Fantasy in Death - J. D. Robb [90]
“Yeah,” Eve said, “me, too.”
“He wouldn’t want you upsetting Cill,” Benny cut in. “He wouldn’t want you making us feel like suspects.”
“I’m not responsible for how you feel,” Eve said, deliberately harsh. “I’m responsible for the investigation. It’s within your rights to be present during the search, and to have a legal representative present.”
“I want Felicity,” Cill insisted.
“I’ll take care of it. I will,” Benny told her. “Don’t worry. We can’t all go, all be there.” He glanced over to Var. “We can’t all leave, especially today. You can go, Cill, if you’d feel better.”
“I can’t. I still have things to do for the memorial. I haven’t put it all together yet.”
“I can take care of that.”
“No.” She tipped her head to Benny’s chest briefly. “I need to stay and finish it.”
“You go, Benny.” Var turned back, sighed. “One of us should. Cill and I can handle things here. It’s just what they do, the police, I guess. Just what they have to do.”
“So, what, it’s not personal?” Cill snapped, then immediately closed her eyes. “Sorry. I’m sorry, Var.”
“It’s okay.” Weariness more than anger reflected on his pleasant face. “We’re all upset. Let’s just get it over with. Benny, maybe you could check at each of our places.”
“I can do that. I can do that, sure. I’ll go to your place first,” he told Cill. “I’ll be there when they start. Don’t worry about it.”
“My place is a mess.”
He smiled at her. “What else is new?”
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” She reached out, took Var’s hand so they were once again united.
“It’s just what they have to do,” Var said. “But I’ll get in touch with Felicity. You’re right, Cill, she should know.”
“Okay, that’s the plan.” Cill lifted her chin. “If that’s all, Lieutenant, we’d like you to go. We don’t want you here.”
“Your attorney can contact me directly if she wants to see a copy of the warrants.” She started out, giving a quick shake of her head in case Peabody spoke before they were clear of the building.
“Impressions?” Eve asked when they were in the vehicle.
“Well, Cill’s got a temper. A lot of heat there.”
“Passionate, territorial.”
“Yeah. Benny’s protective. He was pissed, too, but he pulled it back, tried to smooth it over with Cill.”
“He’s stuck on her.”
“Oh yeah, he is.” Peabody nodded. “Which makes him—since there’s no sign there’s anything going on there—controlled, maybe repressed. Var seemed rocked back on his heels initially, but he recovered. Pretty seriously pissed, too. He had to take a minute to pull himself together. Insulted. They all were. A lot of people react that way to search warrants. Each of them took a role. Nobody stepped forward and said okay, you do this, you do that, I’ll take care of the other thing. Nobody’s established a clear leadership role yet.”
“It’s subtle, but it’s there.” Eve shrugged. “Then again, maybe I’m looking for it, projecting it.”
“Something else. Insulted and pissed, yeah, but none of them seemed especially worried about what we might find.”
“Tracks covered. Detail-oriented. But people never cover their tracks as well as they think. We’re not going to walk in and find the murder weapon in the closet, or an e-diary of the plot. But I think it’s going to be interesting, whatever we do find. We’ll start at Cill’s.”
She pulled up at the nondescript three-story building. “You know, the all live within easy walking distance of work and each other. Bart, he goes for a little jazz. Doorman, penthouse, multi-level. Not so fancy inside, but the foundation is. Cill goes for the loft. A little more bohemian. Not as many people living inside the building.”
“Good building security though,” Peabody pointed out.
“Yeah. I bet she had a hand in that. Who’s on this one?”
“I put Jenkinson and Reineke—they’re pretty clear after closing a case this morning. I’ve got McNab with them. I’ll check on their ETA.”
“Do that,” Eve said as her own ’link signaled. She lifted her brows as she scanned the readout. “That was quick,” she commented. “It’s the lawyer. Dallas,” she said.
She did the dance, then signaled for Peabody to go