<<  -- 5 --  Elizabeth Dobbs    MUSIC

St Albans was a small church with vaulted wooden ceiling. The acoustics were nice. Anton and Theresa waited on the steps for the pastor to unlock the door for them. A moment later Yukio, Nikki, and Sandra drove up in a van followed by Pete in his car.

Soon the pastor came out of the rectory and unlocked the church, giving Anton a key. 'Don't forget to return it,' he said, 'and please lock the back room if you leave during the day.'

The church was dark and quiet. Anton propped open the door and went to help Theresa and the musicians unload the harpsichord from the van. With careful maneuvering, they got it through the door of the church and set it up on the platform behind the altar. Anton flipped some switches on the wall at the side of the platform, experimenting with the stage lights.

Sandra opened the lid of the harpsichord, revealing a painted pastoral scene on its underside. She adjusted the height of the bench, then began the exacting process of tuning the instrument. Yukio closed the church doors and they all sat quietly, allowing Sandra to hear the notes without distraction. The quiet church with its reverent smells and the sober notes of the harpsichord sounding again and again as Sandra made adjustments, bringing each one closer and closer to its ideal pitch, seemed to heighten the suspense of the pre-performance hours.

Anton imagined Lev arriving at Davies Symphony Hall, as he was probably doing just now, breezing in through the stage door in his leather jacket, the violin case containing his new Stradivarius tucked under his arm. Anton imagined Lev talking to the other musicians, showing them the violin, which was called the Gibson ex Huberman and was made in the year 1713. It had been stolen in 1936 from Carnegie Hall, resurfacing in the late 1980s when the thief, on his deathbed, confessed to the crime. This special instrument would rest in Lev's hands. He would tuck it under his chin, tune it, rip off a few arpeggios with quick, aggressive strokes of the bow, and then he would play.

Tonight Anton would perform at St Alban's, while Lev performed at Davies, and then tomorrow night, Anton, Nikolai, and Theresa would go to Lev's second performance. An unavoidable collision of schedules had caused the two performances to happen on the same night.

Anton waited for Sandra to pause in her tuning, then quickly opened the bag of bagels so the rustling paper would not disturb her. He took one and passed the bag to Theresa. It made the rounds quickly.

Just about now, his kitty, the brave and loyal Mandolin, was under anesthesia, and the green-clad veterinary assistant was probably shaving her vulnerable belly. The vet would pull on a pair of latex gloves and then, with one bold stroke, open her abdomen with his razor-sharp scalpel.

Anton sighed.

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