Orpheus Group was contacted by Otto Salzheim of the Livingstone Performing Arts Center. A ghost had been haunting the cast and crew of the Livingstone's latest production, the opera Don Giovanni. Manifestations included bleeding walls, the image of a body hanging by a noose from the rafters above the stage, and — most recently — blood pouring from the mouth of the lead actress during rehearsals. The opera's opening night was in one week, and Salzheim was greatly concerned for both the safety of his cast and the financial consequences if the show were to be canceled.
Agents MacMillian and Herschler were put on the case. Senior Agent Walter Hanley provided the briefing and supervised the mission. The agents were given an overview of the Livingstone's history, and its previous incarnation as the Murdett Theatre. Agent Hanley advised that while the Murdett has had its share of scandals and hauntings over the years, these are unlikely to have anything to do with the current mission, since all of Orpheus Group's findings indicate that there are no ghosts more than 20 years old. Both agents evinced surprise at this revelation.
The agents interviewed several of the cast, including Caroline Märchen, the lead actress; Sophie Tanner, her understudy; and Richard Chevallier, who played the roll of Don Giovanni. They learned that Miss Tanner had been experiencing blackouts and sleepwalking. They also discovered that ten years ago, there was another production of Don Giovanni at the Livingstone. It was cancelled, however, when the lead actress, Olivia Isabella, was found stabbed to death in her dressing room just before opening night. Isabella's understudy, Roberta Wyjceski, was arrested for the crime, but hanged herself in her cell before she could be brought to trial.
As they left the Livingstone, the agents noticed a black van with the NextWorld insignia on the side, parked on the street.
The agents returned to Headquarters to project, and went to the Livingstone again in noncorporeal form. After scaring off the NextWorld surveillance team, they made their way back into the labyrinthine backstage area. There they found the ghost of Roberta Wyjceski singing an aria to a phantasmal audience. The agents gave chase, and eventually cornered Roberta and managed to talk to her.
Roberta claimed that she did not murder Olivia Isabella. However, she had so often fantasized about Isabella getting injured (since that would allow Roberta a chance to perform on stage), that she was overwhelmed by guilt when the actress actually came to harm. She killed herself, and even in death she often imagined that she was the murderer. These delusions manifested as the hauntings experienced by Otto Salzheim and his cast.
The real killer was Richard Chevallier. Ten years ago, he had been Olivia's lover. His own career was failing, and he was consumed by jealousy of the actress' fame. He had stabbed her to death, and planted the bloody knife in Roberta's dressing room.
The agents raced back to Caroline Märchen's dressing room just in time to stop Chevallier from murdering her. Agent MacMillian used her Masque emanation to appear as an apparition of Olivia Isabella, distracting the deranged actor, while Agent Herschler used Poltergeist to wrest the dagger from his hand. Miss Märchen's screams brought several stage hands running, and Chevallier was subdued and arrested. Miss Märchhen was unharmed, but the screaming caused her to lose her voice.
The opera opened on schedule, with Sophie Tanner standing in for Caroline Mächen (and Richard Chevallier's understudy replacing him). Although Roberta Wyjceski was cleared of all charges, she was still unable to move on from this world, since her deepest, unfulfilled desire was to sing the aria of Don Giovanni in front of a real, living audience. The agents convinced her to skinride Sophie Tanner during the opening performance and sing through her voice. She agreed, and after finishing the last notes she ascended and passed on to whatever fate awaits ghosts after this world.
In light of their success on this mission, Agents MacMillian and Herschler were removed from probationary status.