladylike snort. "Likely story. He can hardly deny his motive for murder now that they've found what's left of the file."
Lucas nodded as he sat down beside her. "It was in the restroom sink. That was the source of the smoke you smelled. Sheffield apparently tried to burn the file after he shot Vivien, but he must have had trouble keeping the fire going. It was a charred mess, but his name was all over what remained, together with a lot of observations about his lack of ethics. All neatly typed and annotated, I might add. Nothing illegal, but the accusations of unethical behavior could have ruined him."
"Professor Landreth was always very thorough. Well, so much for the expertise of Mr. Stonebraker. He never did find the file. I had to do it myself."
Lucas raised his brows. "That's one way of looking at it."
"I trust he'll give you a refund."
"I'll be sure to ask for it."
Amaryllis frowned. "Professor Landreth realized that Senator Sheffield was focusing in an unethical manner. He documented it in that file. But why did he give the file to Vivien?"
"Landreth was probably afraid that Sheffield would try to snatch the file before he was ready to go public with his accusations." Lucas cradled the brandy glass in both hands. He gazed thoughtfully into the fire. "He must have figured that no one would think of searching for the evidence in the dressing room of a syn-sex stripper."
"He was right. Poor Vivien. She must have realized that she was in danger tonight. That's why she phoned me. But I got there too late to save her. I wonder if she called the guard?"
"Wouldn't have done any good. The cops found the guard a block away getting drunk in a bar. Said some guy gave him a hundred bucks to get lost for a couple of hours."
"Sheffield was safe. With the music pounding away, there was no way anyone would have heard the shot."
"No." Lucas put down his brandy glass and reached out to catch Amaryllis's chin on the edge of his hand. His eyes were more intense than the jelly-ice flames on the hearth. "You should never have gone to that club tonight. Do you know what I've been through?"
"Now, Lucas, I had to do something when Vivien called. There was no time to track you down at the restaurant."
"Damn it, I went through all five hells when I got that message on your answering machine. And that was nothing compared to what I endured when I realized that you were somewhere in the darkness behind the stage. The alley door was locked. I had to find and break a window to get into the back of the club. You should have called the cops if you couldn't find me."
"In retrospect, I can see that you have a point."
"A point? I've got more than a point. I've got the whole damn argument."
"Lucas, be reasonable. I didn't know that Vivien was in imminent danger. She didn't tell me that. All she said was that things were getting a little out of hand. One would think that if she had felt she was in real jeopardy, she would have called the police herself." Amaryllis paused. "Come to think of it, why didn't she do just that?"
"Because, as you just pointed out, she was a blackmailer. At any rate, that's not what I want to discuss here."
The phone rang.
Amaryllis smiled brightly. "Better get that. It might be the police. They may have a few more questions to ask you."