The in Death Collection Books 11-15 - J. D. Robb [354]
“What’s he up to now?”
“Year nine of twenty.” Feeney pulled a bag of nuts out of one of his sagging pockets. “Rikers.”
“Yeah? I haven’t visited the old homestead in a while. Wonder if they’ve missed me?” She broke off as her communicator signalled, paced away to answer. “I just cleared Louise through,” she said as she tucked the communicator away again. “She claims to have some information on last night’s hit.”
She looked at the case board, at the new picture she’d pinned to it. She’d kept Moniqua’s face separate from the dead. She wanted it to stay there.
When she turned back she saw something pass between McNab and Peabody. Something with just a little heat, so she looked away fast.
“Peabody, why don’t I have any damn coffee?”
“I don’t know, sir, but I will rectify that immediately.”
Peabody popped up, was actually humming under her breath as she programmed the AutoChef. And there was a bright look in her eyes when she carried the coffee to Eve.
“Eat any good pizza lately?” Eve muttered, and the light in Peabody’s eyes turned instantly to embarrassed guilt.
“Maybe. Just a slice . . . or two.”
Eve leaned in. “Ate the whole damn pie, didn’t you?”
“It was really good pizza. I sort of, you know, missed the taste of it.”
“No more humming on duty.”
Peabody squared her shoulders. “No, sir. All humming will cease immediately.”
“And no sparkly-eye crap either,” Eve added and yanked open the door to look for Louise.
“You can look pretty sparkly-eyed after really good pizza, too,” Peabody muttered, then decided not to press her luck when Eve snarled.
“Dallas.” Louise double-timed it down the corridor. She wasn’t wearing a power suit this morning, but the worn jeans and roomy shirt she usually donned for the clinic. “I’m so glad you are here. I didn’t want to go into all this over a ’link.”
“Sit down.” Because Louise was pale despite her rush through Central’s labyrinth, Eve took her arm and pulled her to a chair. “Take a breath, then tell me what you’ve got.”
“Last night. I had a date last night. Drinks at The Royal Bar.”
“Roarke’s place? In The Palace Hotel?”
“Yes. I saw them. Dallas, I saw them sitting in a booth near our table. I spoke with her in the ladies’ lounge.”
“Slow down. Peabody, some water here.”
“I wasn’t paying attention,” Louise continued. “If I had been I’d have seen . . . I can see her face right now as she sat in front of the mirror. It wasn’t just champagne. I’m a doctor, goddamn it, I should have seen she was drugged. I can see it now.”
“We see all kinds of things after. Here.” She shoved the water into Louise’s hands. “Drink, then suck it in, Louise. Suck it in and tell me everything you remember.”
“Sorry.” She sipped once. “When I saw the media report this morning, I recognized her. Realized.” She drank again. “I called and checked on her condition on the way over. There’s been no improvement. None. Her chances decrease every hour.”
“Last night. Concentrate on last night. You’re having drinks in the bar.”
“Yes.” She drew in a breath. Steadied. “Champagne, caviar. It was lovely. We were talking. I wasn’t paying much attention to anything but him. But I did notice, sort of absently, the couple in the booth. They had champagne and caviar, too. I think, I’m nearly sure, they were already seated when we got there. They were sitting very close together. Very intimate. They were a very attractive couple.”
“Okay, what next?”
“We danced. I forgot about them. But I went into the lounge, sat down to freshen up, and to get my balance. It was a very intense first date for me. While I was there, she came out of the stalls. She was throwing off all kinds of sexual sparks. Told me to congratulate her, that she was going to get very lucky. I was amused, and half wishing