High Kicks, Hot Chocolate, and Homicides

by Mary McHugh

  He gave a quick bark of a laugh. “That’s a huge help,” he said.

  The detective clicked on his cell phone again. “Get me the guy who runs the garage in Radio City Music Hall,” he said. After a minute, he continued. “Mr. Spinella? This is Detective Carver. Have there been any reports of stolen cars in the last few days?” He listened then said, “Will you notify me if anyone reports a stolen car, please? It’s very important. We’re looking for a beige Nissan with the words A Graduate of Wellesley College on the back window. Sound familiar?” He listened some more and his face changed. “That’s extremely helpful, Mr. Spinella. Thank you. Do you have a license number for that car?”

  He waited a few more minutes, scribbled something down in a notebook, thanked the garage manager, and hung up. Then he spoke to me, the excitement of what he just heard reflected in his voice.

  “No wonder nobody reported a stolen car,” he said. “It belonged to Nevaeh Anderson! She kept it parked in the Radio City garage all the time. She didn’t have to pay because she was a Rockette. So nobody reported it when it disappeared. They just assumed she had taken it out for some reason. Even after she was killed, they didn’t think to report her car as stolen. Marlowe took it. Now we have a license number. We’ll get them if they managed to get to the car and drive away. If they didn’t get to the car, they should be easy to find walking around in wet clothes near the dock.”

  I wasn’t so sure of that. Marlowe was a pretty slippery character. If anyone could escape from that dock, sopping wet or not, she could. And she’d drag that nitwit Shelli along with her. I so wanted to believe Detective Carver.

  “I’ll call you as soon as we get their car and arrest them,” the detective said. “I know you’re scared. I don’t blame you. You had a really bad experience.”

  “Please call me as soon as you catch them, Detective,” I said.

  I knew I wouldn’t feel completely safe until those two were in jail for the rest of their lives. But for now, I was supposed to dance in that fat suit.

  “What do we do now?” I asked Tina. “There’s nobody left to rehearse us. Are we still going to be in that Christmas show?”

  “We have you to show us what to do, Andrea. Right?” Tina said.

  “I’m afraid not, Tina,” Andrea said. “I’m in the middle of this whole mess.”

  “As a matter of fact,” the detective said, “my men are waiting to take you to headquarters right now.” He motioned to two of his police officers standing on the side of the stage. They came forward to handcuff Andrea and take her downtown.

  “Could I just say something before you take her?” I said to Detective Carver.

  “Of course, Ms. Temple,” he said. “What is it?”

  “If it weren’t for Andrea, I’d be lying at the bottom of the river with a bullet in my head.” I told him again what she had done to save my life.

  “I’m sure they’ll take that into account,” he said. “But right now, she’s got a lot to answer for.”

  My mind flashed back to Andrea holding a gun against my side when we left the theater. I wasn’t going to argue with him.

  He nodded to the policemen who took Andrea down the aisle and out of the theater.

  * * *

  Tina looked around at all of us. “What do you say, gang? Do we stay or quit and go home?”

  “Please, let’s quit, Tina.” Pat said. I’ve had enough of people being mangled in machinery and heavy Santa outfits and perfect Rockettes.”

  “I’m with Pat,” Janice said. “We usually have so much fun on these jobs, but this one has been a nightmare from beginning to end.”

  “We can’t quit, guys,” Gini said. “If we do, we’re leaving the Rockettes without any comic relief and they need something extra with five of their best dancers gone. There’s nobody to help them put a little life into the show. We owe them that, don’t we? It’s only for a couple of months.”

  “I think we should let Mary Louise decide,” Tina said. “She’s the one who’s been through the worst of all this. Do you want to quit, Weez?”

  “I was going to say yes, yes, yes,” I said. “Having a gun pointed at me is not fun. But I think Gini is right. We can’t desert all those other Rockettes now. They must be totally demoralized. Let’s stick it out. The only thing I would ask is that they get rid of those heavy Santa jackets. They’re horrible to dance in. Ask whoever is in charge now to give us lighter costumes.”

  “If Weezie can stay after what she’s gone through, I think the rest of us can too,” Tina said. “Pat? Janice?”

  My friends both agreed and Tina went off to find the person in charge to tell her we were staying.

  Mary Louise’s cooking tip: Make some delicious little cheese puffs to go with that bottle of champagne.

  Chapter 12

  Cruising At Sunset

  My friends surrounded me. “We’re not going anywhere without you until the police arrest Marlowe and Shelli,” Gini said.

  “That’s right,” Tina said, coming back on stage.

  “Did you find somebody to tell that we’re staying” Gini asked her.

  “Yes, there’s a very nice woman named Bianca in charge now,” Tina said. “She was so relieved to hear that we’re going to be in the show. She’s overwhelmed, and I felt she really needed us.”

  “What do we do now?” Janice asked.

  “Wait till you hear,” Tina said. “I called Peter a minute ago, and when he heard what happened to our little buttercup here, he insisted on coming to get us.”

  “Doesn’t that man ever work?” Gini asked.

  “He’s a partner in his law firm, Gini,” Tina said. “He sets his own hours. He had the best idea.”

  “Tell us,” Janice said.

  Tina could hardly contain herself. “He’s going to come and get us and drive over to Chelsea Piers, where his boat is anchored. He’s going to take us on a sunset cruise around Manhattan—with champagne! His boat is gorgeous.”

  “I should probably get back home to George,” I said. “He’ll be worried if I don’t show up. I promised him I’d be there to make dinner.”

  “Not to worry, Weez,” Tina said. “Peter said he would call George and have him meet us on the boat. He’s also calling Alex, Tom, Denise, and David to come sailing with us.”

  Everybody talked at once, thanking Tina, making their own phone calls, generally jumping up and down with delight.

  “You’d better marry that man before he gets away,” Gini said. “I always liked him, but I didn’t know he had his own boat!”

  “He doesn’t talk about the things he owns very much,” Tina said. “He thinks that’s crass.”

  I was so glad my best friend was going to marry this practically perfect man.

  “Okay, everyone,” Tina said, clapping her hands together. “Let’s go out front and wait for our hero.”

  Pat put her arm around me. “Are you going to be okay, Mary Louise? You’ve just been through hell. Do you want to do this?”

  I’m always grateful for Pat’s kindness and insight. She knew I wasn’t really back to normal after being held at gunpoint and told I was going to be shot and thrown in the river. It’s not the kind of thing you get over right away. But the more I thought about it and felt the warmth and love of my four friends, the more I welcomed the idea of a boat ride at sunset around my beloved Manhattan

  “I’m getting there, Pat,” I said. “You’re an angel to worry about me. I think this is just the thing to help me get over this horrible day.”

  We followed Tina out of the theater, and before long, Peter’s van pulled up to the curb. An officer got out of one of the police cars parked nearby and approached Peter.

  “Excuse me, sir,” he said. “We’re keeping this area cordoned off. I’m afraid you can’t park here.”

  “It’s all right, Sergeant,” Detective Carver said. He had followed us out of the theater. “These people are leaving right away.”

  “Thank you, Detective,” Tina said.
“We are so grateful to you.”

  “Don’t worry,” Carver said. “We’ll get them.”

  He turned to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to go through that today,” he said. “Are you all right?”

  What a kind man, I thought. No wonder that little kitty cat Ranger took to him right away.

  “I’ll be fine, Detective,” I said. “Thank you for your concern.”

  Carver motioned for one of his officers to open the door of Peter’s car, and we all jumped in, ready for champagne and caviar and a sunset cruise.

  I kissed Peter on top of his head when I got in the car. “You’re absolutely the very best person on earth to do this, Peter. I need it so badly.”

  “I figured you might,” he said. “You’ve been through hell today.”

  He started the van. “Ready for a boat ride, ladies?” he said.

  A loud chorus of yays and hurrahs and you bets made him laugh, and he headed west toward Chelsea Piers, where his boat was anchored.

  “Were you able to get in touch with everybody?” Tina asked Peter.

  “I was. They were all really excited, and they’re going to meet us at the dock.”

  “Even George?” I asked. “He’s coming all the way from New Jersey?”

  “Luckily he was in the city again to talk to that witness of his. I told him what happened to you today, and he said to look after you until he got there.”

  * * *

  It took us about twenty minutes to get to the pier, where Peter parked near a sleek white yacht moored there.

  “There she is,” Peter said.

  The first thing I noticed was the name on the boat: Dancer. What could be more perfect?

  “How did you ever come up with a name like that for your boat, Peter?” I asked, teasing him.

  “I wonder,” he said, leaning over to give Tina a kiss on the cheek. The way she looked at him, I knew they would have a long and happy life together.

  Peter got out of the car and opened the doors for us. “Careful on that ramp, Hoofers,” he said. “Can’t have anyone falling in . . .” Tina punched him and he remembered what had happened to me that morning. “Oh, sorry, Weezie,” he said.

  “It’s all right, Peter,” I said. “I’m heading for that champagne.”

  When I walked into the main salon of Peter’s yacht, I was overwhelmed by its beauty. All the couches and chairs were white leather. The bar and end tables were mahogany. There were flowers everywhere. An Asian man with a friendly smile came forward to greet us.

  “This is Andre, everybody,” Peter said. “He does everything on this boat. I just drive it but he does everything else.”

  We could see champagne bottles chilling in buckets on the side, with glasses next to them. There were platters of caviar, pâté, little yummy-looking hors d’oeuvres, and of course, Peter being Peter, there was a bottle of non-alcoholic wine for Pat and David. It was bubbly and looked just like champagne.

  “As soon as the rest of our group gets here, we’ll take off,” Peter said. “In the meantime, Andre will pour you some champagne.”

  The events of that morning were already beginning to fade, or at least the horror of it.

  Before long, our partners began arriving, all of them obviously delighted to be on this beautiful boat, all of them showing concern for me. Denise and David were the first to arrive. David came over to me right away.

  “Were you really almost shot?” David asked.

  “I’m afraid I was, David,” I said. “But I’m okay now that you’re here.”

  He still looked worried. “There aren’t any guns on this boat, are there?”

  I pulled him to me and gave him a hug. “Not a gun anywhere. Don’t worry. Get some fake champagne over there and something to eat. We’ll be sailing out into the river pretty soon.”

  He went over to the table, where Andre poured him a drink.

  Denise was embarrassed. “Oh Mary Louise, I didn’t mean for David to—.”

  I hugged her too. “It’s all right, Denise. He was just worried about me. He’s the sweetest boy.”

  She looked relieved and joined David to get a glass of fake champagne. Since she and David moved in with Pat, Denise rarely drank anything alcoholic. That made it much easier for Pat, who hadn’t had a real drink in a couple of years.

  There was a loud clatter as George ran over the ramp and into the room. He walked over to me and took me in his arms and held on to me as if I might disappear any minute.

  “She had a gun!” he said. “You were almost shot? Are you all right? Did they catch her?”

  “Almost,” I said. “Detective Carver was sure they would get her soon.”

  “You mean she’s still out there?” George said.

  “She can’t get me now, George,” I said. “Don’t worry.”

  Andre handed us both a glass of champagne and pointed at the couch nearby. “You would like to sit down?” he asked.

  George, still holding onto me tightly, pulled me down on the couch.

  “I’m all right, George,” I said. “They have the license number of their car. She’s probably in jail already.”

  “Don’t worry,” David said, coming over to George. “There are no guns on this boat.”

  George shook David’s hand. “That’s good to hear,” he said. “You must be David. I’ve heard lots of good things about you.”

  “Like what?” David asked.

  “That you take good care of our Pat and your mom.”

  David beamed. “Aunt Pat’s my mom now too,” he said.

  Denise came over and said hello to George and led David over to Pat, who was greeting Alex who had just bounced onto the boat. He came over to the couch and knelt in front of me.

  “I hear you’re trying to get on the front page of The New York Times, Weez,” he said. “Are you all right?”

  “Hello, Alex,” I said. “I’m getting there. She probably couldn’t have shot me on a Circle Line Cruise anyway. Somebody would have noticed.”

  “Aren’t we going on a Circle Line Cruise tomorrow, Aunt Pat?” David asked, that worried look coming back on his face.

  “Maybe we’ll go to Governor’s Island instead,” Pat said.

  “What’s there?” David asked.

  “Sculpture you can climb on and jump over,” Pat said. “They call it interactive sculpture, and it’s really fun.”

  “That sounds better than a cruise with guns on it,” David said.

  “I assume they got her,” Alex said to me.

  “Not yet,” I said. “But I’m sure they’ll get her any minute. The police have the license number of the car they’re driving.”

  Alex saw the look on George’s face and didn’t ask any more questions. Obviously, he wasn’t any more sure than I was that they would get her.

  “George,” Alex said, “you’re sailing with us? I didn’t think you ever left New Jersey.”

  “Oh yeah,” George said. “Every once in awhile I leave our beautiful Garden State to come to your dirty old city.”

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Alex said. “We all wanted to be with our Weezie.”

  “Thanks Alex,” George said and held me even more tightly.

  Just then Tom came on board and stood looking at the impressive living room for a minute before he said anything.

  “Wow,” he said. “This is incredible. So this is how the other half lives. Not bad, Peter.”

  “Hey, Tom,” Peter said. “Glad you could come. We all wanted to be with our Mary Louise tonight. We wouldn’t be complete without you.”

  Tom suddenly remembered why we were doing this, and came over to me on the couch. “Are you okay, Weez?” he asked.

  “I’m fine, Tom,” I said. “Now that you’re on board.”

  He gave me a kiss on the forehead and joined Janice at the champagne table.

  “If we’re all here, I’ll take us out onto the river,” Peter said. “The sun is just starting to go down, so you’ll see our
city at its loveliest.”

  He went to the front of the boat and steered the yacht out into the Hudson River. We all quieted down and marveled at this wondrous city as we sailed slowly by. The Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building to the north stood out against the sky. We passed the new memorial to the World Trade Center standing brave and tall in lower Manhattan.

  The sky was turning red and yellow and orange as we approached the Statue of Liberty. Peter slowed the boat down so that it almost stopped at this monument that welcomed people of all colors and races to our shores. We watched the sun slowly sink down behind her. There was almost total quiet on the boat as we were all reminded of how lucky we were to have been born in this country. I noticed that Andre bowed his head and closed his eyes in prayer for a minute.

  When the sky was dark, Peter continued on around the tip of the island, past the lights of the restaurants in Battery Park, past the ferry to Staten Island, crowded with commuters going back home, past the boat waiting to go to Governors’ Island, then under the Brooklyn Bridge. Soft music played from the speakers in the living room as we took this magical trip. I was almost my normal, unjittery self again by the time Peter turned the yacht around and headed back to the pier at Twenty-Second Street.

  It was rare for the five of us Hoofers to be quiet for so long, but I was grateful for the silence. It was restorative, healing, just what I needed.

  George held onto me the whole time, as entranced as I was by this lovely trip around the tip of Manhattan. It was a whole new view of this fascinating city.

  When we got back to Chelsea Piers, we were still quiet of mind and tongue. We thanked Peter for this ride we would never forget.

  “Feel better, Mary Louise?” Peter asked.

  “Much better,” I assured him. “I can’t thank you enough, Peter. This was perfect.”

  The rest of my friends decided to stay in the city for dinner, but I just wanted to be home, safe with George. He had driven into the city so his car was parked near the boat. We said goodbye to all those dear friends and went back to Champlain.

  Mary Louise’s cooking tip: Unless you have a cholesterol problem, use butter in your cooking, not that low-fat margarine!