The In Death Collection Books 16-20 - J. D. Robb [133]
“Not that I know of. Mrs?”
“Ms. Ms. Fryburn. Jessie. Listen, I’ve knocked a couple times in the last week, and I’ve tried to reach him on his ’link, just to check. He seemed better lately, a lot better, and said he was working pretty steady. If something’s happened, I’d like to help. He’s a nice guy, and Ms. Stevenson, well, she was a jewel. One in a million.”
“You might be able to help. Can we come inside, talk to you?”
“I . . .” She glanced at the time on a slim silver wrist unit. “Yes. Sure. I just have to call in, reschedule a few meetings.” She looked at Eve again, at Peabody, then at the fern Eve sat beside the door. And began to put some of it together. “Is Gerry in trouble?”
“Yes. Yes, he’s in trouble.”
It took more time than Eve wanted to spend, but she wanted Jessie Fryburn’s cooperation. It took precious time to batter back the woman’s instinctive defense of Gerald Stevenson. Her refusal to believe he could be involved in anything illegal, much less murderous.
She dug in on it until Eve wanted to take her loyal spine and twist it into a pretzel.
“If, as you continue to insist, Gerry’s innocent, it’ll only be to his benefit for me to find him and clear all this up.” I’m just about through screwing around with you in any polite manner, Eve thought.
“Oh, like an innocent man isn’t ever arrested and dragged through the mud until his life is ruined.” Jessie was so focused on the heat of her own outrage, she missed the warning flare of Eve’s. “You’re just doing your job, I understand that perfectly well, but it is a job. And people make mistakes on the job every day.”
“You’re right. And it would probably be a mistake for me to slap restraints on you right now, haul your ass down to Central, and into lockup for impeding an investigation, for obstruction of justice, for just being a complete pain in the ass. But you know what?” She rose and tugged her restraints off her belt. “People make mistakes on the job every day.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Peabody?”
“She would dare, Ms. Fryburn. She would absolutely dare. And lockup isn’t very pleasant.”
A flush from insult and temper stained Jessie’s cheeks. “I’m calling my lawyer. I’m not saying another word until I do. If she advises me to talk to you, fine. Otherwise.” She lifted her chin so that Eve had to resist taking the invitation to rap it with her fist. “You can do your worst.”
“She really doesn’t understand just how good your worst is. Or how bad—depending on your point of view.” Peabody said this out of the corner of her mouth as Jessie stalked to a ’link.
“The only reason she’s still standing is because I respect loyalty, and she’s clueless. He’s a nice guy, he took care of his dying mother. He didn’t cause any trouble. A nice, neat, quiet neighbor. Fits profile.”
“Where do we go from here?”
“Haul her in, if we need to. Plow through the lawyer and talk her into working with an Ident artist. I want a goddamn image. And I want a warrant to get through that door across the hall.”
She yanked out her communicator. “Commander,” she began when he came on. “I need some pressure.”
Time leaked out of the day, and the gloom edged into an early twilight. More storms circled, threatened, shot out heat lightning and threatening blasts of thunder.
She danced with the lawyer, until she thought her ears might bleed, but in the end a reluctant Jessie agreed to a session with an Ident artist. As long as it took place in her own apartment.
“You think I’m being stubborn.” Jessie sat, arms folded and frowned at Eve. “But I consider Gerry a friend. I watched what he went through with his mom, and it was heart-breaking. I’ve never seen anyone die before. She fought so hard, and he was right there, in the trenches with her. And when she was too weak to fight, he kept right on.”
Obviously moved, she bit her lip to keep her voice steady. “He cleaned up after. He bathed her, fed her, sat with her. He wouldn’t let anyone else do the dirty work. I’ve never seen that kind of devotion. I don’t know