Dead on the Dance Floor

  “My God, is she dead?” someone asked.

  “A woman was found dead on the beach Sunday,” another voice whispered.

  Richard Long turned to the crowd. “No, folks, it’s all right. Just a case of appendicitis.”

  Doug pulled out his badge. “There’s no danger, just go about your business. Folks, come on, please, break it up.”

  People began to mill away until only the dance crowd was left.

  “I guess the party is over for tonight,” Gordon said dryly.

  “Ella, you make sure you call us all and tell us how she’s doing in the morning,” Mr. Clinton said. “Hell, I’ll just stop by and see her. Bring her some flowers. Richard, you’re sure it’s appendicitis?”

  “It certainly appears to be, Mr. Clinton.”

  “You’re a plastic surgeon,” Clinton reminded him.

  “They still made me go to medical school,” Richard replied, rolling his eyes with a wink toward his wife. “Mina gets little ones with appendicitis now and then—not frequently, but enough to spot it when she sees it.” He slipped an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Shall we go up, change our shoes and get on home? Gordon is right—I’d say the party is over.”

  “Can someone take me back?” Marnie asked softly.

  “Sure, I’ll take you,” Doug said. He looked at Quinn. “You are going to the hospital, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Quinn realized his brother was looking at him with anxiety.

  He had been spending time with Jane, because Jane had been so unnerved.

  “Hey, Doug, would you follow them to the hospital? I’ll get Marnie back, and then I’ll join you there.”

  Doug gave him a nod of appreciation.

  “Come on, Marnie, let’s go.”

  She followed him around back. Quinn paused, staring at all the cars again. There were more colors in back now. The club attendees who could had snagged spaces in back.

  As they drove, Marnie said, “You think it’s really appendicitis?”

  “That’s what the doctors said,” Quinn replied.

  “Why did she scream about being poisoned?”

  “Probably because she’s in pain.”

  “Can appendicitis really come on that quickly?”

  “I think so, yes. It can be very sudden.”

  Marnie was quiet for a minute, staring out the window. “You can die from it, can’t you?” She sighed softly, then turned to him. “I love it. I love the studio so much. I love dancing so much…but it’s a little scary, isn’t it? Strange, it’s scarier than sleeping on the street.”

  “Scary, how?”

  She shook her head. “People around it…things happen to them.”

  They reached the shelter where she was staying until Annie could get her squared up with the older woman she was going to assist. Marnie jumped out of the car. “Hey, please don’t think I’m a chicken. And please don’t stop bringing me to the studio. I want to dance more than anything in the world. And I’m good, honestly, they said so.”

  “I won’t stop bringing you,” he promised, thinking that he would keep his word, though he wasn’t so sure he wanted her there when he wasn’t.

  She smiled. “Will you call me, and let me know how Jane is doing?”

  “Sure. It’s late, though.”

  “It doesn’t matter. The shelter is pretty cool.”

  “I’ll call,” he promised.

  He watched her enter the shelter, then drove away.

  Even Marnie knew it. Something was not right at the studio. In fact, something was very, very wrong.

  When he arrived at the hospital, he found that Jane had already been seen in emergency and rushed upstairs for surgery.

  The Longs had made the right diagnosis. She had been on the verge of a ruptured appendix. Shannon wasn’t alone in the waiting room.

  Gordon, Ben, Sam, Justin, Rhianna and Ella were all there. Gordon sat in a chair, his hands folded before him. Sam paced, passing Shannon as they walked the length of the room, turned and walked back again. Ben was fighting with a coin-operated coffee machine, Justin was stretched out on one of the sofas, and Rhianna was half-asleep, draped over Justin and using him as a pillow. Gabriel Lopez was there, and Katarina, but not her husband. They were on one of the waiting room sofas, apparently half-asleep but determined to wait on Jane with the others.

  Quinn took a seat by Gordon.

  “That was fast,” he said.

  “She was in a bad way,” Gordon said. “And thankfully, there was only one guy with a broken toe in there when we arrived. Hey, they know when they need to move. The guys from fire rescue were great. Shannon said the hospital was ready to take Jane the minute the ambulance pulled in. They had a surgeon all ready to go. They say we caught it in time. She’ll only be out of commission for a little while. A matter of weeks, probably. Not too bad.”

  “Where’s my brother?” Quinn asked.

  “Down the hall, just outside surgery,” Gordon said, staring at him as if he could read something he wanted to know from Quinn’s face. Gordon shrugged. Maybe he didn’t really want to know. “He seemed really anxious.”

  “Yeah, anxious,” Ben muttered, slamming a fist against the coffee machine. “Why the hell don’t these things ever work?” He turned, facing the others. “Just her appendix. That’s pretty serious, actually. But around here, it’s a relief.”

  There was a silence in the room then that went beyond exhaustion and worry. Shannon and Sam both went still.

  “I think we should cancel the Gator Gala,” Shannon said.

  “What?” Rhianna said, bolting to an upright position.

  “There’s been too much trauma,” Shannon continued. “Lara…gone. And so close to the studio, that poor woman found on the beach.”

  “Sadly,” Justin said, “there have always been bodies in Miami. You know how many people have been dumped in the water that we’ll probably never even know about? And hell—none of us knew that woman. Shannon, we can’t take on grief and concern for the whole world.”

  “We knew Lara. And before that, there was Nell,” Shannon said.

  “Her husband killed her,” Sam said sharply.

  “We can’t cancel the Gator Gala. We’ve sunk too much money in it already,” Gordon said.

  Shannon stared at all of them. “I’m afraid. Afraid that something else is going to happen to someone. Let’s be honest, for once. We’re all afraid.”

  Quinn was silent, watching the reactions of the others. Before anyone could speak, the door to the waiting room opened. Richard and Mina Long had arrived.

  “Thought you two went home,” Ben said.

  “We started for home,” Mina said.

  “But then we decided that we wouldn’t sleep until we found out how Jane was doing,” Richard explained.

  “She’s in surgery now,” Gordon said.

  “We heard.”

  “You both gave an accurate diagnosis.”

  “There you go,” Richard said lightly. “See, I really did go to medical school.” He paused, expecting laughter. None came. “Well, she’s going to be fine,” he said. “It was actually the best thing in the world that it happened when it did—she was with a crowd, and she got medical attention immediately. If she had been alone, if she had failed to reach a phone and call for help…well, then, it could have been really serious.”

  “So what’s going on?” Mina asked.

  “Shannon wants to cancel the Gator Gala,” Justin said.

  “No!” Richard said, sitting down, but staring at Shannon with a frown. “It’s still almost three months away. Jane will be up and kicking by then.”

  Gabriel Lopez walked over to Shannon, slipping an arm around her shoulders. “Chiquita, it will be fine. The way the hospitals do things these days, Jane will be out by tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I certainly hope not,” Mina said.

  “Okay, so I’m exaggerating,” Gabriel said, winking at Mina.

  “Look, Jane carries a lo
t of the student burden, and she’s going to have to be out for a while,” Shannon said. “And wasn’t she planning something with you, too, Ben? She had a heavy load. It’s going to be too much for her.”

  Ben walked over to Shannon. “You can dance with me. You know I’m good.”

  “Ben, of course you’re good. That’s not it.”

  “Jane is going to be all right, but there’s nothing suspicious about what happened. And we can cover for her.”

  “Ben, even if I dance with you, we’ll be down one instructor.”

  “I have an idea,” Sam said suddenly. “Marnie. That girl is the most natural dancer I’ve ever seen in my life. Shannon, seriously, in a few weeks’ time, I could turn her into an instructor.”

  “Sam, think about how hard it is to learn all the steps as one sex. To be certified, she has to learn all the steps for both sexes. There’s no way she can do that in time,” Shannon said.

  Justin shrugged. “When she was a little kid, she said, she took years of ballet, modern and hip-hop. She knows a hell of a lot already.”

  “She has the natural talent,” Rhianna said.

  “We’ll work with her, right, Justin? Please, don’t think about canceling the Gator Gala,” Sam said.

  Shannon sighed. She stared across the room at Quinn. “What do you think?”

  “About the Gator Gala?” he asked, surprised. “I’m the least capable dancer in the room. How would I know what could happen in a few months’ time?”

  She actually smiled, shaking her head. “Would Marnie want to do it?”

  “Are you kidding? That girl would die to come on as a teacher,” Rhianna said.

  The room fell silent. The word die was not a good one at the moment.

  “I promised to call her about Jane’s condition,” Quinn said. “I can ask her.”

  “Do it,” Gordon said. He was staring at Shannon again. “We can’t cancel the Gator Gala. We can’t. We’re in too deep.”

  Doug came into the waiting room looking haggard but relieved. “They won’t let me anywhere near her, but she’s going into recovery, and they say she’s going to be fine.”

  There was a collective sigh of relief.

  “Sweetheart, we’ve got to go home,” Mina Long said to her husband.

  “Right. Well, good night all,” Richard said.

  Gabriel stood, as well. “There’s no need for all of us to be hanging around here, that’s for sure.”

  “Are you going back to the club, Gabe?” Gordon asked.

  “Yeah.” He shrugged. “I’m not tired. We never close until five.”

  “I don’t remember if I locked up. Check the studio for me?”

  “Sure thing.”

  “You can give me a ride back,” Katarina said. “My car is there.”

  “All right.”

  “I’m heading home,” Gordon said, rising.

  “I guess we could all go,” Rhianna commented with a yawn.

  “I’m staying here awhile. I want to see her when they take her out of recovery,” Shannon said.

  Ben said, “Then what? Your car is at the studio, too.”

  “I’ll wait around,” Quinn said.

  “Yeah, well, I was going to hang around, too,” Doug told them.

  “Were you?” Gordon queried him, looking at Shannon.

  “Good night,” she said simply.

  Gordon nodded. They all began to file on out.

  Then they were left alone in the waiting room, Doug, Shannon and Quinn.

  “It really was just appendicitis?” Shannon said, sinking into a chair.

  Doug sat next to her, taking her hand. “Really. Just appendicitis.”

  She let out a long sigh and leaned back. Then her head jerked back up, and she stared at Quinn. “What about that woman they found on the beach?”

  “There’s nothing new,” he told her. “I’m expecting to hear anytime.”

  Quinn pulled his cell phone out and put a call through to Marnie. When he explained that the teachers had suggested she come in and train for a job, her scream of delight was so loud that Quinn had to hold the phone away from his ear.

  “I mean, oh, Lord, I’m so sorry about Jane, but…I don’t think she’ll mind about me, do you? Oh, God, it’s like a dream come true. I was on the streets, and now…I’m a dancer.” She giggled over the line. “And I don’t even have to go to some raunchy dive and dance with a pole. I’m going to be a ballroom instructor. Oh, I could kiss you, all of you, even old Mr. Clinton.” Another giggle. “I guess I will be kissing him. You know, the kiss on both cheeks every time someone comes in. Thank you, tell them all thank you, and I’ll work so hard they won’t believe it. Tell Gordon and Shannon thank you so much!”

  “I think Shannon heard you,” Quinn said dryly.

  “There’s a problem,” Marnie said suddenly.

  “What’s that?”

  “How am I going to get to and from the studio from here?” She was still talking loudly enough for Shannon and Doug to hear.

  “Tell her she can stay at my house. In my house, this time,” Shannon said.

  Quinn stared at her for a moment, then repeated her words to Marnie, who went into another fit of gratitude.

  “She won’t be sorry. I’ll clean the house. I’ll cook. I’ll do anything!” Marnie said.

  Shannon took the phone from Quinn. “Hey, just work at becoming a teacher—that’s going to be quite a load. And, work for yourself, too. The world of competition is out there, you know.”

  Quinn heard Marnie exclaim that she could never be that good. Shannon just shook her head. “Get some sleep, Marnie. You’ll need it.”

  “Thank you, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. And you’re doing us a favor, too.” Shannon was smiling as she handed the phone back to Quinn, who managed to calm Marnie down and hang up quickly.

  “It’s a shame we didn’t think of offering her a job to begin with,” she murmured, looking at Quinn. “Lots of teachers start out knowing nothing at all and don’t have half the natural ability of that girl.”

  “Fate,” Doug said from across the room.

  “What?” Both Shannon and Quinn looked at him.

  “Sometimes fate is good,” he said. “Marnie needed a life, now she’s got one. Jane will be all right soon enough, and Marnie will have a job, not just selling clothes, but a real vocation.”

  A nurse came in then, telling them that they could see Jane briefly.

  Quinn decided to remain in the waiting room while Shannon and Doug went in. A while later, his brother came back out.

  “There’s a chair that becomes a bed,” Doug told his brother. “Shannon is going to stay the night.”

  Quinn nodded, looking at Doug. “You all right?”

  Doug nodded. “I’m on first thing in the morning.” He shook his head. “Hell, tonight…at first I was terrified. I thought that…It was just too much like déjà vu.”

  “It was appendicitis,” Quinn said.

  Doug looked at him. “But there is something wrong. You know it now, right? Quinn, I know I dragged you into this, but I was right, wasn’t I?”

  “Yeah, you were right.”

  “But I still don’t get it. That woman who washed up on the beach…what can she have to do with this?”

  “I don’t know,” Quinn said. “But there’s something, and I intend to find out what.”

  The next morning, Jane awoke moaning. Shannon rushed to her side.

  Jane’s eyes widened. “You stayed all night?”

  “Sure.”

  “You must be exhausted.”

  “Actually, the chair was quite comfortable.”

  Jane tried to smile. She looked at Shannon anxiously. “I’m really all right?”

  “You’re really all right. You had honest-to-God appendicitis.”

  Jane tried for a smile.

  “Jane, after you fell down, you said you’d been poisoned. Is there some reason why someone would want to poison you?” Shannon ask
ed.

  “No, we’d just gotten to talking around the coffeepot, and Mina Long was saying that she can’t figure out how Lara could have been dumb enough to take so many pills. The alcohol didn’t surprise her—she said she’d seen Lara belt down a few, then go out on stage like it was nothing. I’m trying to remember who was back there at the time…not that it matters now. But Mina said maybe someone had put the pills in her drink or something like that. Then I had coffee, and then I was in agony.”

  “I see,” Shannon told her, suddenly certain she didn’t want to drink coffee in the studio ever again.

  “Silly, huh?”

  “Well, you’re all right, and that’s what matters.”

  A look of dismay swept over Jane’s face. “They said I just made it. That if my appendix had actually ruptured, I could have died.”

  “But you’re going to be fine.”

  Jane shook her head. “What about all my students?”

  “It will all work out.”

  “It can’t. We don’t have enough teachers to go around.”

  “We’re going to bring Marnie in, give her a crash course, and she can take over some of the beginners.”

  “Marnie?” Jane said, surprised. Then she mulled over the idea. “If someone really works with her…Actually, I didn’t know anything at all when I started. There’s only one problem.”

  “What is that?”

  “What if the students like her better than me?”

  Shannon laughed, squeezing Jane’s hand. “We always have enough students to go around. And anyway, your students love you. It will be fine.”

  “Maybe,” Jane said after a moment.

  “Hey, I’ll be back later, okay? Your nurse will be coming in any minute, and I’ve got to take a shower and head to the studio.”

  “Of course. Thanks for staying.”

  Shannon hesitated. She had always thought it best not to know things, but at the moment, she couldn’t resist. “If I hadn’t stayed, someone else would have.”

  “Who?” Jane said, but she was blushing.

  “Doug O’Casey.”

  “Really?” Jane didn’t seem able to prevent her smile.

  “Yep.”

  “Hmm. You know…never mind.”

  “Do I know what?” Shannon asked a little sharply.