Read Stage Fright (Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Book 6) for Free Online Page B

left when you get inside. They’re waiting for you. I have to go calm that mob scene down and let the people with tickets in. Wish me luck!”
    With that, Damien disappeared back out to the sidewalk, quickly closing and locking the gate behind him.
    I paused as I stepped through the door into the darkness beyond. This would be my first time backstage at a Broadway musical! Even the crazy crowd couldn’t take away my excitement. How many famous people had stepped through this door before me?
    The backstage area was bustling as I walked in. The scenery was laid out in sections for the different acts. It all sat on tracks in the floor, or hung from ropes, so it could be pulled on or off quickly. There were costumes and clothes and props everywhere. A half-dozen people, dressed all in black and wearing headsets, scurried around making sure everything was ready to go.
    “Nancy!” Frank Hardy yelled my name from across the way. “There you are.”

CHAPTER 6
    FRANK
    TRAPPED!
    After Nancy arrived, we quickly introduced her to Claire, Linden, and Laurel. While Claire prepared for the night’s show, we brought Nancy up to speed. It was great having her on the case with us. We’d worked together many times in the past, and Nancy Drew was just about the best partner we’d ever found. We’d tried repeatedly to get her to join ATAC, but she’d said it wasn’t her thing.
    By the time Bess and George joined us, the show was about to start. Together, we watched from the wings as Claire got ready to perform before a preview audience ten times the size of the one from the night before.
    “This is incredible,” said Nancy. “There are so manypeople here. Everything I read online said the show wasn’t doing well.”
    “It’s not—you’ll see in a second,” I told her. Unless the show had magically improved, this big audience was in for a big disappointment.
    “It’s the injury,” said Joe. “Word was all around the Internet before Madonna had even made it to the hospital. Ticket sales spiked immediately. They’re saying the show is haunted!”
    “Haunted?” Nancy laughed. “Every haunting I’ve ever dealt with has been decidedly nonsupernatural in origin. Any leads?”
    “None yet, but now that you’re here, we’re hoping that’ll change quickly.”
    “So what’s the plan?” Nancy asked.
    “You’re taking the place of Madonna, Claire’s understudy, so you’ll have a reason to be stuck like glue to her for the next few days. While you’re doing that, we’re going to look into some of the strange things that have happened here in the last week.”
    The lights dimmed, and the music rose. Bess grabbed my hand in excitement.
    “Let’s all meet here tomorrow at nine,” I whispered, as the show began.
    When we arrived the next morning, Claire, Linden, and Nancy were already in one of the rehearsal rooms. Itwas a great relief to know that Nancy was looking after Claire. I almost felt bad for whoever was “haunting” the theater. Almost.
    Damien was waiting in the lobby to give us a tour, as Linden had promised. We’d hoped to do it yesterday, but before Nancy arrived, we’d been too worried to let Claire out of our sight.
    “Good morning boys,” Damien said. Now that he knew we were “high school contest winners,” he talked to us as though we were infants. “Are you ready for your tour?”
    I nodded. It was best to get this over with fast. At least it would cement our cover story in everyone’s minds.
    “This is the lobby of the Matilda Swearson Theatre, which was originally built in 1908 by the Swearson family. Of particular interest are the columns.”
    Damien paused and pointed to the nine columns around the room. Each had a woman carved into the marble.
    “These represent the nine muses: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania. You’ll notice the four central ones are bigger. That’s because respectively, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Euterpe, and