“Did you threaten to fire her?”
“I didn’t have to. She told me that if I tried to get rid of her she’d raise such a fuss the show would never open.”
“But that’s all bluff.”
Stalkey sighed. “Maybe. But she threatened to sue me and drag the whole thing into court.”
“But—I don’t understand her attitude.”
“Neither do I!” Stalkey said. “I don’t know what she hopes to accomplish. It won’t do her any good to have the play flop.” The producer changed the subject abruptly. “What about Tom? Do you think he’ll be back?”
Claiborne shook his head. “We’ll see.”
It was nearly a quarter of three and Tom Agate still hadn’t appeared. Their nerves frayed and their tempers short, the rest of the cast went through some scenes where Tom wasn’t needed. Finally, just a few minutes before the hour, the back doors of the theater opened and Tom came striding purposefully down the aisle. On stage, the cast members greeted his arrival with smiles of relief. All except Katherine Nelson. She drew in her breath sharply, marched over to a chair, and sat down forbiddingly.
“Sorry I’m late,” Tom apologized. “But the train broke down.”
“That’s no excuse,” came a cold, hard voice. “You’ve kept us waiting for nearly an hour. If you don’t have more of a sense of responsibility than that, you should get out!”