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“I can’t take this,” SondraBeth said. “Hey, driver, can you turn up the radio?”
“You turned into a goddamn nag,” Jonny continued. “And then, when I saw where you came from…you fucking Puritan bitch! Pretending to be broke, when you had that estate in Connecticut!”
He continued cursing her until three blocks later, when they reached the backstage loading dock of the billboard on Spring Street. As they emerged from the taxi, Pandy saw Freddie the Rat edging forward through the crowd. She and SondraBeth got out, and Freddie quickly came forward. The two men who were with him unceremoniously yanked Jonny from the backseat.
“We got it worked out,” Freddie the Rat said to SondraBeth as the men hustled Jonny away, the heels of his Italian loafers leaving skid tracks along the pavement.
Freddie turned to Pandy. “Nice to meet you, Hellenor,” he said with a wink. He hurried after his guys. “Hey, Jonny,” he called out. “You ready to take a little ride?”
And suddenly, Judy was there. “SondraBeth? Hellenor?” she asked. “We need you to get ready.”
* * *
They emerged on the roof of the building, where the Monica billboard rose straight up above under a murky, darkening sky.
Judy handed Pandy a paper cup of coffee. “You’ve unleashed a monster,” she said. She gestured toward the front of the building, at the crowd that was massed on the streets below.
“Look at all those people!” SondraBeth said.
And turning to look, Pandy discovered PP running across the rooftop toward them.
“Where the hell have you been?” he shouted at SondraBeth. And then, spotting Pandy next to her, he turned on her.
“And you, Hellenor Wallis,” he said, all puffed up like a plastic G.I. Joe doll. “I was wrong about you. You are just as bad as your sister.” PP looked from Pandy to SondraBeth as he took another deep breath. “And this time,” he said threateningly, “you’d both better make sure to tell everyone that Monica is alive…”
“Or else what?” SondraBeth demanded.
“I have a list of infractions from the police department,” PP bleated, shaking his device. “Jaywalking, fencing stolen items…I’m going to take these expenses out of your Monica money.”
SondraBeth gave him a nasty smile. “Oh, can it, PP. It’s not up to you. It’s up to Hellenor, remember?”
“Are you ready?” Judy said, tapping the mike.
* * *
And then they were on the elevator platform that would take them up to the stage. Pointing to a panel, Judy reminded everyone that they should press the green button to go up and the red button to go down.
Someone pressed the green button, and with a small lurch, they were suddenly moving up, up, up into the sky, satellites twinkling like stars across the landscape. SondraBeth stood on the edge, gripping the railing and staring fiercely out over the landscape. For one second, Pandy saw the girl she’d fallen in love with on the billboard all those years ago…
And suddenly, she knew.
The platform bounced slightly as it came to rest against the back of the small stage.
“You planned this,” Pandy said as they were hustled out of the elevator and onto the narrow backstage platform.
“Planned what?” SondraBeth blanched.
“This whole killing Monica thing. That’s why Freddie the Rat was at your townhouse. You still thought I was Hellenor back then. You were going to convince Hellenor to kill Monica.”
“What are you talking about?” SondraBeth gasped.
“You did all that staging—rolling in the mud, murmuring that Monica was dead, while thinking I was Hellenor…” Pandy shook her head. “Why didn’t you just say you didn’t want to play Monica anymore?”
“Because I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
“You know that’s not true,” Pandy hissed.
“So what?” SondraBeth said. “I didn’t have the courage to admit it. I don’t want to be Monica anymore.”
