In the Club

by Antonio Pagliarulo

  Emmett stared at her from the floor, a stunned look on his face. He was lying flat on his back.

  “Good-bye, O great Knight.” Park swung the sword over her head. Looking directly at Julian and Jessica, she said, “No crime ever goes unpunished.” Then she brought the sword down and slammed it into the floor an inch from Emmett’s neck.

  Emmett gurgled and groaned and flopped like a fish out of water for nearly a minute. He forgot to take into account the fact that he had just been beheaded.

  Concetta raised her arms up. “The Chamber closes,” she said, clapping her hands.

  In the instant before the lights went out, Park caught the look on Julian’s face—it was the narrow-eyed look of rage and suspicion. Her last, purposeful comment had not been a part of the game, and he had understood that.

  Darkness fell. Then came the sounds: costumes brushing against each other and metal clanging, a stampede of footsteps scurrying up the stairs. When complete silence returned, Park clapped her hands.

  The lights went on again.

  “Oh, thank God!” Madison cried. She and Lex were huddling in a corner, hunched down on their knees.

  They were alone in the chamber.

  “Where is everyone?” Lex asked.

  “Didn’t you hear the sounds? They all ran up the stairs.” Madison chucked her whip to the floor and ran a hand over her face.

  “The Knight is dead, and I have done my duty,” Park said stoically. She raised her sword into the air, staring into space.

  “What?” Lex blinked and stared. “What the hell did you just say?”

  Park lifted her shield from the floor. “The warrior princess reigns over the kingdom.”

  “Oh. My. God.” Lex strangled the ends of her toga as she glanced worriedly at Madison. “Are you seeing this? She’s lost her mind. Oh—be careful. She might chop you with the sword!”

  In no mood to continue on with the game, Madison charged across the floor, clamped her hands on Park’s shoulders, and gave her a hard shake. “Wake up!” she yelled. “You. Are. Not. A. Warrior. Princess!”

  Park’s head bobbed back and forth, her hair whipping her face. “Oh,” she said. “Oh my God. I’m sorry.” She stepped back and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what just happened. I just…couldn’t stop acting.”

  “Well, save it for the movie set, okay? I want to get out of here.” Madison was already unbuttoning her costume.

  The basement door swung open. “Hey, girls?” Concetta’s voice echoed down the long staircase. “Don’t you want to come up and change?”

  “Yes,” Madison said. “We’re coming right now.” She charged toward the staircase, Park and Lex following her.

  Five minutes later, dressed in their own clothes, they met Concetta at the front door.

  Still in costume, she stood with her arms at her sides, a pensive look on her face. “I hope you had fun,” she said quietly.

  “We totally did.” Park smiled.

  “Did everyone already leave?” Madison asked.

  Concetta nodded. “Yes. That’s one of our rules. When the game ends, it ends. We don’t hang around and talk about it.” She stared at them intently. “So now do you believe me? Don’t you see that we’re an innocent club?”

  Madison didn’t reply. She clutched her purse and stormed out of the town house.

  “I’ll see you soon,” Lex muttered, following Madison.

  Noting the confusion on Concetta’s face, Park said, “I think they’re both just a little out of it. We really did have fun. We’ll see you guys soon.” And with that, Park walked through the foyer and into the humid evening.

  “If either of you thinks I’m ever doing that again, you’re nuts,” Madison said as they headed for the limo. “That was freaky.”

  “Lighten up, will you?” Park answered. “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “That’s because you got to act.” Lex knocked on the driver’s side of the limo and waved at Donnie. “For me and Madison, it was total torture.”

  “I mean, really,” Madison said. “I’ll need another massage just to loosen the muscles in my neck. The level of dark in that room was almost poisonous.”

  “So that’s the big secret?” Lex shrugged. “The Black Cry Affair really is a role-playing club and not a terrorist ring?”

  Park folded her arms over her chest. “Did either one of you see the look on Julian’s face when I said that no crime goes unpunished? He’s freaking out because he knows we know something.”

  “And I think we know enough,” Lex said. “It’s time to tell Mother Margaret what’s going on. And it’s time to find out what the hell Sister Brittany is up to. The last thing we need is Julian trying to poison us.”

  The locks to the back door popped up, and Park and Lex climbed into the limo.

  But Madison didn’t move. She was staring across the street, where Jessica Paderman was waiting for the crosswalk signal to change.

  “Hey, you coming in?” Park called out.

  Madison studied Jessica’s proper plain jeans and white dress shirt. But it was her tote bag that made Madison’s heart skip a beat.

  “Madison? What’s wrong?”

  Forgetting the limo, Madison walked calmly across the street. Her eyes locked on the tote bag, and on the name printed in block letters across the front: PADERMAN PHARMACEUTICALS WORLDWIDE.

  And in that moment, everything clicked into place.

  “Hey, Jessica?”

  Jessica Paderman spun around. “Oh, hi,” she said, a little too pensively.

  There was no time for polite introductions, so Madison dropped the bomb without pretense. “Did Damien Kittle know you were supplying Julian Simmons with steroids?” she asked, her rage boiling over. “Did he know that you have direct access to nitroglycerin and a whole lot of other dangerous shit?”

  18

  Little Black Book

  Jessica Paderman was trembling. Sitting in the back of the limo, clutching the tote bag to her chest, she stared at Madison, Park, and Lex and kept shaking her head. “You’ve got it all wrong,” she said. “I didn’t kill Damien.” Tears poured over her face. A little line of spittle streamed down the side of her chin. “You have to believe me.”

  “No, we don’t.” Madison’s voice was sharp. She pointed to the tote bag. “I can’t believe it took me—us—this long to make the connection. But now it all makes sense. You were Julian’s dealer. That’s where he got the steroids. That’s why he was suspended.”

  “No one’s supposed to know about that!” Jessica yelled.

  “Well, we know about it, and so will the police soon enough.” Lex shook her head. “So Damien found out about it and threatened to expose you, and you killed him. Case closed.”

  “No!” Jessica wailed. “That’s not it! Stop accusing me! I don’t do bad things! I’m not that kind of girl!”

  Madison sniffed.

  Park, jumping into her interrogation mode, leaned forward and put a hand on Jessica’s arm. “Let’s start at the beginning, honey,” she said. “Why did you traffic steroids for Julian?”

  “Oh, God. You make it sound so illegal. Like I’m some drug lord.” Jessica reached into the tote bag and pulled out a tissue. She held it to her nose. “Julian and I have always been friends. A lot of people don’t know this, but his father and my father went to college together, so Julian and I have kind of known each other since we were little kids. But anyway…it was no big deal. Back in January, Julian was getting ready to shoot a new video for his upcoming album, and he was upset by the way he looked. He said he wasn’t pumped up enough. He wanted to look better—fitter, I guess. One day he asked me if I’d be able to get my hands on some steroids and I told him the truth—that I could. That it would be easy for me.”

  “How is it easy for you?” Park asked.

  “Paderman Pharmaceuticals has a laboratory in New Jersey,” Jessica replied, sniffling. “I’ve been working there part-time on the weekends and during the summer for almost two years
now. It’s great for college applications, and I want to be a doctor anyway. I know where all the drugs are.”

  “So you smuggled steroids out for Julian and gave them to him.” Park shrugged, trying to make it sound casual. “But you did it more than once, right?”

  A pause. Then Jessica looked down. “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Julian kept telling me he needed them. We fought about it once, and he sort of threatened me. He told me that if I didn’t get him some more, he’d tell my dad about it.” She looked up. “I didn’t want that to happen. Do you know how crazy things have been for me lately? With my parents getting divorced and all?”

  Park nodded. “I know. You must’ve freaked out when Julian told you he got caught.”

  “I did. But then it all went away—his parents made a nice donation to St. Cecilia’s and Julian didn’t actually get suspended.”

  “Are steroids the only drugs Julian takes?” Lex demanded.

  Jessica bit down on her lip. “I don’t think so. I think he smokes pot and does Ecstasy now and then.”

  “So he has another dealer for those drugs?” Lex asked.

  Jessica nodded. “But I don’t know anything about that. I swear. I’ve tried to tell Julian to stop, but he won’t listen.”

  “So when was the last time you got him steroids?” Lex asked.

  “A few weeks ago,” Jessica said. “I know it was stupid, but like I said—it was no big deal.”

  “Did Damien know about this?” Madison asked gently.

  Jessica looked out the window, her eyes glassing up again. “He knew. He found out. But I swear—he wasn’t angry about it. This has nothing to do with his murder. I didn’t kill him.”

  “Did you ever smuggle out anything else for Julian?”

  “What do you mean? Like what?”

  “Like nitroglycerin and sodium carbonate and diatomaceous earth,” Park said.

  Jessica’s eyes flew wide open. “Are you crazy?” she shouted. “That’s for making dynamite! I don’t know how it ended up in Concetta’s house—unless she’s plotting to blow us all up. That’s all I kept thinking about today—that we were in the Chamber with a murderer who likes explosives. I was a wreck.”

  “We know it’s used for making dynamite,” Lex whispered. “And we think maybe Damien knew too. Did you supply Julian with those chemicals?”

  “Never! Of course not! Why would I carry around nitroglycerin? Why would anyone? You’d kill yourself.”

  Spoken like an excellent chemistry student, Park thought. She said, “But Damien wanted out of the club, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know! He didn’t tell me. He just started to get all weird in the last few weeks.” Jessica huffed and closed her eyes. There was a steady stream of silence. Then she looked at Madison, Park, and Lex and fixed them with an angry stare. “And anyway, why the hell are you accusing me of killing Damien? Concetta’s the one who did it! Everyone knows that!”

  “Not really.” Park kept her voice even and calm. “Jessica, two strands of long red hair were found in the cage where Damien was killed. Any idea how they got there?”

  Jessica didn’t answer. She looked away.

  “Now, DNA tests will prove whether or not those hairs are yours,” Madison said. “But we’re going to have to call the police and tell them not to go crazy looking for the redhead. You were probably the only redhead at Cleopatra who knew Damien.”

  Jessica took a long, loud breath. Trying to move quickly, she threw her left arm against the door and reached for the handle.

  Lex lurched forward and pulled the door back. “Donnie!” she called out.

  “I gotcha,” Donnie answered from the front seat.

  The automatic locks slammed into place.

  “You can’t hold me hostage in here!” Jessica screeched. “I’m not a prisoner! Let me out!”

  “Puh-lease.” Madison held up a hand. “We’re probably doing you a favor by holding you in here. The cops will be knocking on your door any minute.”

  “That’s not true,” Jessica shot back. “Concetta didn’t tell them anything about the club. Oh, I knew letting you guys in was a bad idea!”

  “Sorry to have disappointed you,” Park said. “But you still haven’t answered my question. How did your hair get into the cage?”

  “It’s called trace evidence.” Lex smiled smugly. Her tone held a hint of superiority.

  Jessica didn’t seem to care about that. The anger left her face and she stared out the window again, not bothering to wipe away the tears that dripped down to her chin. “I loved Damien,” she said quietly. “And I think maybe he was starting to love me too.”

  Park felt Madison and Lex staring at her. “So, you and Damien were dating?”

  “I don’t know if you’d call it that,” Jessica replied. “We kissed a few times. We went out for coffee and lunch, but that was it.” She shifted in the seat. “The funny thing was that I never knew Damien had such a serious side to his personality. That was what he never showed people. But he showed it to me. We talked a lot. We went to the Museum of Natural History once. That was where we first kissed. But that was it.”

  “No kidding.” Lex sounded amazed. “You and Damien?”

  “He was only a quarter gay!” Jessica shot back defensively. “And when you do the math—”

  “—it only comes out to about three times a year,” Madison said, nodding her head in agreement. “No big deal.”

  “Never mind that. What happened? Why didn’t your relationship…progress?” Park asked.

  Jessica shook her head. “I don’t know. It just…didn’t. Damien started to act all weird. He said I was too involved with the club because I didn’t want Concetta or Emmett or Julian to know about us. I didn’t want anyone to know. I mean, me with a clownish guy like Damien? And I didn’t want to risk losing my place in the club. Damien was a different story. I mean, he liked being a member and all, but he didn’t take it as seriously as the rest of us. If Damien wanted to act a certain way or wear certain clothing or do something crazy, he just did it. Emmett and Julian and Concetta and I…I guess we’re just not as free and open with ourselves. That’s why we’re so protective about the club. It’s our own little world.”

  “But Damien did find out that you were supplying Julian with steroids,” Madison stated flatly.

  “Yes. Once, Damien saw them in Julian’s gym bag when we were in the Chamber,” Jessica explained. “When Damien told me about it, I confessed. He was upset with me and all, but I really don’t think he gave it much thought after that. He didn’t care all that much.”

  “What about Sister Brittany?” Lex asked quickly. “Does she know anything about Julian’s problems? Do you talk to her at all?”

  “Sister Brittany?” Jessica made a sour face. “Please. I can’t stand that woman. She’s always trying to talk to me, trying to find things out. Julian doesn’t like her either. Why would anyone?”

  “Friday night, Jessica,” Park said. “Cleopatra. The cage.”

  Jessica took another deep breath. “Okay. Yes—those were my hairs. But I didn’t kill Damien. I was dancing on the third level, going a little crazy, and I don’t know what made me look up. But I did—it was just a glance, and in between the flashes from the strobes, I saw Damien lying in the cage. Or—I mean, I saw his hand on the floor. So I ran up the steps and into the cage and then…” She shook her head, trying to blot out the image filling her mind. “I saw him lying there, and all the blood, the shoe…”

  “So why didn’t you scream for help? Why didn’t you say something?” Madison asked, her tone incredulous.

  “Because when I realized that Damien was dead, I panicked. I saw everything flash in front of me—the club, the two of us together, the steroids—and I didn’t know what to do.” She sobbed and blew her nose. “And…I was standing over him and the lights were spinning and the music was so loud and then I…saw his little black boo
k.”

  Madison, Park, and Lex leaned forward in unison. “What little black book?” Lex asked.

  “Damien always had it on him,” Jessica explained. “He kept phone numbers and appointments and everything in it. When he fell, it must’ve fallen out of his jacket, because it was lying just beside his arm. And in that moment—it was so crazy—I didn’t want anyone seeing the little black book…and my name in it…and the few dates he and I went on. I thought it would make me a suspect or get me into trouble and I pictured myself having to tell the cops about the club, and being so embarrassed…and I…I bent down and picked it up. And I got blood on my fingers and under my nails!”

  “The little black book?” Park’s voice was hopeful. “You picked it up?”

  Jessica nodded, her bottom lip trembling. “And as I was standing up, the cage started to move—it started to, like, shake because I think it was starting to descend and I—I jumped out of it, and a few strands of my hair got snagged on one of the bars—but I just kept moving. Down the catwalk and down the stairs. Two seconds later, the Requiem started playing and the cage was being lowered.”

  “Okay. Wait.” Madison held up both her hands. “So you never saw Concetta run out of the cage?”

  “No.”

  “And you didn’t see anyone coming down the stairs as you were running up the stairs?”

  “No.”

  “Were you dancing with Julian?” Park asked.

  “No. I was dancing alone. I wanted to dance alone. I never felt confident enough to do anything like that, but ever since the club…I’ve been feeling better about myself. Freer. I was dancing and listening to the music and I didn’t care about anything. Until I looked up and saw Damien.”

  Lex stretched her arm up over her head and directed one of the air-conditioning vents at Jessica. “So, um…where’s Damien’s little black book?”