Not all curtain calls are final.

NOTE: This short story was written for an anthology that encouraged profanity. You have been forewarned. : )

Ann Kinnear has dealt with plenty of unsettled spirits, but this may be her first gig with a ghost who demands the spotlight.

When a scrappy cover band hires Ann to make contact with their late drummer, she finds herself in a dive bar where the décor is questionable, the egos are outsized, and the supernatural stage effects are way too real. From levitating instruments to unsolicited fashion critiques, Lucian the drummer isn't content to fade quietly into the afterlife—he's ready to headline.

What begins as a séance with a backbeat spirals into a riot of insults and pyrotechnics. And as the tension builds, Ann has to wonder: is she keeping the peace between the living and the dead, or just managing the worst band breakup in history.

With its sharp mix of supernatural thrills and laugh-out-loud banter, "Stage of Fools" proves that sometimes death really is the ultimate gig.

An Ann Kinnear Suspense Short from Matty Dalrymple, author of the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels, beginning with THE SENSE OF DEATH, and the Lizzy Ballard Thrillers.