Page 67 of Beyond the Darkness
“I’ll have a word with them tomorrow.I’ll tell them to stay out of your way.”
“No.You will tell them to piss off and not come back.I mean it, Rav.There are too many distractions right now.The cops are still investigating the murder of one of your cast, in case you’d forgotten.”
Rav’s confident demeanour looked bruised.He sighed and ran a hand over his thinning hair.“All right.I’ll take care of it.You don’t have to worry about them anymore.I’ll make sure that you, that everyone, gets the space they need to pull this show together.It’s too important to lose focus now.”
Hudson smiled gratefully.It had taken several weeks, but at last Rav was getting it.It would also mean Luke was out of the room too.For the next few days, that could only be a good thing.Hudson didn’t know how he felt about Luke now, and what might happen between them.They needed space as well.Maybe by this time next week, he’d be ready to start again, if Luke was willing to.Fuck, he’d all but accused him of killing Julian.Hudson hadn’t believed that for a moment.He’d allowed Amber and Corman to wind him up and had reacted in the exact way they’d wanted him to.
He wouldn’t blame Luke if he didn’t want to see him again.Not after that.But he couldn’t dwell on it now.He had less than twenty-four hours to get his head together and deliver the performance that a full house of people had paid to see.
“I have never been this close to burnout before a show has even opened,” he admitted.He took a sip of the second drink.
“You might not realise, but producing this car crash has not been easy either.”
They both laughed, finally releasing the tension.
“And to think we want to do it all over again in London,” Hudson said.
“We’ll get there.We’ve had a run of bad luck, but once we open and the great reviews come in, we’ll be rolling.”
Hudson wished he shared Rav’s confidence.Reviews were something he didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with.Getting through those first shows without another disaster befalling them was the priority.
His phone vibrated in his pocket with a message notification.He ignored it.“If you clear the theatre of all but essential people tomorrow, I think we can get one solid rehearsal under our belt before the punters come in.”
“It’ll happen.Don’t worry about it.Finish your drink, go to bed, get a good night’s sleep, and let me take care of tomorrow.”
Rav’s phone vibrated on the coffee table.It was never-ending.Almost ten o’clock and people were still trying to get in touch with them.Unlike Hudson, he didn’t ignore it, crossing the room to scoop up the phone.
Hudson took another sip of whisky and savoured the vanilla-tinged flavour.Rav was right.When he’d finished the drink, he’d book an Uber to take him home.
“What?”Rav said, staring at his phone screen.
Hudson groaned inwardly.What now?
“It’s from Luke,” Rav said.“I don’t understand.”
Hudson groaned.“It might be my fault,” he admitted.“We had an argument earlier tonight.I could have handled it better.It wasn’t my finest moment.”
“Need to see you about the play.Come now, or it won’t go on.Urgent,” Rav read.He squinted, as though not sure of what he was seeing.
“Huh?”Hudson pulled his phone from his hip pocket.The message he’d received was also from Luke.He tapped it open.“It’s identical.”
“What’s it supposed to mean?”
“I have no idea.”Hudson hit the call icon.It rang several times before Luke’s voicemail kicked in.“It’s me,” he said.“I got your message.What’s it about?”
He ended the call and glanced at Rav, whose brow was furrowed.
“Now what?”Rav’s voice was tinged with concern.“What does it mean?The show won’t go on.”
Hudson shrugged.The knot of worry in his stomach had returned, even tighter than before.“I have no idea.By come now, I assume he means the theatre?”
Rav shook his head.“It’s all shut up.There’s no show tonight.They locked the doors when I left.”
“His house, then?”
“It sounds serious.We should probably go.”
What was Luke playing at sending such a cryptic message?And why wasn’t he answering his phone afterwards?“All right, let’s go.I’ll get us a cab.”
