“Simon?” MacGyver ran back to the stage, leaving Penny to deal with Irene. He found the actor in his dressing room, throwing things into a duffle bag. A cut on his arm had bled through the handkerchief tied around it, but he seemed more angry than hurt. “What happened?”

“I’ve had enough of New York!” Simon turned, glaring at MacGyver. “Enough! I’ve been drugged, kidnapped and shouted at by that witch of a director! I hate the weather and the traffic, and now I’ve been mugged! I hate this theatre, and I hate this play, and I hate this city, and if you stand there and stare at me much longer, I’m going to start hating you too!” He stuffed the last of his belongings into the bag and yanked the drawstring shut.

“Are you OK?” MacGyver decided to ignore the rant, pointing at the actor’s arm.

“He cut me! He had a knife, and he slashed at me, but I punched him and then I grabbed a bag of trash out of a dumpster and hit him with it!” Simon glanced down at his arm as if seeing it for the first time. “He cut me! He…” His eyes rolled up and MacGyver caught him as he fainted. He laid Simon down carefully, then sat back on his heels, thinking.

“Is he alright?” Louisa stood in the doorway, looking concerned.

“Yeah, he’s just fainted” MacGyver turned to face her. “Do you have a first aid kit here? He could use some patching up, but he’s basically OK.”

“I’ll get it.” She stepped to the side to let Penny come in, and left to find the kit.

“It’s true, isn’t it? Someone’s trying to make the play come true.” Penny knelt down beside MacGyver, brushing Simon’s hair off his forehead. “Theodore just had to fight off Manfred’s knight.”

“He was mugged, so I guess you could see it that way. Someone tried to stab him and he fought them off with a bag of trash.” MacGyver grinned. “I like his style, by the way – the trash was a good choice for an improvised weapon!”

“Irene says the man who attacked them was yelling about how Theodore had to die. He didn’t try to take their money or anything a normal mugger would do.” She shook her head. “I don’t like this, MacGyver.” She leaned forward, seeing Simon’s eyelids flutter. “I think he’s coming round.”

Run away, Theodore, run away. Your part in this play is done and only one task now remains to me before my son can return to take his bow.

The stage hands finished their work on the scenery and hauled everything back up into the flyspace before leaving. Penny and MacGyver were about to leave too, when Louisa asked to see them.

“MacGyver, I need you to do something for me, please.” Louisa looked worried.
“Sure, what?” MacGyver sat back in his chair.

“I need you to be Theodore.” Louisa watched his reaction. Behind him, Penny gasped and clapped her hands.

“I don’t know, Louisa, I’m not much of an actor…” MacGyver shifted uncomfortably.

“I’d be happy to fill in as a stage hand, but on the stage is different.”

“You know the part already, from helping us out earlier. You know the moves and Penny tells me she’s been familiarising you with the story.” Louisa winked at Penny, who blushed. “It would only be for a few nights, until I can hire someone to fill the place for the rest of the run.”

“Mac, you’d be great!” Penny smiled at him, and MacGyver felt his resolve weakening. “Say you’ll do it!”

“Well, I…” MacGyver sighed, knowing when he was beaten. “Just for a few nights.” He leaned forward in his seat. “But we do need to discuss the fact that someone’s trying to make the play come true. Simon’s mugger called him Theodore, which means he knows who he was playing. The weird things that have been going on are mirroring events in the play.” He watched Louisa nod. “And that means that whoever it is could be coming after Matilda next.”

“Well, with you to protect her, I have no doubt Penny will be perfectly safe.”

Louisa set aside her pencil and script, folding her hands on the desk in front of her. “MacGyver, I will not let this person, whoever they are, scare me into taking this play off. We’ve all worked too hard and too long to let that happen. People are depending on me to keep this theatre going, and I have no intention of letting them down.” She stood up. “Penny, would you take MacGvyer and see if Theodore’s costume will fit him, please?”

“I’ll get you the leggings.” Penny went into the costume store, smiling to herself. MacGyver was going to be on stage with her!

“Leggings? No-one said anything about leggings! Penny?” MacGyver looked out of the dressing room, Theodore’s tunic in his hand. The bare bulb above the doorway blinked and brightened for a moment, showing up the bruise on his shoulder. He shook his head, as Penny was nowhere to be seen. “Never mind…”

I see you stranger, dressing in Theodore’s clothes. I see you turn, calling to Matilda. And then I see it. There, on your back. Theodore is known by the mark on his shoulder... And you have the mark.

Now I understand why my efforts have been in vain. I have been pursuing a false Theodore.

And now I have the real one in my sight.

“Nothing,” Martin waved a hand as he hurried away. “I walked into a door, that’s all.”

“Right…” Louisa frowned, unconvinced but then shook her head, dismissing it as something to find out about later.

You see nothing, foolish puppetmaster. You have known me all this time, and yet you do not see your Lord when he walks among you. You do not see the plan I put in place, do not see the miracle that is taking place before your unworthy eyes.
Soon he will be returned to me.

Then you will all see…

MacGyver stepped onto the stage. Penny smiled at him and he nodded back, her words echoing in his head. ‘Speak loud and slow, and like you really mean it’. He took a breath and spoke his first line.

Acting wasn’t as bad as MacGyver had thought it would be. The company were good, helping him out with cues and whispers from the wings that the audience couldn’t hear. He couldn’t see the audience, dazzled by the stage lights, and their applause at the end of the first scene boosted his confidence. Penny found him backstage and gave him a hug.

“You’re doing great! You make a really good Theodore!” She hugged him again and then rushed off to change her costume.

MacGyver looked up, seeing the helmet swaying gently above him. It had worked as it was supposed to, and Conrad had been safe this time, so whatever the play’s mysterious nemesis had planned, it must be still to come. A thought struck him and he crossed to the box of props and stage weapons at the side of the stage. Kneeling down, he tested the edge of every weapon in there and pushed the collapsing knives used for the knights’ battle and for Manfred’s murder of Matilda against the side of the box. The knights’ daggers worked fine, but Manfred’s jewelled blade felt heavy when MacGyver picked it up, and the blade refused to slide up into the handle. When he turned the knife to the light, the blade glinted sharp and real. MacGyver frowned, beckoning to Louisa.

“Look at this! This blade was meant for Penny – Manfred would have stabbed her for real!” He wrapped the blade carefully in a scrap of cloth. “Maybe we can get it tested for fingerprints and catch the killer.”

“Oh my…” Louisa went white, realising what a narrow escape Penny had just had. “And Gregory – that’s Manfred – would have stabbed her, thinking he was holding a stage prop!” She sat down on a box, script falling from her hands. “MacGyver – it must be someone here! Someone from the theatre!”

“MAC!” Penny beckoned frantically to him. “You’re on!”

With a backwards glance at Louisa, who shooed him towards the stage, MacGyver turned and strode on, speaking his next lines. Was the killer one of the actors on stage with him? One of the stage crew? Who could possibly have a motive? A hand shoved him forwards and hissed the next line to him, and MacGyver forced himself to concentrate on the play.

Damn you! You steal away the last step in my plan, steal my glory and steal my son! I cannot allow this! I will not allow it!

I am the Lord of this castle, and I will kill her myself!

The ending approached. The scenery was changed again, the smoke machine and the lowered lights making the stage dark and eerie. The orchestra played quiet, creepy music and Penny stepped onto the stage. She sang of her love for Theodore, her sadness that he did not return her love and her wish to see him just one more time.

As she walked in and out of the hanging scenery, the lighting made her look fragile and ethereal. Manfred appeared at the corner of the stage, red-lit from underneath to look evil. The light painted the edge of his knife crimson, and he proclaimed his desire to kill the woman who spurned his advances so cruelly. MacGyver held his breath as Manfred rushed across the stage, snarling ‘Isabella!’, watching as Manfred plunged the fake blade again and again into Penny’s chest. Her scream sounded real, and MacGyver had to concentrate on not racing across the stage to help her. He’d checked the blade himself right before Manfred had gone on stage, but he still breathed a sigh of relief when Penny collapsed gracefully to the boards completely unharmed.

Wait. Wait. Not long now…

The last scene passed in a haze of relief. MacGyver’s Theodore was declared Prince of Otranto, Manfred declared his sorrow at having killed Matilda and Isabella married Theodore. The curtain closed to a standing ovation, and opened again to allow all the actors to take another bow. It swung shut for the last time and the company relaxed, relief at having survived the performance clear on everyone’s faces.

“Just a minute!” MacGyver peeled off the leggings and dragged on his jeans before answering the door. Penny stood outside, beaming.

“How do you like being an actor, Mac?” She came in and sat down, leaving her bag on the floor.

“It has its moments!” MacGyver fastened his belt and pulled on a sweatshirt. “Man, was I glad when the curtain cam down. I hope that means the killer’s given up, whatever his or her crazy plan was.”

“I know! I was a tiny bit scared…” Penny broke off, waving to someone MacGyver couldn’t see. “Hey, Martin. Wasn’t he good!” She frowned, and MacGyver turned around to see the stage hand in the doorway, black eye standing out stark against his pale, sweat sheened face.

NOW!

“Are you OK, buddy?” He took a step towards Martin but the stage hand’s face twisted into a savage snarl and he leaped forwards with a knife in his hand.

“You have to die!” He hissed, advancing on Penny. “You have to die so I can get him back!” He lunged with the knife and MacGyver grabbed his arm. They struggled, but Martin pulled away, slashing at MacGyver.

“Manfred kills Matilda! I kill Matilda, and then everyone comes back onto the stage!” Spit flew from Martin’s lips as he stabbed at Penny again. MacGyver grabbed the back of Martin’s shirt and punched him hard in the ear, but Martin didn’t seem to feel it. Penny screamed, scooped up her bag and swung it at him. “Everyone comes back on stage! Matilda is dead, but she comes back for a bow!” He ducked under the bag and Penny scuttled behind a chair. “Conrad is dead but he comes back for a bow! My son!” He let out an anguished yell and launched himself over the chair, stabbing wildly at Penny. MacGyver grabbed the leggings off the floor and threw them over Martin’s head, pulling them tight around his neck. He yanked them backwards and Martin flew back, tumbling off the chair and cracking his head on the floor below.
“She has to die so that my Conrad, my Connor can live…” Martin’s eyelids fluttered and he passed out.

“It’s a shame.” MacGyver turned to see that Louisa had joined them, wrapping her cardigan around herself against the evening chill. “Although he did all those terrible things, I do feel for the man.”

“How’s that?” Penny watched the police load Martin into their van. “And why did he think he was Manfred?”

“Martin had been here from the beginning, when the theatre was built, you know.” Louisa took a sip of the coffee she held tight in her hands and watched the van leave. “He applied for a job as soon as I put in the advert for stage hands, but I didn’t connect his name with the accident until just recently.”

“What happened here? Is this something to do with why the theatre has a bad reputation?” MacGyver watched Louisa wince, then nod.

“When the site was being cleared for the theatre to be built, one of the construction workers was killed when a wrecking ball broke free of its crane and fell. He was killed outright, poor boy.” She sighed and shook her head. “By the time I found out what had happened, I had already cast this play and we were halfway through the run. He never said anything, you know.”

“Who never said anything?” Penny leaned forwards, fascinated.

“Martin.” Louisa sighed again, and a tear sparkled on her cheek in the headlights of a passing car. “You see, the young man who died was Martin’s son. Connor.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes. “The poor man must have been driven mad by grief, and when we started with this play, I suppose it all became too much.”

“Martin and Connor. Manfred and Conrad. Oh…” Penny put her hands to her mouth and a tear slid down her face. “Poor Martin.”

“Poor Martin.” MacGyver echoed, putting his arm around Penny. “Sometimes life just isn’t fair.”

The End