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“It’s not romantic, it’s—”

“Hush.” He laid his lips on hers briefly. “Let me enjoy it. You have a point, but love can also cause you to see things as you prefer to see them, as you want them to be. And you haven’t factored in—if we stick with your gut, and she’s responsible—that she may love him. Part of her motive might have been to free him from what she saw as a destructive, even dangerous influence.”

“Now who’s being romantic? If I put her in as the killer, then she pushed her husband in front of a cab a few hours ago. No way—if she did Trudy—that was an accident, a coincidence.”

“You have me on that one.”

“No, what I have is nothing. I’ve got one material witness/suspect in the hospital. Another in a hotel room, under watch. I have no evidence that points to either of them, or anyone else at this time. I need to pick at it, that’s all. Shuffle things up and keep picking at it.”

She thought of the recording, and Roarke’s skill, his fancy computer lab. She could ask him to work it for her, put in the time.

Not right, not fair. Not starting so late.

“Guess we’ll pack it in for now. Check the results of that last run in the morning.”

“That suits me. What about a swim first? Work out the kinks.”

“Yeah, that’d be good.” She started for the elevator with him, then narrowed her eyes. “Is this some ploy to get me wet and naked?”

“Love certainly doesn’t blind you, Lieutenant. You see right through me.”

17

IT WASN’T SNOW FOR CHRISTMAS EVE, BUT another bout of nasty, freezing rain that made gleeful skittering sounds against the windows. It would, Eve thought in disgust, coat the streets and sidewalks and give the city employees who were on a shift another excuse to blow the day off.

She was tempted, nearly, to join them. She could drag on a sweatshirt and work from home, avoid the ice rink of the streets. Stay warm and comfortable. It was sheer contrariness that had her preparing to go in.

Knowing that didn’t bother her a bit.

“You have everything you need here,” Roarke reminded her.

“Don’t.” She shouldered on her weapon harness. “Don’t have Feeney, for one. Don’t have Mira. And I’m going to try to snag her long enough to get a profile on Zana and Bobby. Don’t have whoever’s bad luck has them in the lab today. And I want to go by the hotel, the hospital, do follow-ups there.”

“Perhaps you haven’t heard.” He stretched out his legs to enjoy another cup of coffee. “There’s a marvelous invention called the telelink. Some, as we have here, are also equipped for holo-conferences.”

“Not the same.” She pulled a jacket over her weapon. “You sticking home today?”

“If I said I was?”

“You’d be lying. You’re going in, same as me, finishing things up personally. Going to let your staff go early, you softie, but you’re heading in.”

“I’ll stay if you do.”

“I’m going, and so are you.” But she walked over, framed his face, and kissed him. “See you in a few hours.”

“Well, have a care, will you? The roads are bound to be treacherous.”

“So’s a chemi-head with a lead bat, but I’ve handled those.”

“Figuring as much, I had one of the all-terrains brought around.” He lifted a brow when she frowned. “I’ll be using one myself, so you’ve no argument there.”

“Fine, okay.” She glanced at the time. “Well, while you’ve got your worrywart on, maybe you could check with the shuttle, see if Peabody got off okay.”

“Already did, they’re in the air and already out of the weather. Wear your gloves,” he called out as she went through the door.

“Such a nag,” she mumbled under her breath.

But she was grateful for them, and the thin, soft fur lining that had somehow found its way into her coat. How did he manage that stuff?

Whatever was spitting out of the sky felt like nasty little needle pricks as cold as Mars. She climbed into the muscular vehicle, found its efficient heater already running. The man missed nothing. It was almost spooky.

Even warm, and in a vehicle with the traction and power of a jet tank, she had an ugly fight on her hands all the way