A Murder Shall Commence.

Chapter 4

"Are you...sure you can fit through that gap, Allie?" Newham asked dubiously, looking up at the open back window of the old theatre on Praed Street.

"Sure" I smiled confidently, from the top of the nearby wall. "Watch."
Carefully, I shuffled further along the wall, and grabbed onto the top of the gutter, putting my feet in the window and, in one swift motion, pulling myself in and disappearing. The next thing the two men outside heard was a bit of a loud bang, as I missed my landing and crashed into the sink. The open window was the window of the makeshift kitchen in the theatre, which explained the sink.

Newham and Fisher winced awfully, ducking carefully down to ensure they weren't spotted.

"I'm fine" I called brightly, picking myself up off the floor and dusting myself down. Peering into the murky gloom, I found the back door key on a hook and carefully unlocked the door, to let Fisher and Newham in. The door crunched on its hinges and jammed halfway open, so the two men had to squeeze through the gap to get inside.

"This is madness" Newham complained, as I took a lit lamp from Fisher and began to make my way into the body of the building, the other two following behind.

"I mean, Isabel should have come with us, as it was her idea..." Newham continued.

"Hey!" Fisher snapped from behind. I beamed, keeping my face turned away from them so they couldn't see I was beaming. Isabel was very lucky to have Fisher, and I was going to tease her mercilessly with this piece of drama when I got back. I had a feeling the lieutenant was smiling too.

"This should be it" I announced, holding the light up to a door on our right. In dusty, faded lettering, we could just about make out the words 'Costume Store' on the woodwork. I gave the handle a bit of a jolting, and with a creak the door swung open, in a cloud of dust and cobwebs. Coughing, I moved forward, looking for some place to hang the lamp.

"This place...i-is so old" Fisher commented, as he also looked for somewhere to hang his lamp.

"Hey!" Newham laughed. "This is Romeo and Juliet!" he joked, picking up a crumpled piece of script from the floor and reading what was on it.

"I... I reckon all the costumes and props from that show are here" Fisher added, holding up a tabard, with some sort of faded crest on the front.

"Well that means we are in the wrong century" I said bluntly. "Come on, both of you!"

"Oh, but what light through yonder window breaks?" Newham recited from the paper, looking at me wickedly. I pretended not to know what he was talking about, but the lieutenant wasn't to be deterred, and as Fisher tactically moved away down a different aisle Newham ducked under a rail and caught up with me.

"It is the east, and Alianna is the sun" he added, hugging me from behind, determined to make me laugh. I resisted, looking up at him accusingly.

"That is the cheesiest thing I have ever heard you say."

Newham laughed himself, planting a kiss on my cheek. Then I laughed.

"It's the words of the great Bard himself" the lieutenant pointed out. "At the time, they were thought of as very romantic."

I snorted gently, attempted to wriggle free, and failed.

"Come on. This isn't really a game" I pointed out sadly, and he sighed.

"I know. Alright."

We went to find Fisher, who was rummaging through what looked like piles and piles of useless material. But, when he pulled one out to show us, we saw they were tunics, trousers, and jackets. They looked reasonably modern, and a few of then had rips and tears in them, which I thought was excellent.