"No, it wasn't Tawny. It was Tabby. Tabitha."
"Tabitha?"
I lower my voice a bit, in case she can hear me. She's been in the bedroom with her friends for quite a while. I'm going to need her to come out so we can get to the bottom of this.
"Yeah. You couldn't remember her name, but said it was a T-something. She originally introduced herself as Tabby. And though she didn't mention it for a while, she was a singer. I took her to karaoke. She can actually sing. Quite well. She'll kill it at The Edison."
"So who is she then? What happened with Tawny?"
"No clue about the Tawny thing, and as to who she is, I'm going to find out. Call you back."
I stand up, determined to get to the bottom of this. As I approach the door, I hear raised voices.
"But I don't understand, Tabby. You were supposed to meet up with Dimitri. He's pissed that you stood him up. He was blowing up Sergei's phone all night. Sergei was so pissed at you. If we hadn't been on the red eye, we would have been blowing up your phone too. What were you thinking? How could you do this to us? I thought you were trying to be reliable. We told him you'd be there."
"I don't know what to tell you. I went to the restaurant like you told me. Henderson was there, and he said he was meeting someone. I heard the accent and figured it was him. I didn't see anyone else there alone."
Now that she mentions it, I didn't either. I wonder if this Tawny person, God rest her soul, even showed up last night. My money's on no.
I knock gently on the door. Two sets of accusing eyes swivel toward me. Tabitha looks like she's just completed an Ironman triathlon. "'Scuse me. I'd like to figure this out too. I just found out that you were not the person I was supposed to be meeting up with either."
"This doesn't concern you, you freeloading creep." The man stands up and steps toward me.
Is this really happening? Am I about to get in a fight over a case of mistaken identity? For Pete's sake, I didn't even sleep with her!
I take a breath and try to act like I'm calm. "Tabitha, can you please tell your guard dog to stand down?"
"Sergei, leave Henderson alone. He's nice."
"Nice, Tabby?" Now the other friend is on her feet, her brown eyes blazing with an intensity that's definitely scary. No doubt she could take me in a nanosecond. "How many times do you have to be swindled and taken advantage of? Hell, you have a kid because you're too trusting and gullible. He's just another one, trying to take advantage of your fame and fortune."
I knew she was fierce and ferocious—the heat in her eyes said so. This must be the Angie that Tabitha kept mentioning last night. My mind whirls as the pieces snap together. Holy crap. I spent the night in Angie Aliberti's apartment! My brush with Broadway royalty has not been the greatest.
"I swear, I was there to meet someone about business. Trust me, I was not hauling my ass from Long Island City to the West Village to try and take advantage of someone."
Angie looks at me for a beat before turning back to Tabitha. "The West Village? How did you end up in the West Village, Tabby? You were supposed to be in SoHo."
The silence in the room is so thick you could cut it.
Then, I start laughing. I can't help it. I know exactly what happened. I don't even know Tabitha well, but she was very upfront about her terrible sense of direction in New York City. "They're not that far apart. Easy mistake."
Tabitha looks at me, not following what's going on. "What mistake?"
"The restaurant—Jack's Wife Freda—has multiple locations. One in SoHo, which is apparently where you were supposed to be, and one in the West Village, which is where you ended up. It's where I was supposed to be meeting someone for an informal audition, but apparently she never showed."
Angie and Sergei look from Tabitha to me and then back to her. "How do you know this guy is legit? He could be feeding you a bunch of stories to take advantage of you. Audition my ass. You were probably trying to get her to your 'casting couch.'" Sergei sneers.
I need to put a stop to this before it gets nasty.
Nastier.
"Listen, mates, I'm not taking advantage of Tabitha. You can verify my story with Carson Reuben fromBackstage Magazine. He set up the meeting on behalf of my partner, Grayson Keene. We're with The Edison Theater in Hicklam, New York. Grayson couldn't make it, so I stepped in at the last minute. I was supposed to be meeting Tawny Shane, but, well …" I trail off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.
"Tawny Shane? Like from Fate's Daughter?" Tabitha cocks her head and looks at me, that puzzled expression back on her face. "I know her. God, what a small world. They tried to compete with us for so long, but they weren't that good. Tawny was the best of them, but she couldn't keep clean. Last I saw her she was high as a kite and a hot mess."
Tabitha knew Tawny Shane. Well, this is going to be swell news to break.
Chapter 9: Tabitha
