On the Avenue (28 page)

Her lips dry, Madison stared at Clarence as he puffed on the cigar and then exhaled a thin stream of smoke. Every muscle in her body had gone tense. She felt rooted to the spot, even as the voices in her head screamed for her to run, to get out, to try to escape before it was too late. As fear rose in her throat, she said, “Tell me why, Clarence. Why did you do this?”

He looked at her, then looked down. “I didn't want to do it,” he replied. “Please believe me when I tell you I didn't want to do it. I never meant to hurt
you and Park and Lex. But Zahara Bell left me no choice. I had to kill her.”

“Why?”

“Because I was her informant,” he stated flatly. “I was the one who told her about you and Theo, and about a lot of other things I overheard your father talking about. Stuff about the company, about business deals, about money. All the dirt that was gonna make it into her column.”

“When did you even meet her?” Madison asked. “How did you even get involved?”

Clarence rolled the smoldering cigar in his fingers. “Two months ago, I drove Lex to a fashion show at the Armory and waited outside for it to be over. Zahara Bell arrived late, and I was standing there when she got out of her own limo. She was rushing to get inside, but she tripped and almost killed herself right there on the sidewalk. I caught her. Saved her. She was grateful and acted all sweet. Then she asked me who I was, who I drove for. When I told her I worked for you gals, she perked up right away. She gave me her business card and told me that if I wanted to make some extra cash, I should call her. Two days later, I did.”

Madison felt the knot in her stomach tightening. “And she agreed to pay you for any dirt you could dig up on us, right?”

“Yeah. She was just starting to put together some
gossip column for her magazine. I never meant to get so deeply involved in it, ya know? But I was making money, and I just couldn't help myself. The arrangement worked out nicely for a while, but then she did the wrong thing.”

“And what was that?”

He pursed his lips together and shook his head. “She stopped needing me. She said I'd given her everything she needed. And when I got pissed off, she warned me that if I didn't back off, she was gonna publish my name along with everyone else's in that gossip column. That was her plan, anyway. She was gonna use her informants and then rat us out in the next issue. Ruin our lives. I'm not the only one. She had lots of other informants in her little datebook. But I wasn't about to be exposed and fired and maybe even put in jail. And that's exactly what your father would've done—slapped me with a lawsuit.”

He sighed. He shook his head. The look on his face was one of disappointment and regret. “I really never meant for it to happen this way, Madison. But what other choice did I have?”

“So in order to stop Zahara from ratting you out, you killed her,” Madison said slowly. “But how? When did you steal the dress from Lex's closet? How did you manage to keep people from seeing you?”

“I stole one of Lupe's spare keys,” he answered. “I knew Friday night would be my last chance, so last
week, when your father left for his business trip and you girls were at school and Lupe was out, I went into the penthouse and took the clothes from Lex's closet. No one saw me. I exited through the side of the building, brought the stuff back to my apartment.”

“The key,” Madison said. “That's the one you planted in Jeremy's jacket. And you killed Chicky Marsala too, then stuffed his body in the closet.”

“Now
that
was a total stroke of luck.” Clarence chuckled. “That fat pig was hiding out next to the lobby yesterday morning. I had just gotten to the building. I knew Park had figured out about Jeremy's scarf, and I was worried. I happened to go into the antechamber, all the way through to the service entrance, and I saw Chicky hiding out there, dressed like a maid. We started arguing. I figured out who he was. Then he told me that he thought he recognized me. He was right. He'd seen me leaving the coatroom right after I killed Zahara. I thought about that, and about the pics in his camera. I got scared, so I killed him too.”

Madison swallowed over the lump in her throat. “And you tied Lex's scarf around
his
neck,” she said.

“Yeah. I had to. I was originally gonna use that on Zahara, but when I found Jeremy Bleu's scarf on the floor just beside the men's room, it was just too perfect. A great idea. Threw the suspicion on him for a while, until Theo West made himself the prime suspect.” He brought the cigar to his lips again.

“So the fabric found under Chicky Marsala's nails, the polyester—it was from your blazer,” Madison figured. “There was a struggle, and he almost got you.”

“Almost,” Clarence agreed. “But that blazer is in the trash now. And Jeremy Bleu probably won't ever remember that I'm the one who took his jacket from him and hung it up in the closet. He didn't even see me do it. He was too spaced out to notice.” He flicked ashes onto the floor. “Believe me, Madison—I never meant for it to happen this way. But you and your sisters—you started prancing around like little detectives. I never expected that.”

Keep him talking,
Madison thought.
You have to keep him talking.
“The Avenue diamond,” she blurted out. “Why'd you steal it? Where is it?”

Another smile spread across his face. He reached into the inside pocket of his blazer and pulled from it a black silk handkerchief. He unfolded it. He linked his fingers inside the chain and lifted the diamond up.

Madison couldn't help but gasp at the bright shimmer of light it cast. It nearly transfixed her.

“I never planned on this little baby,” Clarence said. “But after I finished with Zahara, I realized that after I disappeared, I'd need some money. You know how much I can get for this rock on the black market? A few million at least.” He folded the handkerchief over the diamond again and dropped it back into his
pocket. “After I finish up my job here, I'm headin' for the airport. I'll be doin' the cha-cha in Argentina by the time they arrest Theo West for—”

“For what?” Madison asked in an injured tone. She already knew the answer.

Clarence sighed loudly again. He didn't meet her eyes. “For killing you,” he whispered.

Madison's blood ran cold. She blinked back tears, determined not to cry. “How did you send those encrypted text messages?” she asked. “We all know your cell number. Did you buy yourself an extra phone just to send those cute little notes to us?”

He nodded.

Madison heaved a sigh. Her heart was beating painfully in her chest. Attempting to sound calm, she said, “I still don't get how you pulled it off. How did you kill Zahara without anyone seeing you?”

“Oh, people saw me,” he said. “But they just haven't made the connection yet. Who the hell am I? A lowly little chauffeur among rich famous people who only have eyes for other rich famous people. It was easy, Madison. Easier than I expected. I swear, killing with a crowd nearby is the best way to do it.”

She tightened her fingers around her purse, unable to think of anything else to say. She looked up, to her left and right. There was no way to escape.

“Now come on,” Clarence said, his voice weary but firm. “Give me the purse and let's get moving.”

“Here.” She flung the purse at him. “The camera's in there. Take what you want and just let me go.”

“It's too late, Madison. I'm sorry. Really, I am.” He slipped the purse under his arm and, with his free hand, reached into his blazer pocket. He pulled out a small handgun. He held it out and leveled it.

“No!” Madison cried, throwing her hands up in reflex. “Don't shoot!”

“I won't. Not yet.” He motioned toward the scaffolding. “Get moving. Come on. Time is short.”

As Madison turned around and neared it, she saw the steel staircase leading up to the top of the scaffolding. It creaked beneath her as she started up the first flight. She felt Clarence behind her, felt the muzzle of the gun digging into her back. Her entire body trembled as they cleared the first landing. She made the mistake of looking down and nearly lost her footing. They were high off the ground.

What's he going to do to me?
she thought.
Is he going to kill me and leave my body here? People will find the text message and blame Theo. And what about Park and Lex? Will they get blamed for everything too? Will people take pictures of me when I'm dead—with my hair such a mess?

The first tear streaked her face just as the doors two stories below burst open. The sound boomed through the entire warehouse.

“Madison! Where are you?”

It was Park's voice.

Madison gasped, relief flooding her. Pressing her feet into the unsteady floor of the scaffolding, she froze even as the gun jabbed into her back. “I'm up here!” she screamed.

“Shut up!” Clarence barked.

A moment later, Madison dared herself to look down again. When she did, she saw Park, Lex, and Theo dashing across the wide ground floor of the warehouse.

“Clarence! Stop!” Lex shrieked.

The entire scaffolding creaked the moment Theo jumped onto the staircase.

Madison screamed as Clarence's hand went around her neck. She felt herself being spun around, pulled toward him. She closed her eyes as the gun dug into her side.

“Okay!” Theo shouted, throwing up his hands. “I'll stop. Just … just don't hurt her!”

“Stay back, all of you!” Clarence's voice was desperate.

“We know everything,” Park said, coming up behind Theo on the staircase. She reached into the purse, pulled out the compact, and held it up. “This is what you really want, Clarence. You took it when you killed Zahara Bell, and then you dropped it when you climbed back into the limo Friday night. You restocked the bar like you always do and it must've fallen right out of your pocket when you were leaning
over. Madison picked it up off the floor of the limo by mistake when she spilled her own purse.”

His eyes widening, Clarence took the purse Madison had given him and, realizing that it served no purpose, hurled it over the side of the scaffolding. “Give me that,” he ordered, staring at Park. “Give it to me or … or I'll kill her!”

Madison let out a yelp as his arm tightened around her neck.

Park reached past Theo and chucked the compact onto one of the stairs.

“Let her go, Clarence,” Lex called out. “It's too late. You can't get away with this!”

“Take the damn compact,” Theo told him, trying to sound calm. “But let go of her.”

Madison held her breath. She felt Clarence's arm loosen slightly from around her neck as he leaned forward and grasped for the compact. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was straining to maintain his grip on both her and himself. The gun left her side for an instant.
Now,
she thought,
do it.
In a splitsecond move, she bit down on Clarence's hand and broke from his hold.

He cried out. He stumbled back as his fingers grazed the compact. But his hand caught Madison's sleeve and shoved her forward.

She slammed into the railing. The force knocked the breath from her lungs, and the dizziness that
followed made her stumble and pitch forward as the scaffolding shook violently.

Lex shrieked again.

Park struggled to maintain her balance.

And Theo dove toward Clarence.

Their bodies slammed together like enraged bulls, crashing to the floor with a thud. They struggled. They wrestled. Theo jabbed Clarence with an uppercut to the jaw.

Madison watched the fight as she regained her balance. With nowhere to go but up, she raced across the next landing and headed for the second staircase. But she was too frightened to climb it. She whirled around and saw Lex pushing past Park and powering toward the fight.

With a roar, Clarence thrust Theo to one side and rose to his feet. Gasping for breath, blood trailing from his nose, he raised the gun and pointed it at Lex.

She froze.

Theo hoisted himself up and swept his arms across the bottom of Clarence's legs.

“Watch it!” Park screamed.

As Clarence stumbled, the gun in his hand went straight up and discharged.

The boom of the shot thundered through the warehouse, sending a flock of pigeons scurrying across the ceiling.

“Get down!” Madison cried.

It was the moment Lex needed. She grabbed the magic purse from around her shoulder, raised it high, and swung it in typical propeller fashion. The full force of the blow caught Clarence squarely in the face.

His head snapped back. His eyes rolled. He looked as though he were seeing stars and fireworks as he dropped the gun and pitched forward onto the railing. His body lurched precariously, and the black handkerchief fell out of the pocket of his blazer and into the air.

“Park!” Madison wailed. “The diamond!”

Her eyes blazing, Park flew down the stairs and across the ground floor. She looked up just as the black material unfurled. The Avenue diamond spun through the shadows, emitting rays of brilliant light and color. And Park literally took to the air. As if in slow motion, she dove forward, arms outstretched, hair fanning out behind her. She slammed to the ground an instant before the diamond grazed her palm. She closed her fingers over it. “Oh,” she muttered. “That totally hurt.”

“Mads!” Theo ran across the landing. Despite the scaffolding's tremors, he reached out and pulled her to him, enveloping her in a tight embrace.

Madison drank in the scent of him. She buried her head in his shirt and, for the first time in a long time, felt her body melt.

“That'll teach you!” Lex's voice resounded through the warehouse. She was squatting down just behind Clarence's off-balance body. She kicked the gun away, grabbed his belt, and pulled him back with all her might.

He slid off the railing like a bag of sand. He landed flat on his ass, then let out a bloodcurling scream as one of his diamond-shaped hemorrhoids burst.

For the second time in exactly one week, the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art was glittering. A fashion show not waiting for Fashion Week was unorthodox, and so the unveiling of the first Triple Threat collection had attracted massive amounts of press from around the globe. No expense had been spared in creating a truly elitist ambiance. Huge Andy Warhol-esque posters of Madison, Park, and Lex covered an entire wall. The Hamilton Holdings, Inc., insignia—three skyscrapers shadowed by the letters
MPL
—hung from the arched entryway. A long catwalk stretched down the center of the floor, rose petals scattered along its edges.