27. Maddie
Chapter twenty-seven
Maddie
Nick and I stand in the crowd that lines either side of the street where the Chinese New Year parade is proceeding.
The rain has stopped for now, but the sky is still gray, and everything is wet.
The loud percussion beat announces the approaching drums. In front of us is a float with people dressed in traditional costumes, covered in rain ponchos or under umbrellas, waving to the crowds on either side.
A sign on the side of the float proclaims it’s the Chinese American Friendly Trading Association.
Small children are the closest to the street—right behind the metal police barricades—so that they can see all the action.
I spent the better part of this week interviewing the parade organizers for my article and what it means that it is the Year of the Snake.
They suggested that people will need to be more tenacious and resourceful but also intuitive and introspective.
And before I slipped into my costume (using the bathroom at Columbus Park), I obtained some great quotes from the people watching the parade.
I saw the paper’s photographer a few times, and he showed me some fantastic shots that captured the warm feeling of the parade.
The parade is almost over. But that’s not the only action we are here to see—although I do love this event. As expected, Pommer is here with his entire family. So glad my hunch paid off.
Ward’s Instagram post refers to the Chinatown library.
It couldn’t be more perfect. It’s as if he knew that I needed to be in Chinatown today covering the parade.
But another post has the 125th Street library as the location of another book club.
Tasha is covering there. No book is featured in either scene.
“Do you think Uncle Tony had way too much fun creating these disguises for us?” Nick asks. “This beard is so itchy. Not to mention these bushy eyebrows.”
“A beard is a good way to disguise your face.”
“I’m not sure I agree with his concept,” Nick says. “Did we really have to be an elderly retired couple from California visiting New York?”
“He does like to age people. It’s kind of his signature move. And honestly, with that beard and those eyebrows, it’s hard to recognize you,” I say. “I’m more worried that I’m somewhat recognizable if you know me. He hasn’t always been successful with his disguises.”
“I think I’d recognize you, but that’s because of your eyes. Put on the sunglasses. I’m completely on board with disguises—just not beards,” Nick says.
Nick is so worried about my safety. It’s weird having someone other than Iris so concerned about me. I haven’t told my mom about any of the threats, and she thankfully thinks reporting is merely talking to people. Then again, I’ve never done such a high-stakes story before.
The people walking in elaborate dragon costumes are amazing. It’s hard to take my eyes off the festivities. Traditional Chinese music plays.
A few raindrops hit my head. Not again. Nick puts his arm around me and pulls me closer as he opens up our tiny umbrella that barely covers both our heads, but at least it does. I snuggle into him. He looks down at me, and his eyes twinkle.
“We should have asked Tony if I could kiss you while wearing this beard,” he says. “Or has it completely put you off?”
I tighten my grip on his waist. “No. It’s still you underneath. But I can’t get distracted. You know I lose all sense of time while kissing you.”
“I did not know that.” Nick leans down and kisses my forehead. “Later.”
The rain ceases, and we put away the umbrella. And now the snake is weaving in and out down the street, the dancers holding its body and making it come alive.
Pommer leans to whisper something in his wife’s ear. That’s so endearing. Except that…he’s leaving.
“He’s on the move,” I say.
“He’s leaving his wife with four kids at a parade?” Nick asks. “She must be a superwoman.”
Between our disguises and the sheer multitude of people, it doesn’t seem like he’ll see us following him.
It’s slow going for all three of us as we duck in and out of people pressing to get closer to the parade.
Periodically, a popping sound splits the air as someone releases a popper, and confetti shoots out.
Vendors hawk confetti tubes, snake stuffies, and other goods.
Lion dancers are prancing down the street. One seems to take great delight in blocking me from following Nick. He thinks I’m dancing with him, when really, I’m trying to dart around him. And I’ve totally lost Pommer. Where is he?
There he is! Back in my line of view, Pommer turns the corner. Nick and I reunite and run after him.
I stop at the street corner where he turned and peer around the side. There’s a loud pop, and I almost jump. Confetti hits my head.
“He’s ducking into one of those illegal betting parlors!” I say.
“Do you think he has financial problems?” Nick asks. “That would give him a motive. Especially with four kids in New York City.”
“We have to catch him in the act. I can’t just assume,” I say.
“Let me go in,” Nick says. “You might have to take off your sunglasses inside.”
“Okay,” I say reluctantly. “But text me what’s going on. I’ll be in that bookstore next door. They have a backyard, and maybe I can see something from there.”
“You really know this city so well,” Nick says.
“At least this part, having grown up on the Lower East Side,” I say but can’t quite hide that I’m pleased I impressed him.
“I’ll keep you updated,” Nick says. He disappears into the illegal gambling den.
It’s poorly disguised as a baby store called Good Luck.
The window has a bassinet and diapers and other things you’d need if you had a baby, although not with that fine layer of dust. What gives it away is that almost everyone entering is elderly and male.
Unless it’s where the grandparents buy gifts, it’s a gambling den.
I enter the bookstore next door and wave hello to the woman behind the counter. “Is the garden open?”
“It is today,” she says. “But all the chairs are wet.”
I hastily buy a hot chocolate so I can use the café seating and hurry outside.
Nick: He’s meeting with Inspector Demoraux!
Nick: I took a photo for you.
Nick: Pommer and Demoraux going outside to the back garden.
The wooden fence between the two backyards is tall and doesn’t give any view of the adjoining garden.
Thankfully, nobody else is out here with the rain.
I creep along the fence and stop when I hear the two men talking.
I sit in the nearest chair. I can hear their conversation better than I expected, but I missed the beginning.
Pommer asks, “Is she investigating?”
Who is she ?
Demoraux says, “She is.”
Me to Nick: I can hear them clearly. You don’t have to get close.
Pommer speaks again. “How did she figure out that you were negotiating for slots for Ophelia in exchange for fixing tickets?”
Demoraux says, “I don’t know.”
He says it as if I must have magical powers.
Pommer asks, “Who does she think is behind it?
Demoraux says, “She doesn’t buy that it’s Galliano.”
“Too obvious?” asks Pommer.
Demoraux says, “I’m not a mind reader.”
Glad to see Demoraux is still his usual charming self.
Pommer then asks, “But are you sure you’ve destroyed any proof that you’re connected, right? Because—”
Pommer’s involved!
Demoraux cuts him off. “Yeah. I’m careful like that.”
Pommer speaks again. “I expect you’ll disappear now again.”
“I thought I had disappeared after quitting. I’ll go off grid this time,” Demoraux replies.
Nick: He just handed him a thin envelope.
Is that the final payment? I need that envelope. I need physical proof. How do I obtain that?
Me: We need to follow Demoraux and get that envelope.
Nick: Are you crazy? How do we do that?
I meet Nick outside the fake baby shop, keeping an eye on a disappearing Demoraux. We follow but stay back so he won’t pick up that we’re trailing him.
“You can distract him,” I say. “You can ask him directions as a tourist, and I can try to pickpocket him.”
“Do you know how to pickpocket someone, Maddie Hughes?” Nick asks.
“Bella was once writing a scene in a novel that required pickpocketing—don’t ask—and so she wanted a friend to pickpocket her to see how it felt.
You might not believe it, but there are videos that explain how to be a master pickpocket.
We both learned. She wanted to know if she would feel anything if she were the victim. ”
Nick shakes his head. “The skills you’ve acquired… Here I was thinking that you were leading a blameless life.”
Demoraux is halfway down the block. The parade is over, so the crowd is dispersing.
He’s picking up his pace, and a group of people, all wearing the same jackets, are suddenly between us.
We race after him, weaving between the people setting off poppers, but lose him when he suddenly disappears out of sight.
We walk up and down the block to survey the stores but don’t see him anywhere.
The street is filled with vendors and people dressed in raincoats and transparent ponchos of all the colors of the rainbow.
Tourists crowd the souvenir shops, while others line up outside a restaurant with a row of glowing red paper lanterns hanging from the awning.
The streets are littered with wet slips of colorful sheets of paper from the poppers, making a beautiful collage.
“Back to Plan A,” I say. “I need to cover the library.” The two of us turn and jog over to the library—which is closed for the New Year celebration.
It has to be the other library pictured in the posts then.
I take out the envelope I’ve pre-prepared, with a slip of paper with the typewritten title of a romance book inside.
Beatrice seems to be a romance reader. I show Nick, frustrated that I was so ready to exchange the envelope. He gives me a hug.
I call Tasha, who picks up immediately.