Chapter 8: Lindsey's story

"If that man sends me one more bouquet I'm going to plant them on his grave!" Dani Reynolds practically screeched. She quickly scanned the elaborate card and then promptly tossed it in the trash. As she was about to dump the white, pink and red roses, Mac grabbed her arm.

"Wait! The guy is smitten and apologetic. These babies are expensive, at least put them in water and by the window, this studio can really use some splashes of color."

Dani growled and shoved the bouquet in his arms. "Fine, Mr. Green thumb, you take care of it, and maybe you'd like to have dinner on top of the Empire State Building with him while you're at it?"

"Well if he's paying, why not?" He chuckled.

"Mac, you're ridiculous! I don't have time for Claude and his fake apologies. If I ever lay eyes on that creep again I will…"

"You've already used 'kill him' a few times, you gotta get more original, Dani."

"Arrh! I'll castrate him six ways to Sunday!" She fumed and stormed off to set up her cameras for the next series of portraits.

Mac winced, and then put the roses in the last available vase he could find, and set them by the window. It was two days since he played a Brooklyn pizza boy and rescued Dani from the clutches of Claude Dupont, and two days since anything substantial happened with the tragic case he and Crystal were working on. Mac was frustrated and feeling at a dead end. He considered telling Henry to give it up and kick it back to the NYPD where it belonged. He stared out the window at the heavy mid-day traffic, trying to come up with any connections, and then a thought finally clicked. He ran to Dani and jumped in front of the camera just as she flashed a test shot.

"Oh, that's swell Mac, your blue checkered chest will look great on the new covers. Where's the fire?"

"Dani, I have an idea. When Claude had you hostage that night he got desperate and started yammering on about how Stella wanted to kill him…or so he thought."

Dani laughed snidely. "Well, I've just joined her club."

"No, he was serious, he called her insanely jealous and was afraid of the trouble she'd cause."

"What about it? That man deserves whatever is coming to him."

"Okay, the man is a sleaze, but I really don't think he's the killer anymore. Dani, you need to call Claude up and tell him to get down here and explain to you exactly what he meant by that."

Dani let out burst of air and stared at Mac like he had four heads. "Are you insane? I don't want that man within fifty feet of me and you want me to bring him here and…"

"Dani! It's for official business, and you won't be alone. Henry will be with you. You tell Claude that Henry is an old friend that can somehow help with his situation, and then you pump the guy for everything he knows. Show him the model autopsy photos. He obviously can't see me or Crystal, but if we're gonna find out about Stella, it's the best way."

"Can't you just follow the woman?"

"I thought of that, but it's too risky, I don't want her to catch on."

Dani laughed. "Stella never catches on to anything, otherwise she would have figured out that Claude despises her a long time ago."

Mac shook his head. "You women are awfully catty. You hate the guy, but you're still sore at her for liking him too, make up your mind."

Dani gaped at him, then turned red faced and continued adjusting her camera lens. "Mac, go do what you gotta do, set up the meeting and let me know when."

-Oo-

When Mac returned home, he was just about to lie down for a mid-day nap when his phone rang shrilly. He banged his hand around the end table and finally picked up the receiver.

"This is Mac."

"Mac…Mac, I'm so glad I found you home! I'm…I'm sorry to call you like this, I got your number from Stella's Rolodex."

Mac sat up tall upon hearing the familiar voice. "Lindsey? I though you went back to Connecticut, what's wrong? You sound upset."

"No, I couldn't go back home yet, I, uh, I had some things to take care of and I haven't broke the news to Claude yet. I was wondering if you could come by my place. I really need to talk to you." She nearly begged.

Mac swung his legs off the bed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, Lindsey, that's fine but maybe it would be better if we just met in the coffee shop."

"No! I mean…please, Mac. I'm…I'm afraid to leave my apartment, I think I'm being followed and I don't know what to do."

Mac stood up hastily. "Followed? Do you know by who?"

"I'm not sure, it's definitely a guy, but I can't really say who he is, I just get a weird feeling. Please Mac, come…and…and bring Jodie. I know you probably feel uncomfortable that I'm asking you this, so it's okay. I could use a woman to confide in too now that my friends are gone." She added quickly.

Mac felt sorry for her. "Okay, just give me your address and we'll be there in about an hour."

Lindsey gave him her address and phone number. "Thank you so much, Mac! You're the best, you know that?"

"No, I'm not, I'm just helping a friend."

"You barely know me, but you're being so nice, and not like a jerk either. A lot of guys would have loved the fact that I invited them over, but not you, you're truly concerned about me."

Mac felt himself blush. "Yeah, I am, especially with all this horrible stuff happening. Okay, Lindsey, lock up tight, and stay put. When I get there, I'll knock and say my name."

"Great! I'll be here!"

When Mac hung up he called Crystal, but she wasn't at home. He decided to try Jezebel studios, even though it was Sunday. She did mention she had left some items behind and needed to get them. To his surprise she answered the main phone line.

"Crys, what are you doing over there? Where's Stella?"

"Stella's been MIA since Friday, Mac, and she doesn't work Sundays anyway. Claude begged me to stay and man the phones. I'm bored to tears. What's going on, tell me something significant is happening? I'm just sitting here watching Fred restock the closet and mop up the floors. He keeps looking at me weird. It's getting on my nerves."

Mac explained the phone call from Lindsey and Crystal agreed to go. They hung up and she left a note for Claude saying that she was out to lunch and then she transferred the line to his office.

"That fool doesn't deserve to be told in person." She noted, and left the building toward Lindsey's apartment.

Mac met Crystal a few blocks from the apartment and knocked on the back door of the black van. Crystal swung the door open and he climbed inside.

"Thanks. What do you think?"

"What do you mean? You look great, a little tired, but great. You gotta love those sexy tan boots."

Mac rolled his eyes. "About Lindsey. Do you think she's a target?"

"Hard to say, I mean, they killed all her poor friends, but it was done very quickly. I checked for any serial killer patterns, and I think our perp would have gotten to her by now. But besides the fact that they were all models exclusively for Jezebel, there's nothing to really go on. I'm surprised she called you like this, you must have left a really big impression on her at the coffee shop."

"I just gave her a little home grown advice, I thought she'd be back home with her family safe and sound by now."

"Those young-uns never listen to their elders, do they?"

"Nope. That's why they get themselves in trouble. Ready to roll?"

"Yeah."

They jumped from the van and strolled toward the building. The neighborhood wasn't the greatest, and Crystal made sure to secure all the alarms and special locks on the van. As they passed a decrepit red-bricked building three blocks before Lindsey's apartment, Mac pointed out the vine and weed covered cemetery almost hidden on the side of it.

"Will you look at that? Must be at least two centuries old, probably a landmark. I haven't seen these around in a while."

"Yeah, they're still out there. Who in the past knew it would eventually be surrounded by huge buildings? It's pretty quaint and peaceful on this block still. Looks like this building is abandoned, see the eviction notices? There's tape blocking the doors."

"Too bad, but a lot of these buildings are in pretty lousy shape anyway and not livable, there's a lot of structural damage around it."

They came in front of Lindsey's apartment and went inside. Lindsey lived on the fourth floor.

"And of course, the elevator is broken." Crystal sighed.

"I can use the exercise." Mac said and bustled up the stairwell. As they reached the last staircase the silence was shattered by Lindsey's scream and glass smashing. Mac and Crystal broke into a run and raced to her door. Mac pulled his gun from behind his back and waved Crystal away as he poised to kick the door.

"Lindsey! It's Mac! I'm coming in!"

"Mac, help me! Paulo! He's trying to kill me!" She screamed, her voice becoming muffled.

Mac gave the door one rapid kick by the lock and it burst open. Lindsey was on the bed struggling with a young and wiry Spanish man; he had her pinned down by her arms and was screaming at her in Spanish.

"How could you? How could you!" He shouted over and over, while sweat and tears poured down his rabid face. He glared at Mac and then released his hold on Lindsey and sprinted toward her open window. Mac lunged for him but he was too fast and ran down the fire escape.

"I got her, Mac, go get him!" Crystal shouted and she helped Lindsey off the bed.

Mac jumped out the window and nearly tumbled down the first flight of stairs.

"Oh God, Mac! Be careful!"

Mac came up and clamored after the guy, with his gun at the ready. Paulo ran like a frightened Jackrabbit through the side yards of the tenements, nearly leaping over the brick walls. Mac was hot on his trail and scaled them easily.

"Paulo, stop! ¡Alto! ¡Alto!" He called out, but didn't want to shoot, in case a stray bullet hit someone.

Paulo jumped over another brick wall and rushed through the old cemetery. He sprinted over the headstones. However, his foot struck a tilted headstone sticking up halfway and he fell forward with a loud yell. Mac was behind him instantly and caught him before his head made crushing contact with a tall grave marker. Mac threw Paulo on the soft dirt face up and pounced upon him, keeping a knee close upon his chest. He kept his gun in hand and shook him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Why were you trying to kill Lindsey? It was you all along, wasn't it? You killed all those models!" He accused him through gritted teeth.

Any defiance Paulo had vanished and he became a simpering mess, speaking in broken English. Mac decided to speak to him in Spanish.

"What did you do? How did you kill those girls? I just saved your life, amigo, now you're gonna tell me everything I wanna know or else you'll wish the police had caught you instead of me!" He said in his most threatening tone.

Paulo's dark eyes widened frightfully. "It wasn't me! I didn't kill anyone, I wouldn't kill Ana! Not my Ana!" He nearly bawled.

Mac's grip loosened and he tried not to show his confusion. "What do you mean, my Ana?"

"I wouldn't hurt her! You got the wrong person! I'm not the killer! You let the real killer free!"

-Oo-

Lindsey calmed down and begged Crystal not to call the police. She went to her stove and prepared two glasses of Iced tea. "Please Jodie, don't do it, I don't want to press charges."

"Are you kidding me? Lindsey, he tried to kill you! Paulo was probably the killer all along and that's why he came after you."

Lindsey adamantly refused and put tea before Crystal. "I…I just can't yet. Give me a moment to collect myself, okay? Besides, are you going to explain to them why a make-up artist assistant and a male model are packing revolvers?"

Though Crystal never pulled her piece, she must have seen it on her holster. Lindsey stared hard at Crystal. "You two aren't what you say you are. You must be working on solving the murders, but you're not cops, otherwise the place would be swarming with them already."

Crystal let out a deep breath and took a long gulp of the cold, sweet tea. "Okay, you made us, I can't say what we are, but we're not cops. We are here to help, and if you can tell us anything…" Crystal's words dropped off in mid-sentence when a woozy feeling enveloped her and her vision doubled…then tripled. Lindsey stood over her and put a tight hand on her shoulder when she tried to stand up.

"Where are you going, Jodie? Please stay with me, I'm afraid to be alone." She said mockingly.

Crystal felt like the room was spinning. Her breathing felt labored. "You…you slipped me a cherry meth, didn't you?"

"I prefer to call it liquid ecstasy, but yeah, you never saw that coming, did you?"

Crystal's vision was failing her and she rubbed her eyes and wobbled around on the chair, sinking low. "I should…should have…known…it was you! I didn't trust…trust you…from the begin…you killed them!"

"It's a good thing your hot partner was so gullible. I suspected he wouldn't be quick to suspect an innocent girl like me."

Crystal made a weak grab for Lindsey, then fell onto the floor and passed out. Lindsey laughed and quickly called the studio with three rings. A man answered.

"Hello, Fred. It's me. Yeah, I need you to hurry up and get over here. I have the woman. You have to help me put her where I told you. Hurry up, in case Mac comes back here. I have to tell him she left here, but didn't say where she was going. No, I don't know where Stella is, I'm sure she's fine, probably home in her bubble bath, downing wine and popping ludes as usual." Lindsey said impatiently and shook her fist at the phone. "It's almost over, I was going to try and go after the photographer and her girls, but that would have been overkill…literally. I'll get to Dani Reynolds soon enough. For now, I'm good with this one. Mac's sweet on her anyway…no, he's out chasing Paulo; he'll have his hands full for a while with that Tonto. No, Paulo has no clue it was me or you. I don't know what Ana saw in him, he was cute and all, but that's about it. What? Don't tell me to shut up, Fred! Just get over here and do what you're supposed to do or so help me, I will ruin your pathetic life!"

Lindsey slammed the phone. She calmly walked to the sink, put on rubber gloves and scrubbed Crystal's glass of Iced tea. She went about cleaning around the dining table and removing the fingerprints. As she worked carefully, she thought of how easy it was to get rid of the other girls, her competition. A bunch of self-indulgent divas they were. She wanted to be their friends, she tried, but they pushed her aside. Apparently she wasn't good enough for their little clique. Ana was the only one who gave her the time of day, so it was harder to make the kill. Still, she made a decision. The entire fashion world had to pay for their indulgences. She hated it all.

Lindsey's mother Janet was once upon a time one of Claude's most beautiful and talented models. She had a heart of stone and treated Lindsey as if she were a pebble or glass in her shoe her whole life. Lindsey never understood why, maybe because she didn't share her fair haired, blue-eyed looks. Her mom constantly left her alone for days on end while she partied hard with her fashion friends and came home smelling foul. Many nights she would bring the party back with her, and when Lindsey was old enough, forced her to join in and have fun too.

Janet sometimes dragged Lindsey along on her escapades when she couldn't find babysitters who didn't want to stay overnight at the apartment. Claude didn't remember Lindsey from her childhood, but she remembered him, and how he made grand promises to her mother and seduced her, only to go traipsing after the next pretty model that came along. He was a rotten human being and Janet never told Lindsey that he was also her father.

Lindsey imagined how wonderful it was going to be when Claude's empire crumbled for good and he was implicated with Paulo for all the murders. Fred, the part-time botanist, made sure to leave the evidence hidden in Claude's office. The fool did everything for the love of that dumb ugly buffoon, Stella. It was too bad that Stella caught on to their scheme with Claude's body lotions. The dimwit couldn't make heads or tails of it, but it was too late, she had found the evidence. Lindsey had to get rid of her, but she didn't dare tell Fred. Once Fred did what he had to do with Mac's girl, Lindsey would be rid of him too, and then, she laughed wily out loud, he and Stella could be together for eternity.

She went back to the woman and dragged her across the floor near the door. She dug into her pockets and pulled out her wallet.

"Crystal Delancey…what do we have here? Are you and Mac like Mr. & Mrs. Smith? A husband and wife spy team?" Lindsey's expression froze when she saw her official ID. The woman was a bonafide CIA agent. "Damn! Damn! If you are, than that means Mac is too!" She seethed. This crime was getting more difficult by the moment, but she couldn't lose her senses. She stole her gun and then hurriedly wrapped Crystal in a blanket.

"Sorry I had to do this, Jodie! You've been kind, but you guys were getting way too close. I knew you were phonies. Too bad you didn't figure out I was one also."