The Destruction of a Goddess

By Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Vi thought trying to teach complicated choreography to inexperienced middle-aged men made for a bad day.

But when a Portland homicide detective shows up at Vi's dance rehearsal, she quickly realizes that bad dance moves pale in comparison to the scrutiny of an experienced investigator seeking suspects in a murder.

Suddenly, Vi must lay her memories bare to discover a terrible truth and help solve a horrifying crime—one that might change her life forever.

"Kristine Kathryn Rusch's crime stories are exceptional, both in plot and in style."

—Mystery Scene Magazine

• Language: English
• Publisher: WMG Publishing
• Release date: Aug 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536599138

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award. Publications from The Chicago Tribune to Booklist have included her Kris Nelscott mystery novels in their top-ten-best mystery novels of the year. The Nelscott books have received nominations for almost every award in the mystery field, including the best novel Edgar Award, and the Shamus Award. She writes goofy romance novels as award-winner Kristine Grayson, romantic suspense as Kristine Dexter, and futuristic sf as Kris DeLake.  She also edits. Beginning with work at the innovative publishing company, Pulphouse, followed by her award-winning tenure at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, she took fifteen years off before returning to editing with the original anthology series Fiction River, published by WMG Publishing. She acts as series editor with her husband, writer Dean Wesley Smith, and edits at least two anthologies in the series per year on her own. To keep up with everything she does, go to kriswrites.com and sign up for her newsletter. To track her many pen names and series, see their individual websites (krisnelscott.com, kristinegrayson.com, krisdelake.com, retrievalartist.com, divingintothewreck.com). She lives and occasionally sleeps in Oregon.

Book preview

The Destruction of a Goddess

The Destruction of a Goddess

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

WMG Publishing, Inc.

Contents

The Destruction of a Goddess

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About the Author

Bodies never lie

—Martha Graham

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Vi sat in the back row of the Performing Arts Center, her clipboard on the seat beside her. She wasn’t taking notes. There was no point. Everything was wrong. She shook her head, wishing she had never agreed to this job.

The piano was out of tune, and the accompanist was massacring L’Chaim, one of the best-loved numbers in Fiddler on the Roof. No one was singing—this was a dance rehearsal—but someone should have been, at least to cover up the noise.

On stage, four grown men were attempting the low kicks of a kazatsky dance. Their hands were on the ground for balance while they kicked outwardly with their feet. The move was harder than it looked; it took great strength and coordination.

The dancers were in their forties, and two had never danced before. They were surrounded by a group of men of varying ages (none of whom could dance) and the show’s star, Guy Stephens. He was thin and trim—which he should not have been for the role of Tevye—and he could probably do the Russian folk dance the men were attempting. But Tevye was an observer in this scene, not a participant.

Vi rubbed her nose with her thumb and forefinger. Another headache was coming on. She had twelve weeks to whip these men into shape. Twelve weeks to do the impossible.

If only the Jetty Street Theater Company hadn’t chosen Fiddler as its spring musical. If only the company had had enough common sense to bring in a few professional dancers, besides her. If only, if only.

She had tried to explain to the company’s creative director that any musical with Jerome Robbins choreography would be impossible for a repertory company to do well. He cited example after example of companies doing Robbins’ shows, from West Side Story to Fiddler.

But she knew better. She’d seen some of those performances and the dance was always adequate at best, excruciating at worst.

Robbins copyrighted his choreography, and the shows which featured his work on Broadway also insisted that the local rep company use the same choreography. It made performing works like Fiddler difficult at the local level, and impossible when the dancers were middle-aged men who’d never high-kicked before.

Miss Hodel? The male voice was nearly hidden by the pounding