Page 24 of Circle of Death
“Is it a copycat?” asks Margo. “Somebody imitating an old Shadow enemy?”
I’ve got a pretty good memory for crimes, and I’d never forget something like this. I shake my head. “No. This is somebody new.”
We both look up as the front door opens. Maddy walks in with her backpack over her shoulder. She looks exhausted, and her hair is wilder than usual. Margo quickly slides the pictures back into the folder, but Maddy picks up on it. She stops at the bottom of the staircase.
“What’s that?” she asks.
“Nothing,” says Margo. “Just a local case we’re looking into.”
“Anothercase?” Maddy shakes her head. “Do you twoeverstop?”
“How are things going with Dache?” Margo asks.
“Pain in my ass,” Maddy replies. “But interesting.”
Interesting?I’ll take that as progress.
Maddy grabs the banister and propels herself upstairs. Margo slides the folder into a drawer. I follow Maddy and catch up with her in the hallway.
“Maddy. Hold on. I need to tell you something.”
“Can it wait?” she says, sniffing her shirt. “Ireallyneed a shower.”
“No, it can’t. This is important.” I take a step closer. “Listen. I want you to stay away from the World’s Fair, okay? Promise me.”
Maddy looks at me like I’m out of my mind. “Why the hell would I ever go to the World’s Fair?” she says. She turns and heads off down the hall, calling back over her shoulder, “Grandma’s right. The whole thing feels like a creep show.”
CHAPTER 26
LATE THAT NIGHT, Moe weaves the limo through Manhattan traffic. His grip on the wheel is tighter than usual.
“Don’t be nervous, Moe,” Maddy calls out from the backseat. “I’ll never tell.”
“Maybe you haven’t heard,” Moe replies, glancing in the rearview mirror. “The Shadow knows! Healwaysknows.”
Maddy is sitting next to Deva on the plush gray leather. And she understands why Moe is so anxious. It’s because she’s talked him into sneaking the limo out of the garage and being their chauffeur for a girls’ night out.
“Whereisthis place?” asks Deva. Moe turns onto the West Side Highway and heads north.
“It’s a secret,” says Maddy, trying not to show how excited she is. It’s rare that she finds a place that Deva hasn’t heard of.
“Are you going to get into trouble at home?” Deva asks.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” says Maddy.
She’s borrowed another one of Deva’s dancing dresses, this one even more sparkly. But tonight she’s wearing shoes of her own—a pair that actually fits.
After a few minutes’ drive, Moe pulls off the highway onto a circular road running around the tip of Fort Tryon Park and heads up a steep hill. At the top is a dramatically lit building that looks like a medieval monastery.
Moe pulls the limo to a slow stop in front of the entrance. Maddy leans forward. “Thanks, Moe. You can scoot now. Sneak back into the garage. We’ll find a way home.”
“Like hell you will,” says Moe. “I’m waiting right here.”
Deva and Maddy slip out of the backseat and join the stylish crowd on the front steps. Maddy flashes her invite at the door and pulls Deva through the arched entrance, where the experience hits them full force.
“Holy shit!” Deva shouts.
The interior is a dazzling maze of exotic galleries and richly decorated chapels. Gothic. Romanesque. Spanish. The lighting style changes from space to space—from a soft amber glow to pulsing laser beams in neon colors.
