Chapter 12

The breakfast next morning arranged by the coordinators was ignored by both the band and the girls. The poker game had gone on into the wee hours with Kris and Patti winning the bulk of the rounds.

"I'll get the mystery of 'The Shirley' out of you yet, Miss Vassallo. I don't give up easily." David had vowed.

"The Shirley?" Kris had burst out laughing. "You're so worked up over it, it now has a title!"
"And it's Mrs. Vassallo, thank you very much."

After Madison left, Richie had unwittingly sat down on the end of one of the couches and had pretended to watch the game. "Looks like you could use some company." Nina had practically sat on his lap; tucking her feet up under her, she'd leaned into Richie.

Richie smiled weakly and tried to extricate himself while making small talk. She was cloying and though he was feeling a bit bewildered by Madison's behavior, this was not the kind of distraction he needed or wanted.

Seeing Jon raise his eyebrows at him, he stood, then excused himself and had gone back to his room.

The irritated scowl on Nina's face did not go unnoticed by Jon or Kris.

Lying in his bed, he wondered what went wrong. He wanted to call her but was afraid of driving her further away. The rest of the night was spent tossing and turning.


Madison fared no better. She thought about what Joanna had told her and it seemed to make sense. She knew practically nothing about this man. Nothing, except that he was warm, funny and caring. That he had managed to start breaking down that barrier she had built around her heart.

*****

"So, what do you want to do today?" It was already noon when Kris had managed to wake the girls up with her constant banging on their door.

"Definitely shop!" Joanna was eager to give her MasterCard some air time. "I want to go to Piccadilly for sure and we just have to go to Harrods. I know we probably can't afford much there, but I just want to get something, even if it's a small thing, you know?"

"I really would like to go to the Tate Museum. It's not that far from either of place." Madison also wanted to see some of the landmarks as she had never been to Europe before. Seeing Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey in photos was one thing, but she knew from personal experience that seeing them with your own eyes was adding another memory to your life.

Plus, she wanted to check out a few places that were mentioned in the book and the Abbey was one of them. So was The Temple Church on Fleet Street. Maybe someone there would know what the pendant was or at least give her some clues.

"You and your design and art. Don't you ever think about the cool outfits and accessories we could find here?"

"Joanie, those things are design and art. Well, at least part of it. Someone had to design them, right?" Madison laughed as she got ready.

"Love those earrings, Madison! Hey, if they sell stuff like that at the museum, I'm game."

"They just might have some cool ones, Kris. That's one reason I want to check out Tate."

The four of them had made their way down to the lobby when they ran into Nina and her satellite. They had just come from their lunch at the hotel's Lane Restaurant. "You're not lunching here?" Nina was exceptionally snotty today. "Well then, I'm sure you can find a McDonald's around somewhere."

"Like I said before....." Kris glared back as the sisters made their way to the elevators.

"We know," Joanna and Patti chimed in, "now we know why some mammals eat their young" they recited in unison. They all burst out laughing.

"Where are you girls headed off to?" It was David. He and Tico had just come off the elevators looking for some food.

"Well, you're up bright and early."

"Early? It's past lunchtime."

"Oh? And I thought rock stars slept in until dark."

"That would be vampires." A thought occurred to him just then - Come to think of it, I've hardly seen Rich before dark....

"I can see just how much you girls missed me."

"Yeah, it was so miserable without you. It was almost like having you here."

Tico couldn't help the snicker that escaped him. David scowled and rolled his eyes at Kris. They really liked Kris and her no holds barred personality. As they had nothing planned that day, they asked to join the girls. This was a deviation from their usual itineraries, but the management had made accommodations for the winners to have an extra day or two in each city to take in the sights.

"Are you going to bankroll our shopping spree?"

"No. But I'll be glad to give you some advice on your fashion choices."

"Thank you. You're both welcomed to join us." Madison wished it was Richie instead, but did not think she could handle that emotion right now.

"Maddie, you may want to rethink that. If you've ever seen his stage outfits, you'd have second thoughts."

David flipped her off and the group made their way out of the hotel.

*****

The expedition was going as well as it could be expected, in spite of the interruptions by fans for David's and Tico's autographs. They were able to visit both Harrods and Piccadilly Circus before deciding to stop for a rest and some cool drinks. "Where do want to go, Maddie?" Joanna looked at her watch. "I think we have time for one more stop before we head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner." Madison had to choose between getting closer to the answer and visiting the coveted museum of modern art.

"Westminster Abbey."

She knew this was a better choice than the Temple Church as it was a more common tourist attraction. She wasn't sure how viewing the knights in the church's round nave would go over with Joanna or Patti. They were eerie and reminded Madison of sarcophagi, even though she knew they were only effigies.

They walked the one mile to the west front of the Abbey. Marveling at the Gothic architecture, Madison searched through her purse for the pendant. It wasn't there. She forgot that she had given it to Jon to look over.

Great. My first stop in my search for clues and I forget the most important thing.

Resigning herself she started towards the entrance. She may as well just enjoy the experience.


He was standing there leaning against the wall. When he saw her he smiled and held out something dangling from a chain. Richie had brought her the pendant.

She stared at him with a puzzled look. "How did you know.....?"

Richie grinned at her, "I happen to have a guardian angel."

She looked back at her companions. Kris was bickering with David when she noticed Madison staring at her with a look of surprise on her face. Kris just smiled mischievously, winked at them and followed the others into the Abbey.