Three Words
Previously: The Investigators chat with Carolina Parker and Sebastian Podesta.
11:52 AM - Sunday, November 2, 2014
Flood Mansion, Pacific Heights, San Francisco
Paco tried to ignore his rumbling stomach, knowing there were two more interviews to get through. He watched Carolina leave, marveling at how someone could get away with wearing such tiny shorts and such a large sweatshirt so that it looked like she wasn’t wearing pants at all. All at once he felt old and tired. And hungry. The piano music came through the open door as Jeannie escorted Carolina out, but then it abruptly stopped as Mary Jane Wong came into the room. She placed her small Chanel bag on the table and sat down, her slim frame drowned in her baggy jeans. She had tear streaks on her face and her eyes were reddish, but she was calm.
“You’re alone?” Jeannie asked.
“Yeah, I told the Dean I’d be fine. She had to get to her kid’s soccer game.”
Mark began his spiel asking for consent about the phone, made introductions, and started the recording. Mary Jane seemed sad, but serene too. Jeannie sat down, scooting her chair forward.
“Thank you for playing the piano, MJ,” she began. MJ shrugged in return, giving a half smile.
“I understand that you go to Holy Heart? Where are you planning to go next year?”
“Harvard or Yale.” She was matter-of-fact. “I’m not - I’m not trying to be full of myself, but in my family those are the only options.”
“What will you study?”
“Pre-Med. Also, not a choice. My father is a neurologist and my mother is an anesthesiologist.”
“Do you want to be a doctor?” Jeannie asked, returning her half smile.
“I want to be a psychiatrist.” MJ’s confidence rang through as she said it.
“That’s why the music therapy.” Jeannie concluded.
“Yes. And art therapy. I guess I’m okay with medicine as long as I can do it my way. And my parents never specified what type of doctor, although I’m sure they’d be thrilled if I was going cardio-thoracic or something Grey’s Anatomy-ish.”
“I think psychiatry is admirable. Society needs more brilliant psychiatrists.”
“Who said I’m brilliant?” Jeannie chuckled at this.
“Well, you play the piano brilliantly, if that’s any indication.” MJ blushed slightly.
“Thank you. I think I play like every Asian girl who’s been drilled in piano since the age of three. I’m precise and I can memorize things and I play that way. But, that will help me pass O-Chem, I suppose.”
“Fair enough.” Jeannie said, chuckling again. “But don’t sell yourself short.”
“Never.” Paco saw MJ’s chin tilt up at that.
“Okay, MJ,” Mark jumped in, “how well did you know Alexa Thomas?”
“Um…not very well, but I liked her. She was just chill, knew who she was, and she did her own thing, which is saying something with this crowd.”
“I’m gonna need you to elaborate on that.” Jeannie said, biting her lip, trying not to smile.
“Well, no one’s particularly original around here, so Alexa breezed in and she’s beautiful and smart and good at sports and is into fashion design — no one had seen that kind of triple threat, maybe ever. She wasn’t slutty and she wasn’t stuck up. She was nice, she got along with people, and she didn’t give a shit about the things people like Tally give a shit about. You know, family money, and who knows who - that kind of crap. She just didn’t care. Maybe it was a New York thing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I mean, I’ve known Tally my whole life — “ Paco noticed how MJ would move her head for emphasis, her sleek hair catching the light, “and she’s kind of, small-town.” MJ sighed. “I mean, it’s like she’s not aware that there’s this whole big world out there, and being a debutante in San Francisco is nice, but in the bigger scheme of things, it’s kind of —” She faded off with a shrug.
“How did you become so worldly?” Mark asked. It could have come off as a condescending question, but he sounded like he was impressed.
“I lived in Hong Kong from 6th through 10th grade. I mean, Tally runs this school and thinks she’s hot shit, but I used to go to peoples’ birthday parties on private jets. They’d fly us in to a private island in Thailand for the day. Crazy Rich Asians is a best-selling book because the satire is so close to home. We lived in a penthouse apartment in Central, and had a weekend cottage in Stanley, and I was the least affluent girl in the class. My classmates in Hong Kong went to Cartier or Van Cleef for a treat after school. The wealth in Asia, in Europe, it’s beyond. Tally has no idea what it really looks like to be wealthy, but thinks she’s a queen because her mother lets her shop at Gucci.”
“And you let her think it.” Jeannie added. MJ shrugged in return. “Isn’t Tally’s family wealthy? The Briggs clan has been here forever.”
“Well, sure, I guess. If they ever sold that house they could do a lot with it, but bigger picture in the bigger world? She has no idea what she’s going to see at Princeton.”
“Do you not get along with Tally?”
“I do. But more and more I’ve been finding I roll my eyes at the stuff she says. She’s kind of ridiculous. I’m looking forward to her having a rude awakening, but I won’t be the one to give it to her.” Paco saw Jeannie’s lips twitch, still trying to suppress a smile.
“Is there anyone Tally doesn’t get along with?” MJ sighed.
“I don’t really know. I know she can’t stand Jen Tyson, but calls her a “useful idiot” for some reason. She thinks the Xavier boys are goons. She’s sort of dismissive of everyone.”
“Was she dismissive of Alexa Thomas?” Mark asked. MJ considered this.
“I mean, they weren’t friends, really. I think Alexa tried to be friendly but after the whole Tahoe thing she kept her distance from Tally.”
“Do you know what happened in Tahoe? Were you there?”
“I was there - Zizi and I shared a room. It was a fun party, but we were hanging out with Carolina and Charlie - we were around the fire pit telling stories. I had no idea what was going on with everyone else. Zizi and I went to bed, and then the next thing I know, Carolina is in our room early in the morning saying they were leaving because of something that happened between Alexa and the Boys, and Jen was involved, but it was all kind of confusing. All I know is, we got up and packed and Zizi and I left - we caravanned home behind Charlie.”
“Who was still at the house when you left?” Mark asked.
“Um…well, Tripp, of course, Seb and Dash, Jen, maybe Vin Parisi? I don’t know. Maybe Tyler Shea too. If Vin Parisi was there, his sister Angela was probably still there too.”
“And did you ever hear what exactly had happened?”
“No. But there were rumors.” MJ’s elegant eyebrow raised as she smirked. “Something about Jen Tyson hooking up with Seb right in front of Alexa — I don’t know, it was…unsavory.” MJ looked down.
“Can you tell us more?”
“Um. I heard it was something to do with a wager? Tripp had bet Seb that Alexa wouldn’t sleep with him by July 4th, and since it hadn’t happened, Tripp felt bad and wanted to sort of, help Seb out? He liked the idea of Seb owing him a favor. I think that’s Tripp’s thing, like, why he always has alcohol and stuff? So we’ll all be grateful and keep hanging out with him. Tripp is very transactional.” MJ rolled her lips together. “ I mean, I never heard anything from Alexa about it all, you know, the Tahoe thing, but I did hear that there were some drugs involved. Other than that, I don’t know.”
“So, why would Alexa keep her distance from Tally afterward?”
“I don’t know, honestly. But whenever they were in a room together since they’d kind of ignore each other. But —” MJ shook her head and shrugged.
“And other than Friday night, had you seen Alexa since Tahoe?”
“Yeah, at a couple parties. We always chatted, but never really hung out one-on-one though.”
“Okay, can you take us through Friday night? What time did you arrive at Tripp Hartman’s party?” Jeannie asked. MJ proceeded to go back through the events of the evening, confirming that she and Zizi left after Zizi got sick on one of the Trick-or-Tito’s, and that Zizi’s father picked them up from the golf club. She also confirmed that the only alcohol she ingested was the orange punch at the party.
“I get the red face. If I came home all red and my Dad were still awake I’d have been grounded until Christmas.” Paco smiled to himself — it was the same for him when he was growing up.
“MJ - can I ask you? Would you play a little psychology game with us?” Jeannie asked tentatively. MJ offered another of her shrugs.
“Sure, why not. What did you have in mind?”
“Three words? I’ll give you a name and you give me three words to describe them?” MJ smiled a little and nodded.
“Sure, I’m game.”
“Okay, thanks. Let’s start with Seb Podesta.”
“Hmmm: Confident. Clueless. Lucky.” Paco watched Jeannie’s slow smile meet her eyes.
“Dashiell Reilly.” MJ almost twitched.
“Arrogant. Intelligent.” MJ paused and bit her lip, looking at the tabletop. “Um - carefree, I guess?”
“Zizi Zinn.”
“Sweet. Talented. Uncertain.”
“Carolina Parker.”
“Athletic. A true friend, to everyone. Sorry, I know that’s not just one word. Um - Observant.”
“Jennifer Tyson.” MJ scoffed lightly.
“Vacant. Lonely.” MJ paused, thinking. “Overlooked.” She added carefully.
“Alexa Thomas.” MJ sighed.
“Talented. Naive. Kind.”
“Tripp Hartman.”
“Devious. Intelligent. Angry.”
“Tally Briggs.”
“Snobbish. Arrogant. Princess.” MJ all but spat out the last word. A wave of piano music started from the hall, and Jeannie paused, confusion on her face. MJ paused too, a smile forming as she heard it.
“What’s that music?” Mark asked quietly.
“I think it’s Gluck.” MJ replied. “Orfeo and Euridice.” She sounded impressed.
“Yeah, but who’s playing it?” He countered.
“Oh - “ MJ smiled. “That’s Charlie.” She was matter-of-fact.
“Charlie Dagonet?” Jeannie asked.
“Yes. You didn’t know?”
“Didn’t know what?”
“That he’s kind of a musical prodigy? He can play anything.”
“We just heard he was a DJ.”
“He is. And a really good one. He was at Aiglon1 the last year and a half or so, and he got into DJ’ing a lot of the après ski scene around the Alps: Zermatt, Megève, Gstaad, Chamonix…he had quite a following. I think he’s going to be another Mark Ronson or Diplo or something — DJ / producer or something like that. I heard he even sat-in a few sets at the Montreux Jazz Festival last year.”
“He’s that good?”
“He’s that good. He’s humble too.”
“What are his three words then?” MJ scoffed a little with a smile.
“Misunderstood. Strong. Creative.”
“Those are good words.”
“He’s a good guy. And…listen to him.” The classical piece was expressive and haunting. MJ’s smile was pure admiration. “Remember - remember how I said the way I played was precise and memorized?” Jeannie nodded. “Well, Charlie’s the opposite. He has…he has soul.” She emphasized this last word. They listened as the classical piece flowed seamlessly into Coldplay’s “The Scientist”, with the melody being played instead of sung, more expressive than a sad Chris Martin. “Do - do you need anything else from me?” MJ asked softly after a few more long seconds.
“No MJ, you’re done for today. If we need to talk to you again, we’ll let you know. You can get your phone.” She came over to Paco’s table and Raj unplugged her phone and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She said. She was the only one who had said thank you. MJ left the room and left the door open, the piano music floating in with full volume. Jeannie stood, and looked at Paco, then Mark, tilting her head toward the door. They followed her quietly.
Steph and Owen were leaning against the far wall, frozen in place, listening. The Headmaster of Academy seated in front of them, perfectly still. MJ had stopped right outside the door, with Jeannie right behind her. Mark moved out to sit in one of the empty chairs, leaning on the back of the chair in front of him. Paco jostled in the doorway with Raj to catch a glimpse of Charlie Dagonet, oblivious to all of them, playing the piano. The whole marble hall echoed with his notes; it was almost as though the whole place had been built for someone to play the piano like this inside of it. Coldplay morphed into another soaring piece Paco didn’t recognize right away.
“What is this song?” He whispered to Raj, who had a blissful smile on his face.
“It’s Number One Party Anthem by Arctic Monkeys.” The music was just what MJ had said: pure soul. Sad, soaring, elegiac, but also joyful in its own way. The panoramic windows showed the Bay so brightly behind Charlie he was just a dark profile in a wash of pale blue sky and water, the music moving through him. Paco had never heard anyone play the piano like that, at least not in person. It was wonderful. Paco couldn’t look away. Charlie began to slow his tempo and quietly finished the song with a trill of light notes and deep chord in his left hand. He simply stared ahead into the instrument when he finished. There were long seconds when no one moved.
Finally, MJ crept forward quietly, moving behind Charlie on the piano bench. She wrapped her arms around him from the back, and bent her head down to his shoulder, embracing him. He reached up, gripping her wrist, leaning his head against her slightly. Still no one moved until MJ stood again, kissing Charlie’s cheek lightly. Charlie looked up at her ruefully and nodded at something unspoken between them. MJ finally moved away, gathering up her little handbag and pulling her large sunglasses over her eyes as she headed down the hall toward the door.
Paco realized he’d been holding his breath.
Aiglon College in Ollon, Switzerland. A boarding school in Switzerland, just south of Montreux, near Lake Geneva.
I want to see this as a limited series!!!!