Espresso Shot

Knox simply stared at me. Apparently, I’d rendered him as speechless as he’d rendered Madame.

Score one for the Chihuahua.

“I asked you a question, Mr. Knox. Why did you send Ben Tower to the restaurant? A fortunate coincidence for a gossipmonger, wouldn’t you say? There’s your photographer, all ready to snap pictures moments after Brea

Knox chuckled hollowly. “Sorry, Mrs. Allegro-”

“It’s Ms. Cosi, which you already know.”

“Look, I don’t need to have Brea

Now I felt my lips pursing in a

“And what do you know, Mr. Knox, or think you know?”

Knox’s pale-blue eyes gleamed behind his little round glasses. “Let’s see, where to begin… how about last fall? When your daughter was briefly held for the murder of Tommy Keitel, you were the one who cleared that case, not New York ’s finest. Before that, you were mixed up with a most unfortunate international incident near the UN, at the Beekman Tower. Then there was that shooting at David Mintzer’s East Hampton beach house.” Knox shook his head in mock wonderment. “Yes, Ms. Cosi, it seems wherever you go, trouble follows. Or is it the other way round?”

I studied the small man’s smirking face, thought of something Matt had mentioned to me right before his bachelor party. “I know things, too, Mr. Knox. My ex-husband told me that your animosity toward his fiancée reaches back years. Is that true?”

Knox glanced away. “Brea

“That’s crap, and you know it. You have some kind of history with her. So what was it? Were the two of you lovers once upon a time?”

“Lovers? Me and Brea

“Then I’m betting Brea

Knox raised an eyebrow. “You’re guessing.”

I was, but I figured-given Monica Purcell’s sleazy office tactics-career sabotage had to be it. After all, Brea

“What else could it be?” I said. “That’s it, isn’t it? Brea

“She certainly gave it her best shot.”

Bingo! Got his motive. But I still need more. I need specifics…

“I never heard that particular story, Mr. Knox. Of course, Brea

Knox smiled-a little warmer this time. “You know, Ms. Cosi, you’re very good at this. What you do for free you could do for me at a handsome profit.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sure you have stories to tell.” He leaned toward me, lowered his voice. “You know, secrets. Things you’ve uncovered while you were hanging around with the likes of Chef Keitel, David Mintzer, and his society cronies. Even Ms. Summour. The Journal is willing to pay for the smut you dig up. We have a number of people, just like you, all over this town.”

I decided Knox was worse than Hitler’s propaganda minister, he was more like the head of the Gestapo, with secret agents ensconced all over the city. I had no intention of becoming one of Randall Knox’s goose-stepping stool pigeons, but pretending I might take the offer would certainly get me farther with him.

“What you’re proposing is… intriguing,” I finally replied.

“So you’ll consider it?”

“Yes, Mr. Knox, I will consider it-”

“Clare! How could you?!” Madame turned on me, looking appropriately outraged, but I could tell from the sparkle in her eye that she was in on it, too.

“Don’t worry, Madame,” I said, patting her arm. “I’d never, ever reveal a thing about you or our family.”

“Oh, well, I guess it will be all right then. There are a few people in my social circles I wouldn’t mind seeing taken down a peg or two.”

Knox laughed-genuinely this time. “Sounds like I’m getting two, two muck diggers for the price of one!”

I pretended to laugh and elbowed Madame to chuckle right along with him.

“But, first, Mr. Knox, I’d really like to know more about the woman marrying my child’s father. You understand? Why don’t you tell me about New York Trends. Brea

“Not only is it true, you may be surprised to know that I gave Brea

“Your magazine?”

“Aha! Something else you don’t know. Yes, New York Trends was mine. I started it. I built my own staff up from scratch. It took ten hard years.”

Knox slid his bottom drawer open and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. He splashed a shot into an empty paper coffee cup. Held the bottle up as an offering. Madame and I both shook it off.

“For a while Brea

Knox lifted the cup to his lips, paused. “The next thing I knew, Brea

“You must have been enraged.” Maybe even homicidal.

“I was pissed, all right, Ms. Cosi. And I was out of work. I wrote freelance for a long time, spent some time working in Florida, and then I landed this very glamorous position.” He smirked. “The digs are sleazy, I grant you, but the pay is sweet. And you know what’s even sweeter? I’ll bet you can guess.”

“Yes, Mr. Knox, I can guess: the chance to have a little revenge.”

“Just look at it from my point of view. Brea

“See, now you’re making me wonder…” I leaned forward. “Is that why you hired her look-alike to strip for you at your birthday party? To humiliate Brea

Knox shifted in his desk chair. “Honestly, Ms. Cosi. I don’t know if you’re serious about working for me, but you should be. It can be quite lucrative. As I said, I have feelers everywhere-”

“Monica Purcell was one of your feelers, wasn’t she? What do you know about her death?”

“Nothing.” Knox met my eyes. “It was a tragedy what happened. But I certainly can’t shed any light on that matter.”

“But you were paying her-to give you dirt on Brea

“My arrangement with the late Monica Purcell is a private matter. Just as our arrangement would be, should you decide to work for me.”

“Tell me about the stripper then, because she ended up dead, too.”

“Hazel Boggs wasn’t the only celebrity look-alike at my birthday party-although I have to admit she was certainly the most interesting. She was also willing to learn a thing or two from me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I gave her a few pointers for her act, that’s all, ways to improve her impression of the grand dame of New York fashion. After all, I’d known Brea

Randall Knox’s obsession with Brea

“So, how well did you get to know Ms. Boggs?”

“Very well. I treated her to a few shots of some very good scotch, and I discovered that the late exotic dancer and the fashionista actually shared more than a physical resemblance.”