Alibi In High Heels

I perched on the edge of the desk. 'What happened?'

Angelica shrugged. 'It wasn't like I was even that into Sam. Totally cute, but short term, you know? Anyway, the first time Gisella sees me at a club with Sam, she starts flirting all over the place. The next thing I know, Sam's telling me we should see other people and then they show up together at the Posner opening.'

'When was this?' I asked, gauging her reaction. I had to admit, didn't exactly seem heartbroken over the guy, casually picking at her nail polish as she spoke.

'A couple months ago.'

'And was she still seeing Sam?'

Angelica laughed. 'Hardly. She dumped Sam after a few weeks. Like I said, it was all about stealing what I had. Gisella was like that. She didn't want anyone to have something that she couldn't have. She was always jealous of me.'

I raised one eyebrow. 'Really?' Jean Luc had indicated that their relationship was the other way around.

Angelica nodded, her red curls bobbing up and down. 'Sure. When I landed the cover of Elle, she was livid. She was on the phone to her agent fifteen times a day trying to get her own cover. And then when I was booked for Jean Luc's show, she had to be booked too.'

'But I thought she was Jean Luc's lead model?'

Angelica's eyes narrowed. 'Was. I'm the lead now.' Her lips curved into a little smile that I wasn't sure reached her eyes. With friends like this, Gisella didn't need any enemies.

'So,' I said slowly, watching her reaction, 'she gets the lead in the show and she steals Sam? Some friend, huh?'

Angelica shrugged her bony shoulders, curling one leg under her frame. 'Like I said, I'm the lead now, so it all worked out.'

Yeah, except for poor Gisella.

'If Sam was history, do you know if Gisella was seeing anyone new?'

Again with the shrug. 'I couldn't say. Though, she was with a guy at the Hotel de Crillon party a couple nights ago.'

I perked up. The one where she'd worn the necklace. 'You were at the party, too?'

Angelica nodded. 'Everyone was there.'

'Did you know the guy Gisella was with?'

'No. But he was cute. Average height I guess. Sorta dirty blond hair.'

'Did you catch his name?'

She shook her head. 'Sorry. Gisella didn't introduce me.'

'Did you notice the necklace she was wearing?'

'Well, duh!' she said, shooting out another Americanism. 'Everyone noticed the necklace. Gisella made sure of that. She told everyone that Jean Luc was letting her keep it in the safe in her room.'

Great. So a room full of people who knew exactly where to find it. Sorry, Felix, I had a feeling the necklace was long gone.

'When was the last time you saw Gisella?' I asked, changing tactics.

Angelica cocked her head at me. 'You know, the police already asked me this stuff?'

Right. They would have. And, as sure as I was that Moreau was on the wrong track, I had a feeling he was covering that track very carefully.

'Humor me.'

Angelica grinned. 'All right. Last night. After the fittings were over. I saw her in the bar, then later I heard her in her room.'

'You heard her?'

'Uh huh. Her room is right next to mine.'

I glanced at the shared wall. 'What exactly did you hear?'

'She had a guy in there. At first I just heard her voice. A lot of giggling, you know. Then some moaning and tumbling around. It was quiet for a few minutes after that. Then the fighting started.'

'Fighting?' Now we were getting somewhere.

'Uh huh. He never raised his voice much, but I could tell it was a man. Now, Gisella, she was shouting, yelling, throwing a terrible fit.'

'When was this?'

Angelica pursed her lips, letting a thoughtful frown settled between her brows. 'I first heard her go in a little after midnight. But the fighting started closer to one.'

'Could you hear what they were arguing about?'

'She was saying that she didn't deserve this. That she was a supermodel. That she wasn't going to take it lying down.'

'And did he respond?'

'I'm not sure. Like I said, she was doing most of the yelling.'

'What happened next?'

'That's it. I heard the door to her room open and slam shut, then nothing. She was silent.'

'But you never saw the guy?'

She shook her head. 'Like I cared who Gisella was screwing.'

I thought about the implications of this new information. Maybe it had been quiet after Mystery Man left because Gisella was already dead. Was it possible that she'd been murdered in her room? I thought about the pool of blood on the runway. Not likely. But she could have been drugged, unconscious. Maybe he'd left, only to come back later, drag Gisella to the runway, then kill her. Either way, Mystery Man bore some looking into.

I thanked Angelica and left her room. As soon as I stepped into the corridor again, I heard the bass beat resume. At least Angelica wasn't taking the death of her friend too hard.

I glanced to my right. Gisella's room. No crime scene tape, no policemen guarding the door. I looked down the hallway to my left. Empty.

Gingerly I hobbled over and tried the doorknob. As expected it didn't budge. On a whim, I shoved my own keycard into the slot. No green light. Obviously not going to work. Unless I had a lock pick in my purse, I wasn't getting into Gisella's room. Which, of course, I didn't.

Luckily, however, I did happen to know someone with a full set.

* * *

As soon as I stepped off the elevators into the lobby, I spotted Felix. He was leaning against a marble pillar, his back to me, talking to a blonde woman I didn't recognize. She was tall, almost the same height as Felix in her heels, long blonde hair, expertly colored with trendy highlights shot throughout. She wore a black dress that looked painted on her slim form. Tanned skin, long legs, one of those women men instantly drool over and other women instantly hate.

As I watched Felix lean in closer and drape an arm around the woman's waist an odd sensation shot through me. I wasn't exactly sure it was it was but it came with a satisfying vision of clawing the woman's perfect blue eyes out.

I didn't get to examine it any further, though, as my cell started singing from the depths of my purse. I pulled it out, checking the caller ID. Dana.

'Hello?'

'Maddie, ohmigod, what's going on there?'

'You heard, huh?'

'Are you kidding, it's all over every station! I was on the stepper at the gym and almost fell over when they showed your face on CNN.'

'CNN? Are you kidding?'

'Maddie, they're saying you're a suspect.' She paused. 'You're not really a suspect, are you? I mean… you didn't do it, right?'

'Why is everyone asking me that? I did not stab a woman with a shoe! I would never do that.' I paused.