Catwalk Cattiness

“Person, place, or thing?”

“Really, Max? You always lose this game.” She laughed. “I predict that the next call is all 3. A Person at a place tied to a thing!” The radio squawks, “10-10 at 49 Chambers Street. Missing model.”

Mina grins and reaches for the mic. “Three Forty Seven responding”

“Damn,” Max replies, “Fucking Fashion Week.” Putting out the siren and whipping the car around.

Pulling up to Hall des Lumieres, he double parks, they exit, all business now.

A slender man out front is wringing his hands, talking to a strikingly beautiful blonde wearing an outrageous outfit that resembles a banana. They rush up.

“Please hurry! This Way!” They say with a breathy girlish gush.

The detectives follow them, past milling crowds, past the catwalk, to the cacophony in the dressing rooms behind.

“She was right here,” The banana spins the chair around to reveal a black bottle shaped like a cat with a note taped to it. “She turned into a bottle of wine!” The banana shakes her head in disbelief.

The detectives pull on gloves, reaching for the bottle. The note reads “Look between the Wines and you will find sour grapes.”

“Clever.” Mina chuckles, “Someone likes puns.”

Slenderman says, “This show is sponsored by Gallo wines. Ebony Le Chatte is the spokesmodel for them. When she missed her cue for the finale we knew something was wrong.”

“Who was the last one to see her?” Max questioned. The banana timidly raises her hand.

“I walk the runway right before her. She was sitting there fixing her chapeau.” She points to the vanity. “The clapping from the crowd was so loud but I am sure I heard her walk up behind me.”

“What about this?” Raising the cat-shaped bottle with the label reading “Black Cat Riesling” Mina asks, “Is this a Gallo wine?”

“No.” Slenderman answers. “That’s a competing brand. They have been trying to steal Ebony from Gallo. To try to woo her, they have been sending her bottles of that wine for weeks!”

“Looks like they finally resorted to kidnapping.” Max shakes his head. “Dumb. Leads us right to them.”

“Yeah, maybe too obvious. Snatching her isn’t the best business move.” Mina turns to Banana and Slenderman.. “Is there anyone who has a grudge against Ebony?”

“Ebony wasn’t always the most pleasant person. A lot of the models envy her, try to emulate her or outright try to steal her jobs. She’s vicious to the pretenders, wanna be’s and such and is known for her cutting remarks. Someone could want her gone to take her place as the spokesmodel.” Slenderman answered.

Banana pipes up, “Blanca Chienne.”

“Who or what is a Blanca Chienne?”

“She is the lead, the second most influential model in the runway show and Ebony’s fiercest competitor.” Slenderman replies.

“Where is she now? We need to speak with her.” Mina demands, looking around the room. Slenderman gestures to an almost white haired Amazon past the first rack of Haute Couture.

Max waggles his eyebrows at Mina as he walks to the model.

“Miss Chienne?”

She nods her head regally and says with a slight accent, “Oui, I am Blanca. Have you located the Wicked Witch of the West?”

“Must be best friends with Ebony, eh? Do you know anything about her disappearance?” Max questioned.

“I know she is an attention seeking sneak who will steal jobs and stab you in the back. But I wish nothing but good fortune to her.” She quips. “I did encourage her to go with Black Cat winery. It fits her witchy personality.”

“Where were you when she disappeared?”

“In front of an appreciative crowd of hundreds at the end of the catwalk.”

Max looks over to Slenderman, and he nods, “She is the lead model and goes out first in the finale.”

“Is there any surveillance here?” Mina interjects.

Slenderman shakes his head. “Not in the dressing room, but at all the doors outside this room.”

“We need to see the doors from this room at the time of the disappearance. Can you get them for us?”

“Yes,” Pulling out his phone, Slenderman begins to type. “Here is the footage from the Finale and all the doors in and out of this room.” He hands the phone to Mina.

Mina watches the screen intently, pausing on Blanca, striding across the catwalk, her posture perfect. Zooming in, a figure appears at the dressing room door as the finale begins.

“Max, look at this,” she murmurs.

“That’s... Ebony, right?” Max asks, his voice low.

“Could be. Hard to tell, but it looks like her.”

Max nods, “So, she’s been hiding in the dressing room all this time? There is no footage of her leaving.”

“Maybe.” Mina looks over at Slenderman. “You said the doors outside are covered. Is there anything unusual in the footage?”

Slenderman shakes his head. “Not that I can see. The footage is clean.”

Mina hands the phone back to Slenderman and turns to the room, eyes scanning the area like she’s trying to read a map.

She crosses her arms. “Too many clues, too clean. Too obvious... maybe it’s all a distraction.”

“Distraction from what?” Max asks, intrigued.

“From the real motive,” Mina replies, eyes narrowing. “What if Ebony’s disappearance isn’t about her career or the rivalry? What if it’s about something else entirely?”

“Like what?” Max challenges.

Mina raises an eyebrow, thinking it over. “Could be personal. Something deeper.”

“She has been depressed.” Chimes Banana. “Her cat died this week.”

“Her cat? Her cat died, Black Cat Winery…There could be a connection.” Mina begins to pace, trying to put the pieces together.

Banana sadly looks around, “Ebony used to bring her cat here with her. He was one of those funny hairless ones. You know, with all the wrinkly skin. He looked so cute sitting by her, drinking that wine for the past week of rehearsals. Yesterday, after the last bottle of wine, he just fell asleep and died.” Tears began to leak from her eyes. “Ebony was distraught, yelling about bad wine.”

“Wine is fatal to cats. Didn’t she know that? Wait a minute…"

And to Mina and Max, just like that, the puzzle pieces fit.