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Who Killed Tiffany Jones?

Page 20

by Mavis Kaye


  Lt. Jackson listened in near silence. Throughout her rapid-fire recital, an occasional “Yeah” or acknowledging grunt was all Kim heard from his end of the line. She ignored the lukewarm response and continued.

  “And I think you’re right, Maurice, Klaus is probably behind the whole thing. I don’t know how, but I’m sure he was using Tiffany, forcing her to help him smuggle gems into the country. She would never have been a part of this unless someone was making her do it. She was on her way back to the top—she wouldn’t have risked ruining her career. And Klaus is the connection between this Woods character, a mob wanna-be who was also with Kees in Europe. Woods worked for Klaus in Los Angeles; he was recruited because of his mob ties. He’s behind it, Maurice, the gem scheme and the murders.”

  “Kim, hold on a minute. There’s something I need to tell—”

  “No, listen! I’ve done some research, it makes perfect sense. The scheme probably started to unravel when Klaus discovered that Kees 16470_ch02.qxd 7/12/02 4:40 PM Page 189

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  was not only skimming from him but also dealing arms for conflict diamonds with the rebels in Sierra Leone. Mojo was also robbing him blind. And poor Tiffany must have told him she wanted out. They had been cool toward each other since she returned from the last European tour. All of them had to be killed. And if that’s true, then when Tiffany died the other artists, at least the key players who were apparently bringing gems in, also had to be eliminated. They knew too much, and they were afraid. Anyone involved in the old operation was a target, including mob guys like Woods and Frank Napolini. I wouldn’t be surprised if Riccardo wasn’t next. Klaus would have been forced to shift his alliances, find someone who was powerful enough to take them on. I think Klaus, Shabazz Pearson, and Mawuli, the African from Liberia, are behind it. Latrell and the Asian woman that Blair spotted in Europe were probably their paid henchmen.”

  “It’s a fascinating theory, Kim, and most likely some of it’s true,” Lt.

  Jackson said. “The only problem, and you wouldn’t let me tell you before, is that Klaus is dead. He was found by a groundskeeper in one of his posh secret getaways, a luxury cottage in Boca Raton, early this morning. His throat had been slit.”

  “What?”

  “Wait, there’s more. We discovered a note from the Plaza Hotel stuffed into the back of a pair of trousers that was folded in a suitcase.

  We think it was written on the night of Tiffany’s murder; that’s the last time Klaus stayed at the hotel. It’s a list of twelve people, including a congressman, and it appears that he may have contacted them all.

  There were some phone numbers scribbled on the page. We checked them out and all of them except Ruff Daddy and, possibly, someone called ‘Sally’ are dead. We have an APB out for Ruff Daddy. And we’ll find him soon, unless of course he’s telling the truth. If he’s really innocent, he’s a target—someone might get to him first. And I gotta admit, I don’t even know where to start looking for this ‘Sally.’ ”

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  W H O K I L L E D T I F FA N Y J O N E S ?

  “It could be just a code name—she might have been working for Klaus,” Kim said. “If everyone else on that list was involved in the operation, then we can assume that she was also.”

  “Yeah, but how? And is she still alive?”

  Kim was silent.

  “Klaus may have had something to do with the killings, or maybe not,” Lt. Jackson continued. “But there’s no doubt that right now someone else has stepped in. It could be someone like Ruff Daddy, I don’t know. The note suggests that you’re probably right about the initial scheme. Klaus probably set it up, and Tiffany may well have been trying to pull out. If she was killed, and I think she was, it seems to be the only motive for her death. Afterward, Klaus may have been trying to warn the others. I don’t think most of them realized how deadly serious the situation was. And, again, I agree with you. There are some heavyweights involved. You don’t snuff out a U.S. congressman or take on the mob, particularly someone like Frank Napolini, unless you’re crazy or have some serious backup. But we’re back to square one. The only advantage is that with the evidence we have now, the OCCB and the Feds will be more than willing to help.”

  Kim inhaled deeply and shook her head with resignation. She was still shaken by the news of Klaus’s death and the realization that, if anything, the puzzle had become even more complicated. “Look, Maurice, why don’t we meet at Henry’s. I’ll bring everything I have with me. You bring the list that Klaus left. I think that if we put our heads together, we can figure this out. I’m up to my neck in it now. I won’t feel safe until we discover who’s behind it.”

  “How about an hour from now?”

  “Fine! I’m on my way, just tell those officers outside my door to stay put, okay?”

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  HarperCollinsPublishers

  Who Killed Tiffany Jones? Contest Official Rules Contest not open to residents of Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Vermont.

  1. ENTRY Contest begins August 20, 2002. All entries must be received by March 1, 2003, and comply with these Official Rules to be eligible. To enter, please print or type your complete name, address, and zip code along with your answers on 81/2'' x 11''

  paper to the following four questions in the same order given below: 1)

  List three distinct methods used to smuggle diamonds into America.

  2)

  Who is Sally?

  3)

  Name the people behind the entire series of killings and explain the overall or primary motive for the murders.

  4)

  For each of the following thirteen victims—Tiffany Jones, Kees Van derVall, Brixton Hewitt, K. J. Hunter, Dave Hamlin, Renee Rothschild, Cheeno, Mariana Blair, Brian Woods, Frank Napolini, Ezekiel Kwabena, Josephine St. Claire, and Clarence Johnson—answer the following questions: A) Who was the killer or killers?

  B) How was the victim killed?

  C) Why was the victim killed? (This answer will in some instances repeat the answer to the second part of question #3.) Answers must be limited to five (5) 8 1/2'' x 11'' double-spaced pages; not being more than two pages for questions #1 through #3 and no more than three pages for question

  #4. Make sure your name and address are clearly printed at the top of each page of your entry. Affix proper postage and mail your entry to: Who Killed Tiffany Jones? Contest Entry, P.O. Box 4319, Manhasset, NY 11030-4319. Limit one (1) entry per person per household and one entry per envelope. Entries become the property of Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, and will not be returned or acknowledged.

  Copies of Who Killed Tiffany Jones? are available at no charge for reading at various public libraries.

  2. LIMITATIONS This contest is open to legal residents of the United States, excluding residents of Maryland, North Dakota, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont, twenty-one years of age or older. Employees and the immediate families of HarperCollinsPublishers Inc., their affiliates, parent companies, subsidiaries, Bill Adler Books, Marden-Kane, Inc., and the authors and their families, or any company involved in the development of this promotion are not eligible. Contest is void in the following five states and residents of these states are ineligible to participate: Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Vermont and wherever else prohibited by law. All entries 16470_ch02.qxd 7/12/02 4:40 PM Page 192

  must be the original work of the entrant only, created solely for the purpose of entering this contest. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. Releasees (as defined below) are not responsible for printing errors or entries that are incomplete, lost, late, illegible, damaged, misdirected, or with postage due and such entries will be disqualified.

  3. JUDGING The correct answers to the questions listed above in Paragraph 1 are based on clues found in the book, Who Killed Tiffany Jones? Only
entries with complete answers to all parts of all four questions will be eligible for the prize. Answers will be judged by a panel of qualified judges based on correctness (60%), creativity (20%), clarity of expression (15%), and neatness (5%). In case of a tie: successive additional judges will grade such tied entries by the criteria listed above until the tie is broken.

  No alterations or forgeries will be accepted. Potential winner will be determined on or about March 22, 2003, by the judges, under the supervision of Marden-Kane, Inc., an independent judging organization whose decisions are final and binding. Such potential winner will be notified by mail.

  PRIZE Grand Prize (1) $10,000. Taxes are the sole responsibility of the prizewinner.

  Potential winner will be notified by mail and will be required to complete and return a notarized affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within 14 days of issuance or such potential winner will be disqualified. If prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, if potential winner does not return his/her affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release in a timely manner, or if potential winner cannot accept prize for any reason, the prize will be forfeited. The first runner-up in the judging will then be declared as the alternate winner, subject to compliance with these Official Rules. Winner grants permission for Sponsor and its designees to publicize such winner’s name and/or photograph/likeness for advertising purposes without additional compensation except where prohibited by law. The prize is not transferable and no substitutions will be allowed. Winner agrees that HarperCollinsPublishers, Bill Adler Books, Marden-Kane, Inc., their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotions agencies, and all of their officers, directors, employees, shareholders, and agents (collectively,

  “Releasees”) shall not be liable for injury, claim, loss, or damage of any kind resulting from participation in this promotion or from the acceptance or use of the prize awarded.

  Odds of winning are dependent upon the nature and quality of the eligible entries received. No correspondence regarding entries will be entered into with non-winning entrants. Sponsor and its designees shall have the absolute, irrevocable right to use, assign, exploit, edit, modify, and publish the content of and elements embodied in any entry (and the entry itself) in perpetuity in any and all media (whether now existing or hereafter devised) and in any manner, for trade, advertising, promotional, or other use, or to dispose of any entry however they see fit, without further compensation or approval of entrants or any third parties.

  16470_ch02.qxd 7/12/02 4:40 PM Page 193

  5. WHO WON? and CORRECT ANSWERS For the name of the winner and for the correct answer to the questions listed above in Paragraph 1, available after April 1, 2003, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope no later than March 1, 2003, to Who Killed Tiffany Jones? Winner and Correct Answers, P.O. Box 4319, Manhasset, NY 11030-4319.

  6. OFFICAL RULES For a copy of the Official Rules, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope no later than March 1, 2003, to Who Killed Tiffany Jones? Contest Official Rules, P.O. Box 4319, Manhasset, NY 11030-4319. Requests must be received by Feb-ruary 1, 2003.

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  Administrator: Marden-Kane, Inc., 36 Maple Place, Manhasset, NY 11030

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  CREATORS

  Bill Adler, author of more than 100 books, is a literary agent who represents such clients as Dan Rather, Larry King, and Mike Wallace, among others.

  Mel Watkins, a former New York Times Book Review editor, is the author of African American Humor: The Best Black Comedy from Slav-ery to the Present, On the Real Side : A History of African American Comedy, and Dancing with Strangers, a memoir.

  Both Adler and Watkins live in New York City.

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  CREDITS

  Jacket design by Roberto de Vicq

  Designed by Sarah Maya Gubkin

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  This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other names, characters, and places, and all dialogue and incidents portrayed in this book are the product of the author’s imagination.

  WHO KILLED TIFFANY JONES? Copyright © 2002 by Bill Adler and Mel Watkins.All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound™.

  PerfectBound ™ and the PerfectBound™ logo are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

  Adobe Acrobat E-Book Reader edition v 1. August 2002 ISBN

  0-06-009807-4

  Print edition first published in 2002 by HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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