Poppy nodded. “Of course, dear. I’ve dealt with that all my life. When I divorced my husband, everyone said I’d only get one hundred and fifty million, but I knew better. I had already seen my settlement in a vision, and when I said publicly that I’d be receiving two hundred and fifty million, people said such awful things about me.”
“And that must have been terribly difficult.” Park folded her hands in her lap. “But believe it or not, my sisters and I know exactly what that feels like. That’s why we know we can trust you.”
“Trust me?” Poppy set down her drink. “With what?”
“With a little confession,” Park replied. “We believe completely in psychic phenomena. In fact, we’ve had several otherworldly experiences ourselves.”
“Do you…do you mean that?” Poppy asked in a whisper. “You’re not just saying that to fool me, are you?”
Park smiled even though she felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. It wasn’t nice to take advantage of old people. It was even meaner when an old person exhibited early signs of dementia. She was sure Poppy van Lulu didn’t get psychic vibrations from anywhere but the new fillings in her teeth, but playing along seemed easier than having to explain another side of the story. “Of course we’re not trying to fool you,” she said. “Madison and Lex and I don’t like talking about it, but we know how gifted you are. And we know all about visions and energy and premonitions.”
Poppy gasped. “I knew there was something different about you girls. I’ve always known it. Since the day you were born. I can feel it now too. Right now. Your collective energy is…different. Stronger than most people’s.”
Lex walked to Madison’s side. She had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing.
“That’s very true,” Park said. “In fact, Lex has very strong psychic powers. She doesn’t like talking about them, but she’s simply amazing. She happens to be a fashion psychic, and she’s got it down to a science.”
Poppy whirled around, her mouth open. “Really?” she asked excitedly. “Tell me, Lex—what is it you can do? A fashion psychic? I promise I won’t spill the diamonds.”
Lex’s eyes went wide with shock and she swallowed hard. The spotlight had fallen on her unexpectedly, but she knew she had to play along. She didn’t want her uncertainty showing, so she nodded quickly and said, “Oh, yeah. Totally. I’m like…extremely psychic.”
“How?” Poppy asked, her excitement growing. “Oh, please tell me. I’m so glad to hear that you girls don’t think I’m a complete nut.”
“Yes,” Madison said with a smirk, “tell Poppy about your otherworldly adventures, dear.”
Lex cleared her throat nervously. She hated being put in this position. She was good at faking excuses for not doing her homework, but the nuns at St. Cecilia’s Prep were easy to handle. This was new territory. “Well,” she began, “it’s…I…It came to me suddenly when I was designing one day a couple of years ago. It all has to do with certain…” Her voice trailed off as she opened the magic purse and started rummaging through it. She spotted her trusty tape measure and held it up. “Measurements!” she said. “It all has to do with measurements. You see, when I’m measuring someone for an original piece, I get very intense psychic vibrations. The numbers tell me things I wouldn’t know otherwise.” She held the tape measure up and gave it a wiggle.
“Fascinating,” Poppy whispered. “Do you astral-travel?”
“I only travel by private jet,” Lex answered automatically. Only when she felt Madison jab her in the side did she realize her faux pas. “Oh! You mean…astral travel. Like, leaving my body while in meditation. Yes, sometimes I do. I’ve…I’ve uncovered some of the best sample sales an ocean away while astral traveling.”
Poppy was nodding as she absorbed that bit of information. She didn’t look as though she disbelieved the strange claims. In fact, she looked more relaxed than she had a few minutes ago. More trusting. Less defensive.
It was exactly what Park wanted to see. She inched her way to the edge of her seat. “Tell me, Mrs. van Lulu…was that how you knew Elijah Traymore was going to die today—through astral travel?”
Poppy turned around. “I…I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “But I don’t want to talk about that. It’s still much too shocking to me. I knew I should have just gone to the police when I had my premonition—but the police don’t bother with me anymore.”
Park knew from experience to stay quiet.
Nearly a minute later, Poppy walked to one of the windows and stared down at the treetops of Central Park. “I saw a body plunging through the air,” she said gravely, wringing her hands. “I knew death was in that room today. And I can’t talk about it. Not now. I’m sorry. I—”
“I understand,” Park cut in gently. Then she motioned with her thumb for Lex and Madison to join the mission.
Taking a deep breath, Lex pranced across the room to Poppy’s side. “Here,” she said, “let me show you what I can do. It’ll relax you.” She pulled one end of the tape measure out, striking an over-the-top pose as she did so: both arms outstretched, her right hip jutting out. “I’m already feeling your energy.”
Poppy gasped. She froze and quickly forgot her train of thought.
Playing along, Madison opened the magic purse and pulled from it a long white silk scarf. She wrapped it around Lex’s head three times, creating a fashionable little turban. “Is it me?” she asked dramatically. “Or did the room just get colder?”
“A temperature drop,” Poppy said. “The first sign of a spirit presence.”
Lex snapped out of the pose and circled Poppy twice. Then she flicked the tape measure like a whip, the sound reverberating through the living room.
“The spirits are churning,” Park commented from her place on the couch.
Lex pressed one end of the tape measure against Poppy’s forehead and then drew it down along the length of her body. “Seventy-three inches,” she whispered. “In fashion numerology, seventy-three is the number of power and knowledge. That means you know intuitively how to choose your battles and your outfits.”
Poppy nodded and closed her eyes.
“Tell me,” Park said, “when you had that vision of the body plunging through the air, did you know it was Elijah?”
“No,” Poppy answered right away. “I only saw a figure…a form. Nothing else.”
“What did you think of Elijah Traymore?”
“A nice young man,” Poppy said quietly, distractedly.
Lex flicked the tape measure again; this time, she wrapped it around Poppy’s waist. “Twenty-four,” she said. “The number of steps it takes to get to the middle of a standard runway at Bryant Park. You know the path you’re walking on right now is very dangerous. You also had a secret desire to be a model many years ago.”
“Oh, yes! I did!” Poppy smiled. “When I was younger, I used to practice walking as if I were in a show.”
Park stood up. She liked what she was seeing. Poppy was loosening up, letting her guard down. Now it was time to up the ante. “What else do you think about Elijah? His personality.”
“Smart, intuitive. He believed in ghosts,” Poppy murmured.
“He did?” Park kept her voice even. “How do you know that?”
Poppy’s lips twitched. “I…I’m feeling light-headed. I think I need to sit down.”
Madison quickly placed her hands on Poppy’s shoulders to keep her in place. She knew better than to let the act disintegrate. After all, how many chances would they get to psych out a crazy psychic?
“Did you know you have very circular shoulders?” Lex continued. “They measure sixteen inches across. Sixteen is the number of secrets. I can tell you have a few secrets floating around.”
“No,” Poppy said. “I…don’t….”
“Maybe Elijah told you he believed in ghosts?” Park offered. “It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that. Did you know he wore a pentacle around his neck? A five-pointed star held in a circle.”
“The symbol
of modern-day Wicca,” Madison added, prying for more information. “You must know all about that, Mrs. van Lulu.”
Poppy gulped. “I…no. He didn’t say anything to me.”
Impossible, Lex thought. She couldn’t imagine the self-important and dramatic Elijah not talking about his connections to the occult. She wrapped the tape measure around Poppy’s head. “A perfect twelve. That’s the number of truth. There’s something important you really want to say.”
“What did he tell you?” Park asked pointedly. “Why did he believe in ghosts?”
“He was…”
“He was what, Poppy?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she gasped as Lex yanked her arms high above her head, zipping the tape down along one side of her.
“Thirty-four,” Lex said. “That’s the number of fear, of worry. Dresses or gowns with this measurement always find their way to women who are afraid of getting caught wearing something from Macy’s.”
“I would never shop there,” Poppy replied in a strained whisper. “Just…just that one time back in 1991, when I was desperate…”
“There’s no excuse,” Madison said firmly.
“My head hurts,” Poppy murmured. “I think your energy is draining me of strength. I can’t—”
“Did Elijah drain you of energy?” Park asked quickly. “Did he ask you about ghosts?”
“He asked me to—” The words came out too quickly. Poppy bit down on her lip and, immediately recognizing the slip, opened her eyes.
Madison, Park, and Lex were staring at her.
“So you did know Elijah Traymore,” Park stated firmly. She had both hands on her waist, and her eyes narrowed. She felt a strange combination of anger and excitement surge through her. “What did he ask you to do?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Poppy snapped. She stumbled back, a hand on her forehead. “You see what you’ve done? My energy is completely thrown off now!”
“And my energy is telling me that you’re hiding something,” Lex said. She flicked the tape measure one more time for effect.
Poppy tossed her head back dramatically. “I don’t have to stand here and allow you three to intimidate me. I can very easily point you to the door!”
“And after you do that, we’ll very easily point the police and a few reporters to this very apartment,” Park said sweetly. She pulled the torn sheet of paper from her purse and held it up and out. “This was in Elijah Traymore’s wallet.”
Poppy studied the writing on the little sheet of paper. Her mouth twitched. Her hands went still. She might’ve been good at being eccentric, but she wasn’t nearly as good at masking fear. “So what,” she answered, a bit too quickly. “That could mean anything. He could’ve been writing someone’s name.” The look in her eyes belied the firmness of her voice.
“Maybe.” Park gave a little offhanded shrug. “But why don’t you take us to your appointment calendar and show us what it says in the six-forty-five time slot? I’m guessing it says you had an appointment with Elijah Traymore.”
The color drained from Poppy’s face. She remained silent.
Park knew she was completely in control of the situation, and she liked the feeling a lot. This was what cops felt in an interrogation room. Watching suspects break down under the weight of their lies was downright fun. “Basically, Mrs. van Lulu,” she said calmly, “you have two choices. You can speak to us, or you can speak to the cops.”
“Well?” Madison asked. “Which is it going to be?”
Wringing her hands again, Poppy stared down at the floor and started pacing. “I didn’t know Elijah Traymore well,” she said quietly. “He contacted me several weeks ago and said he wanted to meet me.”
“And did you meet Elijah?” Park asked quickly.
“No,” Poppy answered. “We only had at the most three phone conversations. We were going to meet for the first time tonight. He knew I was going to be at the luncheon today, but he told me he didn’t want to talk to me there. He wanted to keep our association quiet.”
“What did he want from you? What did you two talk about?”
Poppy stared at Park. “I can’t go into details about that, young lady. It’s a private matter. Elijah was very, very private.”
“And now he’s very, very dead,” Lex said. “We’re only trying to help here, Poppy.”
“By threatening me?”
“By trying to piece together a very ugly puzzle,” Park said.
“Well, you just may be wasting your time, because there’s nothing left to piece together.” Poppy stormed across the room and picked up her glass of pomegranate juice. She drank, then pointed to the flat-screen. “It’s all over the news. Everyone knows Coco McKaid pushed Elijah off that balcony. Everyone knows she’s guilty.”
“She is not!” Madison shot back. Tears sprang to her eyes unexpectedly, and she covered her face with her hands as she wept. She hated herself for falling apart like this. It wasn’t in her character to lose control quite so easily. Sure, she had shoved people up against walls and tackled guys during a chase, but that was different. Those people had annoyed her. Here, she was letting her guard down out of pure sadness, and she hated it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…It’s just that…”
Lex slipped her arm around Madison’s shoulders. “It’s a lot to handle. We don’t all have best friends who end up killing people.”
“Thanks a lot, Lex!”
“What I think she meant to say,” Park interjected, “is that seeing your best friend being accused of something so horrible is tough. Especially when you know she’s innocent.”
“I do know she’s innocent,” Madison said. “Something else went on in that penthouse. It wasn’t Coco’s fault.”
Park turned around and faced Poppy again. A little spike of anger had risen in her blood. There was the messy matter of Coco’s life to consider, but seeing Madison crumble like freeze-dried caviar threatened to send her over the edge. “Okay then,” she said firmly. “You don’t have to tell us why Elijah came to see you, but we will get to the bottom of this, and when we do, we’ll remember that you totally withheld information from us.”
“And that, by the way, is a dangerous thing to do.” Lex poked her head in between them and put on a mean face. “People who withhold info always end up needing us later on.”
“But I have nothing to do with this!” Poppy protested. “I don’t want to be attached to a murder!”
Lex sighed. “You already are attached to it…in a way. We know you were acquainted with Elijah, and a few hours before he’s scheduled to meet with you, he ends up dead. The way I see it, we’re being pretty nice here, Poppy. The cops would have already torn you to pieces.”
Poppy lowered herself onto the sofa. The nervous twitching of her mouth had dissipated. Now she looked downright defeated. “Elijah Traymore was a brilliant young man,” she said quietly. “I gathered that much from the first time I spoke to him. He was an artist, yes, but he was also involved heavily in the occult. He wore that pentacle around his neck because he practiced Wicca, just as you all suspected. He didn’t do it for show or for power. He practiced his faith honestly. He believed what I’ve always known—that there’s a lot more to this world we’re living in than just flesh and blood.”
Inwardly, Park sighed with relief. She recognized the weak tone of Poppy’s voice for what it was: the beginning of a confession.
“Did he say anything about Tallula being Wiccan?” Madison asked.
“No, dear. He never mentioned her to me.” Poppy cleared her throat. “Anyway, we warmed up to each other right away. We talked about parapsychology and the experiences he’d had. He was a big believer in channeling and séances. And that’s why he contacted me. He wanted me to channel a spirit for him.”
Park’s eyes went wide. “A spirit,” she said. “You mean, he wanted you to hold a séance.”
“Yes.”
“For what reason? Who’s this spirit?”
P
oppy shook her head slowly. “He didn’t tell me why he wanted to hold the séance. All he told me was that it was incredibly important. He told me the spirit he wanted me to contact was named Corky.”
“Corky?” Lex chuckled unconsciously. “Not exactly a spooky name.”
“The names don’t have to be spooky, dear,” Poppy said. “Elijah was going to come here tonight, and he and I were going to try and stir up the spirit of this person. I don’t even know if it was a man or a woman. Elijah wouldn’t tell me. He said he’d explain more when we met in person. But that’s not going to happen…obviously.”
A tense silence descended over the room. Madison sighed loudly, then walked over to the window and stared outside. “I just find all of this hard to believe,” she stated flatly, looking directly at Park and Lex. “I mean, for God’s sake, we’re talking about ghosts here.”
Poppy stood up, her eyes locked on Madison. “I know you think I’m some sort of nut. You don’t believe I have the abilities to see glimpses of the future and communicate with the dead. That’s fine. Sad, but fine. I don’t need your approval, young lady. But I’ve told you everything I know at this point.”
“Where did you go when you left the luncheon this afternoon?” Madison asked pointedly.
Poppy shook her head. “Right out the front doors of the hotel, thank you very much.”
“And then where to?” Lex asked.
“Home!” Poppy answered defensively. “I walked here!”
“That’s a really long walk,” Park observed, keeping her tone neutral. She knew it was important not to sound accusatory. At the same time, however, she needed to let Poppy know that there was something suspicious about her explanation.
Poppy caught the hint. “Yes, well…a woman of my years doesn’t keep a trim body without exercising,” she replied. She ran her hands down her sides. “Not an ounce of fat on me. Don’t you girls know that staying fit is important to a woman in her forties?”
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