From Manhattan with Revenge (The Fourth Book in the Fifth Avenue Series) (8 page)

“Madam...”

“Poor choice of words, I know.”

“She’s right through there.”

“Five minutes, Max. Not a moment longer.
You know how I can be after the Turtle Breathing.”

“Of course. Five minutes.”

“Off you go.”

Carmen heard him hurry away. She stood and
faced the entrance to the parlor. What came through it was a middle-aged woman,
likely near sixty but with some medical assistance, she appeared closer to
fifty. Babe McAdoo had dark red hair pulled back into a tight chignon, which
revealed a thin, oval face sharpened by years of extreme wealth and all the
pressures that came with it. She wore a pale yellow caftan that was so
delicate, it made her appear almost ethereal as she moved.

“Hellohoware?” she said, coming across the
room with her hand outstretched. “I’m Babe McAdoo. Call me Babe. Everyone does,
but only when I invite them to.”

“Carmen Gragera,” Carmen said. “It’s a
pleasure.”

“Not under these circumstances, I’m
afraid. I understand you’ve been dealt a blow. And that you had a difficult
night. And that someone is trying to kill you. And that you need my help.
Gelling didn’t send you here for just any reason.”

“He didn’t, though I was under the
impression that my conversation with him was private.”

“As much as it could be, it was. I don’t
know any of the particulars, just the generalities. Gelling had to give me
something in order for me to agree to see you. I don’t see just anyone. He
knows that.”

Babe McAdoo turned and motioned toward the
red chairs. “So, sit,” she said. “Right there. That red chair. Let’s sit and
talk. Let’s see what needs to be done and how we can rearrange the chessboard
so it’s in your favor, not theirs. I
live
for that!”

* * *

After Max returned with the cheese
sprinkled with Babe McAdoo’s private blend of their lime chile pepper
seasoning, the crackers, and two flutes of bubbling champagne, Babe waved him
away and lifted her glass to Carmen. “Here’s to getting to know one another.”

Carmen lifted her glass, touched it
against Babe’s, and took the smallest of sips. She rarely drank, but she didn’t
want to offend this woman, who might be able to help her. Still, to get there,
they obviously were going to talk, which made her tense. She already went down
memory lane with Gelling. She didn’t want to do so again with another stranger.

But she would if that’s what it took to
get Katzev.

Babe McAdoo surprised her. She leaned back
in her red Victorian chair and folded her right leg elegantly over her left.
“You’re all the same,” she said.

“Excuse me?”

“None of you want to talk. That’s not a
criticism—just an observation. Your privacy means a lot to you. I know it
does, for a wealth of reasons, and I get it because my privacy also means a
great deal to me because of who I am. I will tell you this, though. I’m no
Gelling.” She rolled her eyes and took another sip of her champagne. “The psychiatrist
in him has a thirst that won’t be quenched until his withered heart finally
shuts down and his spirit slips through his lips and hopefully through a parted
window. Only then, when his energy goes out into the universe and finds more
answers to more questions than he ever thought possible, will he truly be
happy.” She paused. “I think.”

She put the glass down on the table
between them, put some cheese on a cracker and popped it in her mouth. She
closed her eyes and savored it. “When I said that we should get to know each
other, I was just being polite. You don’t have to share your secrets with me,
Carmen. However, I would advise that you tell me those things you think will
help us find the person or persons responsible for killing your friend, Alex, and
nearly you. Otherwise, what’s the point? You’d just be wasting my time, which I
can’t have. So, yes, you might have to spill a few secrets along the way.
You’ll feel uncomfortable doing so—I get it—but hopefully it will
lead to a successful conclusion. Make sense?”

“I can agree to that.”

“Terrific. Have a cracker and some cheese.
You look famished. Malnourished. Don’t be shy. And if you don’t drink, then
let’s not pretend that you do. What would you like?”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“You won’t be after my McAdoo lime chile
pepper hits your mouth.” She called out for Max. “A glass of water, Max. Lemon
to freshen it. Make it tall.
Tout suite!
” She returned her attention to
Carmen, who was reaching for a cracker and adding a hunk of cheese because,
truth be told, she was indeed famished.

“What happened last night?” Babe asked.

Already, Max was coming toward them with a
glass of water on a silver tray. A slice of lemon was hooked right on the rim.
She took the glass, thanked him for it, ate the cracker and cheese—and immediately
went for the water.

“You see,” Babe said. “I knew you’d need
the water. It’s my own blend. We tried to sell it on the shelves, but no one
bought it, not that I care. The masses want it bland whereas I like it hot.”

Carmen’s tongue felt scorched.
“Apparently.”

“Aren’t you Spanish?”

She nodded.

“And that’s too spicy for you?”

“It’s nuclear.”

“It was meant to be. So,” she said. “Shall
we get down to it? What happened last night?”

Carmen took another drink of water,
started at the beginning, and told her in detail.

“So, you killed a man?”

She nodded.

“But you spared another?”

She nodded.

“I have to say, it’s ingenious how you
threw the other men off. A triple stabbing? Reporting it yourself to the
police? Walking away from the men because you knew they couldn’t touch you with
the police present? This is the stuff for which I live.”

“You said that earlier. May I ask why?”

“Because I’m a McAdoo.”

“What does that have to do with it?”

Babe sipped her champagne. “I was born
into a terminally dull life. When I was young, everything was scripted for me.
The family and societal expectations were crushing. My sisters and brothers
embraced every bit of it because with it came power and status, which don’t
interest me. When they were alive, my mother and father reveled in their
positions for the same reasons. But not me. I think around the time I was in
college, I realized I needed something more, but I didn’t know what it was
beyond the fact that I needed adventure in my life. Some sort of intrigue that
wasn’t unlike the mysteries I read. Years later, I found that in a new beau. I
learned he was an assassin. Still is, actually. We had a lovely affair. He is
far younger than I—I believe he was just starting out at the time—but
it didn’t matter. As brief as it was, we had a wonderful time together. I was
fascinated by what he did for a living. He was fearless and talented. Gifted
and bright. We got along famously. Still do. He introduced me to a lot of the
people who likely will help us now. Parts of me still live vicariously through
him.”

Carmen had to ask. “Are you talking about
Spocatti?”

“What if I were?” She shrugged
dismissively. “Let’s get down to it, Carmen. Who do you think is behind all
this?”

She told Babe about the syndicate. She
told her about what Laurent tried to do to her and Alex, how she and Alex
murdered him at the Four Seasons in front of a crowd gathered to celebrate
Leana Redman’s gift to a suicide prevention organization, and how Alex was
murdered at her house in Bora Bora just three weeks later.

“I’ve never liked those Redmans,” Babe
said. “Well, at least the majority of them. The way George Redman bulldozed
this city to make so much of it his own is disgusting given some of the
beautiful old buildings we lost. I do like his daughter, Leana, though. I met
her once at a benefit on Anastassios Fondaras’s yacht. She has a spark, that
girl. And she’s rebellious, which I like. I always thought her father cut her a
raw deal, but that’s the sort of man he is. He always favored Celina, when I
would have taken Leana. You watch. Leana is hungry. She’s poised to go places,
regardless of who she has to take down to get there.”

She saw the patient look on Carmen’s face
and finished her champagne. “But I digress. This syndicate you talk
about—of course, I’ve heard of it. Over the years, I’ve met Laurent a few
times, though he only warmed to me when he learned I was a McAdoo, which he
adored, as so many do for reasons that make my skin crawl. He seemed like a
real son of a bitch to me. There was something about him that put me on edge.
Then, of course, I found out he was part of this syndicate and my uneasiness
about him made sense.” She looked at Carmen. “You do know what the syndicate is
about, don’t you?”

“They’ve always been secretive with me,
but it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. The men and women I was hired to
take out were leaders of industry. CEOs. Presidents of corporations. That sort
of thing. After a successful hit, I’d wait a few days and then google who
replaced the person I killed. Sometimes, I’d learn that the company was put
into play because of the sudden lack of leadership. When I learned who
benefitted from the hit, I had a better scope of what I was dealing with. The
syndicate doesn’t comprise only a few people. It comprises many, mostly
powerful men and women so ambitious, they’ll kill to elevate their positions to
the top spot within the company or to take over a company when it’s at its most
vulnerable.”

“Was Laurent the only person you worked
with?”

“No. I also worked with a man named
Katzev. I believe he’s responsible for having Alex and me followed to the
island. I don’t know that for certain, but I think he wanted to avenge
Laurent’s death. He got Alex, but not me, which is what last night was all
about. Do you know him?”

“I met him years ago.”

Carmen couldn’t help her surprise. Even
she
hadn’t met Katzev. “You did?”

“I did. A long time ago. He’s got the
accent down, but he’s not Russian.”

“I hear he’s Scottish.”

“That’s right, but it’s difficult to tell,
isn’t it? In some ways, I think he’s worse than Laurent. Nastier, if that’s
possible.”

“How did you know him?”

“Through Laurent. It was only in passing,
but I wouldn’t want to meet him again. Gave me the creeps. Probably beats
women. How certain are you that he’s responsible for what happened to Alex?”

“I never could be certain. But my gut says
that he is, and my gut has yet to fail me. I rely on it. Beyond that, the facts
add up. We killed Laurent. Three weeks later, we were tracked down, Alex was
dead, and they almost got me. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“All of this would seem to point to the
syndicate,” Babe said. “But what of your other work? You have enemies out
there. Have you considered them?”

“Spocatti asked me the same question. I’ll
be frank with you, Ms. McAdoo—”

“Babe.”

“Babe. In any assassin’s life, there
always will be someone seeking you out. Payback is the nature of the game.
Could it be someone else? Sure. But I don’t think it is.”

Babe leaned forward in her chair. She put
the palms of her hands together and pointed her fingers at Carmen. “I don’t
either,” she said. “In fact, I know that Katzev is behind this. Would you like
to know how I know?”

Carmen was intrigued by the sudden turn of
events. McAdoo knew? “Of course, I would.”

“I thought so.” Babe turned in her chair.
“Max!” she called out. “Bring him in.”

CHAP
TER NINE

Carmen had been deceived before and
wondered if she was being deceived now. Was she calling for Katzev? Did Babe
McAdoo join the syndicate so she could have the little side adventures she felt
she needed to live a full life? Did she call ahead for him to come, knowing
that soon Carmen would be here?

Her mind raced. Spocatti trusted Gelling,
which meant he trusted the man’s contacts. But at any point, Babe could have
deflected, as many did. Had she? She looked at her. The woman was looking over
her shoulder, toward the entrance to the room, and seemed at ease. There was a
hint of a smile on her lips.

A self-satisfied smile?

Carmen listened to the house and heard
footsteps coming from the far end of a hallway she couldn’t see. She was seated
in the center of the room. The doorway into it was at her far left.
Instinctively, she went for her Glock and immediately regretted giving it up
when she entered the house.
 

Babe looked at her. “Don’t be frightened,”
she said. “We’re here to help you, Carmen.”

“Who is
we
?”

“You’ll see.”

When she saw, she was speechless. Then
instinct took over, she stood and looked around the room for something to
protect herself with while Babe also stood and put her hand on Carmen’s arm,
which Carmen shook off.