High Heels in New York (21 page)

“Black, no sugar,
” Angie said, still looking down at the magazine. “Who was cute?
The dog from hell or the guy?”

“The guy,
” Melissa
said, looking at Angie.
“Black?
Since when?”

“I had an audition the other day,” Angie offered as explanation. Fortunately, Melissa knew what she meant. Whenever Angie had an audition, she would cut out all fats and carbs from her diet for the next couple of weeks. Milk in her
coffee was the first to go. “Hmm, so you really like him then.
Are you going to see him again?
”

“I didn’t say that,” Melissa said.
“And I did see him again. Last night.
” Remembering what a wonderful time she had last night made Melissa feel tingly all over. Claude had been nicer than she thought and she actually really enjoyed herself.

“
Really?
”
Angie
asked, curiously. “W
hat’s his name?”

“Claude,” Melissa said, leaning on the bar counter in the kitchen. “I’m not ready to date yet
though
.”

“Is that an excuse or an explanation?”

Melissa begins to rub her stomach with both hands. “Did you forget about something?”

“Nope.
I did not,
” Angie
said, giving
Melissa a wryly glance. “Did you?”

“You know there is a chance that I might not be pregnant,” Melissa said, sounding optimistic. She noticed that Angie was looking at her with brooding eyes.

“Hey, it’s possible. Stranger things have happened. Anyway, I have an appointment tomorrow to get blood drawn along with some other stuff. So, if the test results still come back positive tomorrow then I’ll know for sure.”

Angie shook her head.
“Three Cs.”

“Three what?”

“I’m going to stay cool, calm and collected. You my
friend,
can continue to drive yourself crazy,”
Angie
said,
“Anyway, what are you going to do about the money Jonathan stole from you? Can you get it back or don’t you have insurance from the bank?”

“I don’t know. It was a joint account so as far as the bank is concerned, he took his own money.”

“That sucks. I’m sorry,” Angie said.

“I know. I’ve been hiding from the landlord all week. I don’t know what I’m going to do. That apartment is way too expensive for me,” Melissa said
, sighing. “There’s no way I can afford my life anymore.”

“Ask your mother. She is marrying a rich doctor,”

“
She doesn’t even know about Jonathan.”

“
Oh
,
she’s
your mother, trust me she knows.
”

“
You think?”

Angie nodded.

“Well that’s it then, I’m screwed.”

“You and me both.
Do you have any idea how hard it’s going to be to find a manager?”
Angie said.

“Chris had a silly idea.
”

“What?”

“
My shoe line,” Melissa said. “Remember how badly I wanted to do that?”

“Why is that a silly idea? That’s a great idea!” Angie shouted. “You can do that with your eyes closed.”

“You think?” Melissa said.
“Nah.
I can’t
.
”

“Why not?”

“Because of one l
ittle thing I don’t have, money,
” Melissa said.
She still didn’t know how she was going to be able to get the rent money, let alone start a business.

“Oh,” Angie said, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. “Money
is
very important.
How about an investor?”

“Who the hell is going to invest in me with my face all over the news?”
Melissa asked.

“You’re right,” Angie said,
looking at the silver clock on the wall. “
Hey, a
ren’t you going to be late for work?”

“Shit
,” Melissa said. She quickly placed the food order and then called Regina. She hadn’t planned on going into work today. Not after the night she had. She just really hoped that Regina would let her stay in, at least for today. By tomorrow, she would find a way to saunter up some courage to go on with her life. Today, she just wanted to chill out.

“Hush Magazine, how may I direct your call?” Claire’s’ distinctive voice resonated through the phone.

“Claire,
it’s
Melissa. Is Regina available?”

“OMG!
She’s been going crazy! Did you hear about Valerie?” Claire was frantic.

M
elissa tried to sound oblivious.
“What do you mean?”

“They found her dead in her apartment this morning. It’s all over the news. You are so lucky that she rescheduled the interview. What if you would’ve walked in on the murderer?”

“Oh wow. I didn’t know,” Melissa said, sitting down on Angie’s art deco sofa.

“Well,
let me pass you through to her,
”
Claire said.

“Okay. Thanks.” Melissa didn’t wait on the line for too long. Regina picked up the call and immediately offered her a week off with pay. She told Melissa not to make too much of it. She wasn’t doing it for her. She was doing it for the magazine. She wanted Melissa to come back to work with a clear head. Melissa gladly accepted. By the time Regina got off the phone, Melissa decided it was time to tell Angie about Valerie.

“Angie,” Melissa called out. She checked the front door but Angie wasn’t there so she tried the bedroom. She found Angie, sitting on her vanity chair. Angie then abruptly slams the vanity drawer and stands up.

“
Here,” Angie said, handing something to Melissa. “I think breakfast finally arrived.
”
Angie went to see who it was.

Melissa hadn’t heard the doorbell or even a knock at the door. But she was so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn’t
really been paying attention.
“What the hell?” Melissa said, looking down at what she was holding. It was a check for $100,000.

There was no way Melissa was going to accept that kind of money from Angie. She would never, no matter the circumstances.  “Angie, I can’t accept this,” she said, from the bedroom.

Angie tiptoed to the door again, just in case it was Carlos again. “What a lovely surprise,” she exclaimed when she realized it was someone that she knew.

“I think I have your breakfast,” a man’s voice resonated from behind the closed door.

“I’m so glad you’re here. I’m dying to introduce you to a friend of mine,” Angie said after she opened the door. “Mel, come in here. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Melissa walked out of the bedroom. Her eyes widened. She couldn’t believe it was him. 

15

“What the hell are you doing here?” Melissa asked Claude as he stood in Angie’s kitchen.

“You two know each other?” Angie asked.

“Something
like
that,” Claude said as he placed a brown paper bag on the kitchen counter.

Angie walked over to the bag and peeked inside. She smiled and be
gan taking out a white foam cup.
“And he makes deliveries.”

Claude laughed. “The delivery guy and I crossed paths in your hallway.” His lips curled into a
n
enigmatic smile. Melissa had never noticed his mouth before. They were like two rose petals.
I could kiss that mouth
, she suddenly thought.

“He’s the guy I told you about with the devil dog,” Melissa finally said to Angie. Then she looked back at Claude. He still hadn’t told her why he was there and for whom?

“I swear it’s a small world. Mel, he’s the nice officer who took my statement at Charlie’s office,” Angie said, taking the plastic lid off the coffee cup and taking a sip.

“You’re a cop?” Melissa couldn’t believe it. There was no way he was a cop. Why he didn’t tell her who he was? Who goes around hiding something like that? It’s not like he was a garbage man or a tax collector. Both of which Melissa could clearly forgive him for wanting to hide. But he wasn’t those things. He had one of those professions where people needed to know straight away, for many different reasons. Melissa’s reason was that she was hiding a secret and the last thing she wanted was for anyone to find out. Then there was the little matter of the fact that she liked him. Now though, she wasn’t so sure.

“Actually I haven’t been a cop in years,” he said smirking. “I’m an FBI agent.”

“FBI?”
Angie and Melissa said in unison.

Feeling weak, Melissa sat down on the sofa. How could she consider dating Claude if he was an FBI agent? First, her fiancé is a thief at a grand scale and now the guy she likes could have her thrown in jail for obstruction, or whatever people go to jail for when they hide information. Right now, she wasn’t thinking technical cop terms, nope. She was thinking life without parole, or death with legal injection. Shaking her head, she reminded
herself that Valerie was already dead when she found her. The thing was no one knew she had been there.

“Do FBI agents carry handcuffs?” Angie asked, imagining herself being handcuffed to her bed by a sexy cop in uniform. She had never had sex with a cop or with a guy dressed like cop.
A firefighter?
Yes.
A doctor?
Of course.
But not a cop.
She quickly added that on her bucket list.

Melissa shot an evil glare at Angie who was too busy drinking her coffee that she didn’t notice. How could Angie be thinking about sex at a time like this? Couldn’t Angie tell by the look on Melissa’s face that it was not the time to think about sex?

“Ladies, I’m sorry to interrupt. I’m sure you want to eat your breakfast in peace but I’m here on business,” he said, looking at Angie.

“Did you get a lead on who killed Charlie?” Angie asked, removing the items from inside the bag, one by one and placing them on the counter.

“Actually… no.
I’m not here about Charlie,” Claude said, walking over to Angie. “I’m really sorry Angie. I don’t know how to say this but, it’s about your sister.”

“How do you know about Valerie? I only just found out the other day that I even had a sister,” Angie asked, grabbing a plate
from the cupboard.
“Hmm. Sister.
It feels strange saying it out loud.”

Melissa stood off to the side, afraid to look at either of them. She didn’t know if she should say something or not. But if she didn’t, Claude would. She couldn’t let a stranger tell her. “Angie I think you should sit down,” she finally said, looking at Claude.

Claude looked at Melissa, quizzically. He wasn’t sure what or how Melissa knew. “Melissa, do you know why I’m here?”

Melissa ran towards Angie and grabbed her hands tightly. “Angie, I’m so sorry. I should’ve told you.”

“You guys are scaring me. What the hell is going on?” Angie asked.

“Melissa, how do you know what I’m talking about?” Claude asked, reaching inside his jacket.

“
I was there. Well,
not there. Not when it happened,
” Melissa rambled on as she let go of Angie’s hands and walked over to the couch to sit down. “I knew this would happen.”

“Seriously one of you is going to have to tell me what the hell is going on,” Angie said as she followed Melissa.

“You were there?” Claude asked.

“Angie I’m so sorry. I should’ve told you a long time ago but I was scared and I didn’t know how to tell you. I mean really,
how do you tell your best friend such devastating news? And then when you told me Charlie was dead well, I didn’t want to make you feel worse,” Melissa
said,
crying hysterically.

Seeing Melissa so distraught, Angie gave her a hug and tried to console her. “I’m sure whatever it is we’ll get through it, together.”

Claude walked over to them and took out his handcuffs. Melissa began to cry more at the sight of them.

“What the hell are you doing?” Angie asked Claude.

“If she was at the scene of a murder I have to take her in.” He said so matter-of-fact like.

Angie screamed. “She wasn’t at Charlie’s murder!”

“Are you going to tell her? Or am I?” Claude asked Melissa.

Melissa looked at Claude with pure anger in her eyes. “I’ll tell her,” She said and turned to Angie. “Angie, do you remember when I had to interview Valerie?”

“Yeah.
You said she rescheduled.”

“She didn’t reschedule.”

“Oh? She didn’t?”