Free MURDER ON A DESIGNER DIET by Shawn Reilly Simmons

don’t think he’s taking it very seriously,” Penelope said.
    â€œFine. We’ll find him ourselves. I’ll get in touch with Daddy. He’ll know what to do. He didn’t come home last night, not that I was expecting him to.”
    â€œI’ll try and track Max down from here, check for him at his apartment. Where is it again?”
    Arlena gave her an address in the West Village.
    â€œDid you guys go with Max to that club Christian was talking about? Hydra?” Penelope asked.
    â€œNo, we gave them a ride in the limo and dropped them off. I don’t know, one look at the line outside the door...it didn’t seem like our kind of crowd. I hate to sound old, but everyone looked like they were sixteen. Sam and I just came home and went to bed. He’s got a flight this afternoon.”
    â€œSo you took Christian, Max, and Hannah in the limo?”
    â€œYes, they were very happy and excited to be going out. I’m pretty sure they went right up to the door and went in, skipped the line.”
    â€œAnd you didn’t hear from Max at all after that?”
    â€œI turned my phone off before we went to bed,” Arlena said, regretfully. “But there weren’t any messages from him when I woke up. Just from you.”
    â€œHe called me around three in the morning,” Penelope said, “and the police discovered Christian’s body, because of us, around four. So we have to try and trace his steps around that time. If I don’t find him at his apartment, I can try Hannah’s place. Do you have her number?”
    â€œNo, I barely know the girl,” Arlena said. “But I know the whole cast from Max’s show lives together in his building. Maybe they just went home and you’ll find them there. Or at least someone who knows where they might be.”
    â€œGood idea,” Penelope said.
    â€œOkay, you and Joey see what you can find out on your end. I’ll find Daddy and keep trying Max’s phone. If I get him to answer, I’ll call you right away.”
    â€œSounds good,” Penelope said. “But it’s just me. Joey had to head back to Jersey for a work thing. He may have gotten into trouble last night when we went out to look for Max.”
    â€œOh no,” Arlena said. “Are you okay?”
    â€œI’ll feel much better when we find Max and make sure he’s all right.”
    Penelope ended the call with Arlena and swiped her screen until she found Joey’s number. After two rings her call abruptly flipped into his voicemail, letting her know he’d declined her call.

Chapter 13

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    Penelope trotted down the steps to the subway station, to-go coffee cup in hand. She heard the train entering the station just as she swiped her MetroCard and ran down to the platform, slipping between the doors of the northbound train right before they closed. The subway lurched forward and Penelope grabbed the grimy silver pole to keep herself from falling. The train was about half full, most of the riders staring at their phones or pretending to sleep as they gained speed and dove into the blackness of the tunnel.
    Ten minutes later the train pulled into the Christopher Street station and Penelope stepped quickly through the doors, pushed through the turnstile, and jogged up the concrete steps to the sidewalk. She glanced around for a few seconds to orient herself, then headed west towards Bleecker. The building Max lived in was leased by the production company that filmed Max’s reality show, and it was in Max’s contract that they would provide his housing as long as he remained on the show. The ratings were good and they’d just been picked up for another season, so Penelope figured Max would have a free apartment in the city for at least another year.
    Penelope tossed her empty coffee cup in the trash can on the corner of 11 th and Bleecker and looked up at the red brick building on the corner. The