get out of her house, and I did. Donna nearly slammed the door on my behind when I walked out to meet you.”
“I believe you, Angelica. I’m surprised the police haven’t questioned you yet. I’m sure it won’t be long, now, before they show up.”
“There was a cruiser sitting at the light when I got home. Scared the crap out of me. Have you heard anything else, Ari?”
“No, only what has been printed in the papers. To date, they have no motive, no murder weapon, and are still talking to acquaintances. The arts community is baffled by Donna’s death.”
“It’s a shame. I can’t fathom who would want Donna killed, but I sure as hell didn’t do it. I couldn’t hurt a flea.”
“Rest assured, the police will be coming around soon to ask questions.”
“You seem so sure about that Ari.”
“They questioned me yesterday. I told them you had been staying with Donna right before her death.”
Angelica’s face froze in time. It looked as if she stopped breathing. She slowly rose from her seat and wrapped her arms around her chest and began walking in circles. Then, she threw her hands up. “You told them about me, Ari? What did you say?”
“As a doorman, I see a lot of people come and go. They asked me questions…pointed questions, that I had to answer. We have surveillance cameras on the premises, and all the cops had to do was watch them to know if I was telling the truth or not. On the day of Donna’s death, you both walked into the building together.”
Angelica exhaled and fell back into the chair.
“If you didn’t do anything,” Ari said, “you won’t have anything to worry about.”
“I didn’t kill Donna, Ari. You’ve got to believe that. I didn’t have time to do all the things the paper said happened.”
“Plus, you were as cool as a cucumber. I know you didn’t do it, but who did? Do you want me to stay around today, in case the cops show up?”
“Would you, Ari? I don’t mean to sound desperate, but I’d feel better if you did.”
“Look, why don’t I fix us some breakfast, while you take a hot shower and get comfortable,” Ari said.
“No breakfast for me, Ari. Maybe a glass of juice.”
“I can manage that; now go on and take your shower.”
Angelica looked at Ari. He was a decent man, and he only did what any other citizen would have done. He’d known Donna a lot longer than he knew her and was probably loyal to Donna’s memory. She wasn’t mad, just glad that Ari prepared her for the unexpected. She got up and went over to the bathroom.
The warm water relaxed her. So many things were running through her mind-Donna, Ari, the cops and Santiago. Santiago was the last person Angelica had counted on rekindling a relationship with. In fact, she had hoped he had fallen off the earth in some great big black hole never to be seen or heard of again. Was it a chance meeting? She would never know, but the last thing she wanted was to be back in his clutches.
Finally shutting off the water, Angelica emerged from the shower, feeling like she could conquer the world, until she heard a knock on the door. Grabbing a towel, she wrapped it tightly around her body.
Angelica froze. She wasn’t sure what time it was but it seemed awfully early for the police department to come calling. “Give me a minute, Ari. I’ve got to get dressed.”
“All right. I’ll tell them you’ll be out in a minute.”
“Thank you, Ari.”
Angelica took her time.
When Angelica entered the living room, Ari was talking to two middle-aged, white men dressed in plain clothes. They each had a notepad in hand and stopped talking when they saw Angelica. It was obvious they were admiring her as their eyes roved over her body.
“Ms. Barnes?” one detective asked. “My name is Detective Michaels, and this is Detective Henderson,” Detective Michaels said, pointing to the other gentleman before they flashed their badges. “We’re with the Homicide Division of the NYPD, and we’d like to ask you a few questions about the death of Donna Barnes Reardon.”
“Okay.”
“How do you know Ms. Reardon?” Detective Michaels asked.
“She’s the cousin of my ex-husband,” Angelica replied.
“I understand that you were living with Ms. Reardon as recently as two or three days ago. How did you come to live with Ms. Reardon and how long did you live with her?” Detective Michaels asked.
Angelica sneered at Detective Michaels, not liking his tone of voice or the questions he posed. She looked at Ari and turned away.
“Donna invited me to come to New York because she said she had a job for me-a modeling job. I was very excited about the opportunity to do something different and get away from North Carolina.”
“So when did you come here from North Carolina, Ms. Barnes?” Michaels asked, while Detective Henderson was writing feverishly in his tablet.
“I’ve been here a week,” Angelica replied.
“I understand you were no longer living with Ms. Reardon at the time of her death, but just now you stated that she invited you to stay with her. What prompted you to leave her so soon?”
“Well, the modeling job that Donna promised me turned out to be quite the opposite of what I was expecting.”
“What do you mean, it wasn’t what you expected, Ms. Barnes?”
“Detective Michaels, the job Ms. Reardon wanted me to pose for was for a gay magazine. There is nothing gay or lesbian about me. I was asked to pose and participate in a scene that was tasteless and not part of my lifestyle.”
“What do you do for a living, Ms. Barnes?” Detective Michaels continued.
Angelica looked at Ari for support. “I’m a dancer.”
“What kind of dancer?” Michaels asked, giving Angelica a real once-over.
“An exotic dancer.”
“I see,” Detective Michaels said. “But you never told me why you no longer were living at Ms. Reardon’s residence.”
Angelica licked her lips and sighed. “Donna became upset when I told her that I wasn’t participating in her photo shoot. She told me that if I wasn’t going to work, then I would have to get out of her house-that night.
“And what did you do?” Michaels pushed.
“I left.”
“What time did you leave?”
“It was…”
“It was six-fifteen,” Ari replied. The detectives looked at Ari with amusement, but he was not amused. “I’m a doorman, for God’s sake,” Ari said, shaking the smug looks off the detectives’ faces. “I ought to know when the residents come and go.”
Detective Michaels spoke up, “You remember the precise time of each and every resident as they come and go?”
“Well, some of them come and go like clockwork. I can set my watch to their movement,” Ari said smugly.
“So what made you remember that Ms. Barnes left the building at precisely six-fifteen?” Detective Michaels asked Ari.
“Because I had offered to give her a place to stay, and at that precise time, I loaded her things in my car to take to my house.”
“So, is it your presumption that Ms. Reardon was alive when you left the apartment building?”
Ari was getting perturbed with Detective Michaels. He had come to question Angelica, but somehow he was caught up in the dragnet and was answering all of the questions. “Yes, I believe Ms. Reardon was alive. She and
