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of those dusty old Christmas decorations. But that wasn’t enough for him. “And who needs four closets for their clothes?”
    “Leave my closets alone. I’ll take care of them!”
    “At least can I pitch these theater souvenirs. It’s bad enough you have seen every play on and off Broadway—no matter how short the run—but do you have to keep this junk? You never look at it.”
    She glanced up the stairs. I foresaw stormy weather coming for Doug. A small nerve flickered under Larraine’s eye. “My playbills stay. End of discussion.”
    I decided it was time to make tracks. Larraine and I settled on a price for Doug’s books, for the other mysteries I’d found and for the Marshes.
    As I picked up the first box, she glanced sadly at the box and reached out. “I love the theatricality of the Inspector Alleyn novels. I did a lot of theater in college and that really appealed.”
    No wonder we’d hit it off. “Me too. I remember that. I read
Death in a White Tie
first and felt as if I was actually watching it play out on a stage. How people came and went within scenes, the way the dialogue propelled the story forward was three-dimensional. They’re so much fun and now I’ll get to read them all.”
    Larraine said, “Apparently, theater was Ngaio Marsh’sfirst love, and it showed in the way those characters and settings with a theatrical connection rose from the page.”
    “I was involved in theater too. Every year in college I worked on at least one production.”
    “Onstage?”
    “Sometimes onstage, or behind the scenes with wardrobe or makeup or as a production assistant. I enjoyed everything about each production, from the first read-through to the feel of the costumes, the smell of the theater, the buzz of excitement when you step in front of the lights.”
    “Why didn’t you pursue it?”
    “If I hadn’t been so in love with English literature, maybe I would have switched to a drama degree. What about you?”
    “I did go that route. Never really succeeded, although I was in a number of productions and some of my friends went on to success. Now I’m here, teaching. It has its good points too. But you know . . .”
    “I hear you. There are such great bonds in theater. Wonderful friendships.” Lance and Tiff had been part of all the productions.
    Tiff had been reluctant. In her own words: “So I won’t be forced to listen to Jordan blab on endlessly about something I’m not involved in.”
    Not so for Lance. He was born for the stage. These days his performances were reserved for his permanent audience in the reference department or in a presentation to the library board for funding or service enhancements. Still, he’d been a big hit in some Harrison Falls Theater Guild’s performances. People were still talking about his Stanley Kowalski.
    “Some of those friends will break your heart. Until you end up happily ever after.” She laughed and pointed upstairs where Doug was thundering about.
    I said, “Only one of them broke my heart. He also cleaned out my bank account and maxed out my credit cards.”
    “Ouch. Hope you’re over him.”
    “Yup. With lots of help.” Lance and Tiff and a raft ofredheaded Kellys. And we move on, as my uncles had taught me early and well.
    “I’m so glad to hear it.” She beamed at me, and I knew where I’d seen her before.
    “I just realized why you look familiar. Are you part of Harrison Falls Theater Guild? I saw you in
Steel Magnolias
. You were an awesome Truvy! That was one of our college productions. We could have used you.”
    “You should come and try out. I can let you know when there are auditions. Give me your number.”
    “Sure thing.” I headed out with the box and thought about her offer. I loved the idea of auditioning for one of HFTG’s productions too, but I always seemed to be knee-deep in murder when the call went out.
    When I came back for the second box, Larraine was still in a mood to chat. “I think Marsh is brilliant.