2025-08-07 14:09:51As the elevator came to a stop, Alice held her breath. her heart was pumping like a turbine.
she was on 30. she was in. she was really doing this, the door had opened to a remote corner of the floor, she thanked God there wasn't a cop waiting in front of them. She heard a buzz of activity coming from the other end of the hall. All she had to do was to follow the noise. As she hurried down the hallway, the voices grew louder. two men in yellow jacket bearing "CSU" walked past her. At the end of the hall, a group of cops and investigators stood in front of an open double doorway marked "Mandarin Suite she wasn't only inside; she was right in the fucking middle of it.
Alice made her way toward the double doors. The cops weren't even looking in her direction; they were letting police staff who had come from the main elevators. she had made it all the way. The Mandrin Suite. she could see inside.it was huge, opulent, with lavish decor, roses were everywhere. then her heart almost stopped. She thought she might be sick. The groom, in a bloodstained tuxedo shirt, lay there on the floor.
Alice's leg buckled. She had never seen a murder victim before. She Wanted to lean forward, to let her eyes memorize every detail, but her body wouldn't move. who the hell are you? a brusque voice suddenly demanded. A large angry cop was staring directly at her face.
All of a sudden she was grabbed and pushed hard against the wall. it hurt.in panic, Alice pointed to her bag and wallet, in which a photo press credential was displayed. the angry cop began leafing through her IDs and credit cards as if they were junk mail.
Jesus.; the thick-necked patrolman scowled with a face like a slobbering Doberman."she's a reporter,"
“How in the hell did you get up here?" his partner came over and demanded.
Get her the hell," Doberman barked to him. And keep the ID. she won't get within a mile of a police briefing for the next year,"
His partner dragged her by the arm to the main elevator bank. over her shoulder, Alice got a final glimpse of the dead man's legs splayed near the door. it was awful, terrifying, and sad. she was shaking. show this reporter the door," he instructed a third cop Manning the elevator. He flicked her press ID as if it were a playing card. " Hope losing this was worth the ride u,"
As the doors closed a voice yelled, Hold it,"
A tall woman in a power blue T-shirt and brocade vest with a badge fastened on her waist stepped in. The cop was looking with sandy blond hair, but she was clearly upset. She let out a deep sigh as the doors closed. Rough in there inspector? the cop accompanying Alice inquried.
yeah," the woman said, not even turning her head. the word inspector went off like a flash in Alice's mind.
Alice couldn't believe it. The scene must be beyond awful for an inspector to be that upset.As the elevator descended, she rode the entire thirty floors just blinking her eyes and looking straight ahead.
When the doors opened to the lobby, the inspector rushed off.
you see the front door," the cop said to Alice." Go through it. Don't come back."
As soon as the elevator doors had closed, she spun around and scanned the vest lobby for a sight of the detective. she caught a flash of her going into the ladies room.
Alice hurriedly followed her in .Just the two of them in there. the detective stood in front of a mirror, she looked close to six feet tall, slender and impressive. to Alice's amazement,it was clear she had been crying.
“Jesus Jesus.She was back on the inside again. What had the inspector seen to get her so upset?
" you okay?" Alice finally inquried in a soft voice.
the detective tensed up when she realized she wasn't alone.But she had this look on her face, as if she were on the verge of letting it all out." you are that reporter aren't you? you are the one who got upstairs."
Alice nodded
" So how did you make it all the way up there?"
I don't know. luck, maybe,"
I didn't mean that," Alice said.' you sure you are all right?
the cop turned around. Her eyes shouted, I have got nothing to say to you.But they lied. It was as if she needed to do exactly that, talk to someone, more than anything in the world.
It was those strange moments when Alice knew there was something under the surface. If the roles just shifted, and she had the chance, the two of them might even become friends.
Alice reached into her pocket, pulled out a card, and placed it on the sink counter in front of the detective.’if you ever want to talk....
the color came back into the inspector’s pretty face. She hesitated, then gave Alice the slimmest,faintest edge of smile.
Alice smile in return.’’As long as I’m here...’’ she went up to the sink and took out her makeup kit, catching the policewoman’s eye in the mirror.
Nice vest,” she said.
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Chapter 41
The following day we met after work for a drink at Susie, it was Agnes introduction to our group.All day, I couldn’t fix anything other than the thought of confronting Zaddicos with what we knew and bringing him in. I wanted to accelerate everything- a face to face confrontation. I wanted to let him know we had him. Goddam Red Beard.As we waited for drinks, I knew a couple of new development. A search of Hannah Simon’s home in Seattle had uncovered Zaddicos’s name and phone number in the dead bride’s phone book. A trace bu Northwest Bell has turned up three calls to him in the past month- including one three days before Cleveland wedding.it confirmed what Pascalin shortley had told us.“Right to the very end,” said Fatimah. “Creepy. Both of them actually.We had run Zaddicos’s photo by Maryanne Perkins of Saks as part of a photo spread with five others. We desperately needed something that pinned him to the first crime. She paused over his likeness for a few seconds. “It’s him, she
Chapter 40
Moo’s POVI was totally surprised when Alice appeared at my door at half past eleven. With a look of wide-eyed elation and pride, she blurted, “I know who was Hannah Simon’s lover was.”Richard Zaddicos,” I replied. “Come on in, Alice, down, snippy.” She was tugging at my Giants night shirt.“Oh God; she groaned, loudly. “I was so pumped up. I though I had found it,”She had found it. She had beaten Jude and Seattle. Two squads of trained investigators as well as the FBI. I looked at her with genuine admiration. “How?”Too restless to sit, Alice stalked around my living room as she too me through the steps of her amazing discovery. She unfolded a copy of the news photo showing Zaddicos and Hannah Simon at the movie opening. I watched her circle the couch, trying to keep up with herself:Bright star . . . Sierra. . . Crossed wire. . . She was hyper. “I’m a good reporter, Moo,” she said.I know you are.” I smiled at her. “ you just can’t write about it.Alice stopped- the sudden realizat
Chapter 39
At an old fashioned Stella desk in the dingy halls of the chronicle’s basement library, Alice Barry scrolled through four-year old articles on microfiche. It was late. After eight, working alone in the underbelly of the building, she felt as if she were some isolated Egyptologist scraping the dust off long-buried hieroglyphics tablets. She now knew why it was referred to as “the Tombs.”But she felt she was unto something. The dust is was coming off secrets, and something worthwhile would soon be clear to her.February. . . March, 1996. The film school shot by with in distinguishable speed.Someone famous, the Cleveland bride’s friend had said. Alive pushed the film onward. This was how stories were earned. Late nights and elbow grease l.Earlier, she had called the public relations firm Hannah Simon had worked for in San Francisco,Bright star media. News of their former staffer’s death had reached them only that day. Alive inquired about any feature films Bright stat might have had
Chapter 38
Isaiah’s statement felt like an elbow to my solar plexus. At the same time it removes all doubt for me.Hannah Simon, sparrow Ridge, clos du Mesnil champagne. Zaddicos was now tied in to all three murders.He was Ted Beard.I wanted to run and confront Zaddicos, but i knew o couldn’t. I wanted to get up close, glare in his smug eyes, let him know I knew.At the same time, a suffocating tightness swept up into my chest. I didn’t know if it was a flash of nausea, Negli’s, or the release of my bottled up rage.Whatever it was, I knew I had to get out. I’m leaving, i said to Gabriel. I was scared.He looked stunned and confused as I rushed out.“Hey, I say something wrong?” I heard Isaiah say.I grabbed my jacket and purse and ran down the steps to the street. My blood was rioting inside me like an angry demon. A cold sweat has broken out all over me.I ran out into the cool day, started to walk fast down the street.I had no idea where I was going. I felt like a foreign tourist wandering
Chapter 37
A couple of hours later, i sat in my hospital smock in the hematology clinic at moffett. Dr Kelvin would like a word with you before we start,” said Sara, my transfusion nurse. I felt nervous as she unpacked an IV setup for my treatment, truth was, I had been feeling okay. Not much pain or nausea other than the incident in the ladies room last week. Dr. Kelvin alked in with a Manila folder under his arm. His face was friendly but unconfiding?” I smiled weakly.”only good news?” He sat across from me on the ledge of a counter. “How are you feeling, Moo? “I wasn’t feeling so bad when I saw you before.” “Fatigued?” “Only a little. End of the day kind of thing.” Sudden nausea? Queasiness?” I admitted I had vomited suddenly once or twice He mad a quick notation on a chart.. He pages through some medical chart in the folder, I see we have undergone four packed red cell transfusion so far. . . My heart was racing the longer he took. Finally , he put down the folde
Chapter 36
The three of us leaned against a stone wall in the City Hall Park, picking at salad sandwich’s we had bought at a nearby grocer’s. The murder club meets again.“You were right,” I said to Fatimah. I passed her a copy of the security photo showing Res Beard sneaking into the Cleveland wedding.She stared at it, her eyes focusing intensely. Fatimah looked up only when the confirmation of her first physical supposition brought out a curious half smile. “ I only read whatever that Bastard left behind.”“Maybe,” I said tossing her a wink. “But I bet Righetti would have missed it.”“This is true,” she allowed with a satisfied beam.It was a bright, brezzt late June day; the air was fragrant from crisp pacific breeze. Office folk worked on their tan; gabbed in groups.I recounted what I had found in Cleveland what had taken place by the lake between Gabriel and me.When I finished with Pascalin shortley’s shocking revelation, Alice said, “maybe you should have stayed out there, Moo.”I shook
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