Alibi in High Heels by Gemma Halliday Page B

don't think so."
    "Please?"
    "You might kill me."
    If I hadn't been holding a pair of crutches, I would have thrown my hands up in exasperation. As it was, I just said a silent curse on the head of all misinformed reporters.
    "Look, I didn't kill her. If I had, do you think the police would have let me go?" Never mind that it had been touch and go there for a few minutes.
    Angelica chewed her plump bottom lip while she thought about this.
    "Listen, I just wanted to ask you a few questions about Gisella. Jean Luc said you knew her?"
    Angelica sunk her teeth into her lip for another beat before shutting the door and lifting the security latch. She pulled it back open wide, allowing me entry.
    "Okay."
    "Thank you."
    "But keep your hands where I can see them."
    I tried not to roll my eyes as I stepped into the room. It was a carbon copy of my dollhouse, only her ruffles were a pale sky blue and the place looked like housekeeping hadn't been there in weeks. Clothes covered every available surface, empty mini bar bottles spilling out of the trash can, and a hip-hop punctuated with a lot of "yo bitches" played from an iDock on the dresser. Out of habit, I crossed to the windows, futilely looking for a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower as Angelica turned the music down.
    "So," she asked, plopping down cross-legged on the bed, "what do you want to know?"
    "Jean Luc told me that you and Gisella were close?"
    Angelica smirked. "Well, we weren't BFF's or anything," she responded, the Americanism seemed oddly comic coming through her thick accent.
    "You'd had some issues with her lately?"
    "Bitch stole my Sam away."
    Unlike Jean Luc it was clear Angelica had no problem speaking candidly about the dead woman.
    "Sam?"
    "Someone I was dating."
    I perched on the edge of the desk. "What happened?"
    Angelica shrugged. "It wasn't like I was even that into Sam. Totally cute, but short term, you know? Anyway, the first time Gisella sees me at a club with Sam, she starts flirting all over the place. The next thing I know, Sam's telling me we should see other people and then they show up together at the Posner opening."
    "When was this?" I asked, gauging her reaction. I had to admit, didn't exactly seem heartbroken over the guy, casually picking at her nail polish as she spoke.
    "A couple months ago."
    "And was she still seeing Sam?"
    Angelica laughed. "Hardly. She dumped Sam after a few weeks. Like I said, it was all about stealing what I had. Gisella was like that. She didn't want anyone to have something that she couldn't have. She was always jealous of me."
    I raised one eyebrow. "Really?" Jean Luc had indicated that their relationship was the other way around.
    Angelica nodded, her red curls bobbing up and down. "Sure. When I landed the cover of Elle , she was livid. She was on the phone to her agent fifteen times a day trying to get her own cover. And then when I was booked for Jean Luc's show, she had to be booked too."
    "But I thought she was Jean Luc's lead model?"
    Angelica's eyes narrowed. " Was . I'm the lead now." Her lips curved into a little smile that I wasn't sure reached her eyes. With friends like this, Gisella didn't need any enemies.
    "So," I said slowly, watching her reaction, "she gets the lead in the show and she steals Sam? Some friend, huh?"
    Angelica shrugged her bony shoulders, curling one leg under her frame. "Like I said, I'm the lead now, so it all worked out."
    Yeah, except for poor Gisella.
    "If Sam was history, do you know if Gisella was seeing anyone new?"
    Again with the shrug. "I couldn't say. Though, she was with a guy at the Hotel de Crillon party a couple nights ago."
    I perked up. The one where she'd worn the necklace. "You were at the party, too?"
    Angelica nodded. "Everyone was there."
    "Did you know the guy Gisella was with?"
    "No. But he was cute. Average height I guess. Sorta dirty blond hair."
    "Did you catch his name?"
    She shook her head. "Sorry. Gisella didn't introduce me."
    "Did you notice the necklace