When asked if this kind of personal service was unusual, he said no, he had flown to France, to Hawaii, to Miami, and other places on the whim of wealthy clients. He said that he did not receive compensation for this and had to work extra hours to make up for his absences when he returned.
Clio Alma stated that she had driven him and the gown to Riverdale in her Saturn and waited for him while he fitted the dress. Kim Simone further stated that he had had to wait an hour before he could dress Tovah, but when he was finished, he immediately left the synagogue via the downstairs staff door and rejoined his wife in their car that was parked around the corner.
April chewed on her bottom hp as the other two read and reread both sets of statements. She was in a hurry. She had to get to Tang's shop by ten. Always do everything yourself, she was chastising herself. Kim and his wife were the only players in the Wendy game whom she and Mike had not interviewed personally. And the only one Iriarte hadn't checked out for her. Not good. She'd feel better if she'd cleared them herself.
The task force was putdng together its case against Wendy, who was either the killer or the organizer. It wasn't clear yet which. But no one was making a move on her until every question was answered. Wendy would keep until the Kim piece was resolved. April clicked her tongue, causing Mike and the inspector to pause in their discussion.
April arched an eyebrow. "I have to talk to Tang Ling," she said. "And somebody has to go out to Queens and dnd Clio Alma, search their car and house. If Kim is at work, I'll bring him back with me and we all can have a go at him."
"I'm on it. I'll take the house and car," Mike said.
"Do you mind if I get someone from Midtown North to do a deep background on Kim and his wife?" April asked Bellaqua.
"We have enough computer whizzes right here, but if it makes you happy." Bellaqua lifted a shoulder.
"Yeah, it would make me happy." It wasn't good politics. But if there was anything to find, Hagedorn would find it.
"It's okay by me." Mike smiled.
"Mike, you're with me. We have DAs to do before you go anywhere," Bellaqua said.
"Fine." He rolled his eyes.
April nodded and grabbed her purse. She needed a car and driver. "Who can you give me? I need a car and a couple of bodies."
"Call in my people, will you? I'll let you know." Bellaqua took her second doughnut of the morning. In the stress of the situation she'd forgotten they were just for the company.
Fifty-two
A
pril's first thought when she went through the door to the famous Tang Ling shop was that she didn't want to alarm Ching in any way, but she didn't want her around today She'd made a mistake involving her at all. She definitely wanted Ching way gone before she took Kim in the car with her. Her unmarked Ford was out front. She'd told the two detectives to watch all the entrances before she went inside.
"Is Ching Ma Dong here yet?" she asked the blond receptionist sitting at a desk on the first floor.
"No, she hasn't come in yet. Are you Sergeant Woo?"
"Yes."
"Miss Ling is expecting you in her office. Fourth floor."
"Thanks." April took a mirrored elevator and was immediately admitted to Tang's office. April had been expecting a bigger-than-life woman and was surprised to find that Tang Ling herself was a small, angry dragon wearing a fog-colored Armani suit with a pink silk blouse.
Tang was five-one, maybe five-one-and-a-half on a good day, probably not a hundred pounds. Still, she swept out from behind a huge glass-topped desk covered with sketches and swatches of fabric like a model taking a runway. "April Woo. You're Ching's sister. She's not here yet," she said, appraising April's figure and outfit. The first very good, the second only so-so.
"We're sister-cousins," April said, nodding. "Our mothers are friends." She tried not to be too awed by Ching's college acquaintance who was suddenly now such a close friend. She hated that Ching had told this superstar she was in charge of the case. So embarrassing and untrue.
"From the same town?"
"Ah, same borough. We all live in Queens." April knew that Tang Ling meant the same town in China, but no one cared to remember anymore what that town had been. April also knew that Tang Ling lived in several places, including Paris, Park Avenue, and L.A. And she did not come from the same planet that April and Ching did no matter how nice Ching said she was. That was pretty clear.
Tang Ling wore a circle of pearls around her neck the size of walnuts. The pearls were rare colors strung together—warm gold, cool silver, ink black, the pearl gray of her suit, lipstick pink, and the snowiest white. April had never seen a golden pearl before. On Tang's finger was a dazzling square-cut diamond, huge, next to a plain gold wedding band. On her right wrist was a fun watch with a pink plastic strap and diamond-studded face. The show of wealth reminded April of Rabbi Levi's remark about exciting envy.
"I have spoken to your boss," Tang said loftily, giving April the distinct feeling she meant the police commissioner, not Lieutenant Iriarte.
April nodded politely.
"This is a terrible thing. I feel so keenly the loss of these girls. Both of them my clients. My lawyer is on the way."
Ah, did Tang know something? April felt a surge of excitement as Tang moved to a thronelike chair and sat, gesturing for April to sit on the bisque sofa opposite. April couldn't help noticing how the small woman moved in her suit, carrying her clothes, not wearing them. She crossed her legs, showing off shoes with no backs and long pointed toes made of exquisite gray-toned reptile skins. Slides so costly that even the copies had to be expensive, and these weren't copies. On a Monday morning Tang Ling was dressed to intimidate. Why?
"Did you see the newspapers all last week?" The woman's broad face flushed angry red, marring her perfect makeup, a lighter color than her own medium-dark skin.
"Photos of Tovah everywhere, all identifying my gown. And now Prudence! Same thing. Second bride murdered in a Tang Ling gown. I can't let this stand. I was on
Good Morning
today; did you see me?" she demanded.
"No, I'm sorry. I missed it. I understand you offered a reward," April said slowly.
"Yes, of course." Tang looked furious. "I couldn't just ignore it. This is a terrible thing for a special-occasion business. I had to do something to show my concern."
From the look on Tang's face April suspected a publicity angle. "Has anyone threatened you, either directly or indirectly, recently?"
Tang gave her a blank look. "I don't know what you mean."
"An employee, for example, a customer, a vendor? Can you think of anybody who has a reason to be angry at you, to want to hurt you by putting you in the spotlight like this?"
"What? You're not suggesting this has something to do with me?" Tang looked stunned.
"Two of your clients have been murdered," April murmured.
"But—"
"And possibly a third a few months ago. Did you know Andrea Straka?"
"Oh, no. Oh, my God. Oh, don't bring this to my door." Tang clapped a manicured hand to her forehead. "This is outrageous. Yes, she was a client. But that was a subway accident, wasn't it? She fell."
"We're taking another look at the case."
"Oh, my." Tang's eyes widened in horror. "But this has nothing to do with me. I just make wedding gowns. You can't possibly think that someone... that someone I know—could possibly have
.. .7"
"We're looking for patterns, similarities. The two murdered girls and Andrea—their families are so different. We're looking for common threads that bring them together. Your gowns are one link. Even the press has picked it up."