Fifth Ave 02.5 - From Manhattan With Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

  It was chilly.   Her arms where wrapped around herself.   He reached out his hand for her as he approached.   “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said.
    “Trouble with the driver?”
    “You could say that.”
    “Is he still irritable?”
    “Depends on where he ended up.”
    There were half a dozen people smoking outside the restaurant, none of whom were paying attention to them.   Others in evening wear were walking past the doorman and through the door he held open for them.
    Carmen and Alex joined them and moved up the stairs to the receiving area.   A blonde woman in a black suit smiled as they approached.   They were in the Grille Room, which glowed deep red and was filled with people.   Most were either talking in small groups, enjoying the glasses of champagne being offered on silver trays by the wait staff, while others were at the bar, which was behind them and to the right.  
    “Mr. and Mrs. Mark Edwards,” Alex said.
    The woman looked down at her computer monitor and scrolled through the list of names.   “Do you have an invitation?” she asked.
    “We’re just in from L.A.   Mamie van Marais suggested we drop by because friends of ours will be here.   I believe she called ahead not long ago.   She practically demanded we come.”
    The woman nodded and by the way she kept glancing at Alex’s face, it was clear to Carmen that she was wondering if he was a celebrity using a different name for anonymity.   “That sounds like Mamie--and I should know because I took the call.   Please make yourselves comfortable.”
    Below them on the street, where Alex shot the taxi driver, came the muffled sound of a woman screaming.   All turned to look but they could see nothing because they were on the second floor and the windows were across the room.   The woman screamed again, louder this time, and started to call for help.
    Carmen ignored her.   They needed to get inside.   “Do you know where we might find Tootie and Addy?”
    The woman looked down the long corridor to her right, which opened into the Pool Room.   It was packed with members of society, all of whom seemed adrift in ether, their feet barely touching the floor.   “I’m afraid that’s the question of the day.   But you find them in there, for sure.   I know they’re not in here.”   When she turned back to them, a surprised look came over her face as three members of security hurried past them and took the stairs down to the street.
    Carmen and Alex checked them as they passed.   Two men, one woman.   The men wore tuxedoes in an effort to blend in with the crowd.   The woman wore a simple black dress.   For her, the giveaway were her shoes.   They were flats.   Tonight, at this affair, no legitimate guest would be caught dead in them.
    Alex put his arm around Carmen.   “Something’s obviously wrong.   We should go inside.”
    They walked past the woman into the corridor, which was lined with people paying little attention to the drama unfolding outside.   Why ruin the illusion by facing something real?
    Instinctively, Carmen and Alex moved to the right, away from the large bank of glass and brass doors that led to the front of the building.   They stepped into the Pool Room to look for Jean-Georges.   A few other guests were wearing sunglasses, likely celebrities, which wasn’t unexpected but nevertheless welcome.   It allowed them to blend in.  
    “Where do you want to start?” Alex asked.
    Before she could answer, an announcement was made that people should move to the Pool Room.  
    As discretely as they could, they moved to their left and allowed the masses to move from the Grill Room and the Front Bar into the Pool Room, which was spectacular.
    Because it was autumn, the room was decorated with four tall trees lit in varying shades of orange.   The effect was stunning, decadent and beautiful, particularly given the square pool that bubbled vibrant yellow in the center of the floor.  
    Just across