Downtown

Roy

Roy walks away in a very sad manner.

Alethea intercepts him and drags him along. "Alright, I've finished getting my quotes and whatnot, we can go have our li'l chat. What did you want to know, again?" She ducks into an alley near the theater. "And keep your voice down, 'K?"

Roy

"Oh, you're one to talk..." she mutters. "And 'ninja shit?' 'Kill some guy?' I'm a reporter, not some assassin... Jeez. I know you got a hyperactive imagination, but come on. Also, your sneakin' sucks, I knew you was there the whole time. But I figured you'd watch 'n' learn a thing 'r two, not blow my cover. Now it'll be weeks before they lower their guard enough for me t' try 'n' go diggin' for more dirt."

Roy

Alethea puts her hands on her hips. "Cripes, why would you jump straight to murder? Really think li'l ol' me could hurt someone like that? Wouldn't burglary be more likely, breaking into a mechanic's shop in the dead of night? Jeez. Use yer head. You'll need it if we're gonna break into the Grande tonight. Assuming you can be calm about it?"

Roy

"Yeah, that's what you need to do. So shhh," Alethea says. She slips into the shadowy part of the alley as several people you recognize from the rehearsal pass by. "I gotta say, though, I'm suddenly worried about this. Not even going to ask what we're doin' this for... Well, whatever. I need the muscle for this one."

She keeps you waiting for a few moments to be safe, then stealthily leads you around to the side of the theater. She points out a small window open up on the second floor. "Good, looks like it's goin' accordin' to plan... Alright, time t' earn your keep. Gimme a boost up."

Roy

Alethea 'accidentally' kicks you in the face as she scrambles through the window. "Wait here," she calls down. "Quietly."

Not long afterward, a young woman enters the alleyway. You recognize her as your waitress from dinner. What was her name? Ellie? Ellen? Something like that.

"'Tea?" she calls out in a harsh whisper. "Uh... big guy who was with 'Tea?"

"Ah!" the young woman clutches her chest as you poke your head out. "Oh... Sorry, Sugar. You startled me. Um... Where'd 'Tea get off to?"

You hear some grunting from the window above, then a rope comes flying down. Alethea pokes her head out. "Oh, good. Elle's here. Alright, you two, c'mon up. Y'know how to climb a rope, right?"

"Um... I think so?" Ellen says. "Uh... Right. Sorry, I don't think we got properly introduced, but it'll have to wait until later."

Roy

Roy's climb check: 15/40 - Success

You have no trouble climbing up the rope.

"Hey! No names while on the job," Alethea calls down to you. "You never know who's listening. Right, Elle?"

"Right, 'Tea," Ellen calls up. Once you get in the window, she starts up the rope behind you. You notice the rope Alethea used was one of the the ropes from backstage, weighted down by some kind of sandbag. Huh. So they actually have these things. What is taking her so long?

Ellen takes 3 tries to get up the rope, but finally manages to reach high enough for Alethea to grab her hand and pull her the rest of the way in. She dusts herself off and catches her breath. "Well that was... fun. Now what?"

"Yeah, so, now..." Alethea says. "I'm going to go set up a bug in the director's office. Elle, go check around backstage and see if you can find any clues."

"What kind of clues could there possibly be after this long?" Ellen protests.

"I mean look for any kind of... uh... Secret passages, memos... I don't know," Alethea tells her.

"OK, the bug's a good idea. But I feel like you didn't think this all the way through..." Ellen complains.

Alethea plants her hands on her hips and turns up her nose. "Aw, hush. I'm a pro at this. Now we got backstage, the stage proper, the bathrooms... I've got the director's office. We'll save the owner's room for last. You said you finished rehearsal, you saw her backstage, she said she was heading to the bathroom, you went out the back door... and she just didn't show up the next day."

You have... absolutely no idea what they're talking about. It might by a good idea to ask some questions. Or you could just volunteer to investigate one of those places. Or you could jump out the window. Or you could do the moral thing and call the police or something...