The In Death Collection Books 26-29 - J.D. Robb [64]
Leopold stared. “She was in St. Lucia.”
“Yeah, she was.” Eve nodded, pushed to her feet. “Still, it’s interesting. You might want to mention to Ben that my partner and I came by and were asking you these interesting questions about Ava. Meanwhile, I’d like to have copies of all the files on all the projects she worked on. With Ben, or otherwise.”
“All? For the last sixteen years?”
“No, all the way back to when she started at the company.” She grinned at the way that previously tight jaw dropped. “Might as well be thorough.”
“There will be hundreds. Hundreds of hundreds.”
“Then you’d better get started.”
“This will take a little time. You may want to wait in the client lounge.”
“We’ll come back. An hour enough time?”
“Yes, that should do.”
In the elevator, Peabody turned to Eve. “How did you know he’d be the go-to guy on this?”
“He’s in love with Ben. Knows it’s hopeless, but he can’t help what he feels. First, anything that has to do with Ben, he’s going to pick up on his emotional radar. Second, I figure somebody who’s got all those repressed feelings recognizes when someone else’s feelings are a sham. Third? We got really lucky, pushed the right button at the right time. Contact Edmond Luce. I’m betting he and his wife are still in New York. I want another talk with him.”
11
LUCE AND HIS WIFE REMAINED IN NEW YORK, in residence in one of the ritzy suite’s at Roarke’s Palace Hotel. Linny Luce—Eve wondered how she felt about ending up with that name—opened the door and introduced herself.
She was what Eve thought of as a solid woman, well-built and compact like an efficient car designed for low maintenance and long usage. Thick brown hair with white wings framed a face more handsome than pretty. She wore a long-skirted black suit with sensible low-heeled boots and exquisite pearls. Her handshake was firm and businesslike.
“Edmond is on the ’link with London. He shouldn’t be long. Please sit. I ordered up tea. It’s quite good here. But I expect you know that, it being your husband’s establishment.”
She sat on the fat cream and white cushions of the sofa, poured out. “Milk or lemon?”
Neither was going to make Eve like tea any more than she did. “Just black, thanks.”
“Detective?”
“Milk, one sugar, thanks.”
“This is a difficult day for us. I hope you’ll understand how I mean it when I say your call was a welcome distraction. Edmond and I…we can’t quite fathom what to do with ourselves. After the memorial…Maybe it will be easier after the memorial, after we go back home.”
She sighed, looking toward the wide windows that opened to the towers of New York. “Life goes on, doesn’t it? It has to.”
“You knew Mr. Anders a long time.”
“Yes. Edmond and Tommy were friends longer, of course. But I knew Tommy over forty years. We can’t think what to do with ourselves. I’m sorry, I said that, didn’t I?”
“Can I ask you, Mrs. Luce, since you knew him well before his marriage, if you could tell us if he had any serious relationships before his wife?”
“Serious? I wouldn’t say. He enjoyed the company of women, but he simply enjoyed the company of people. We used to tease him quite a bit about settling down. I admit I tried matchmaking a few times.”
“I wonder if you could give me some names and contact information, on women you remember Mr. Anders’s…enjoying.”
“Yes, I could do that.” Linny looked straight into Eve’s eyes. “You’re asking this because of the way he was killed. That was not Tommy. I will never believe otherwise.”
“When did you first meet Ava Anders?”
“Oh, she was still working for Anders—a public relations exec. I can’t recall her title, if I ever knew. I first met her at a charity event here in New York. Ava had done the PR. A fund-raiser for one of the sports camps Tommy built. Black-tie, with dinner and dancing, a silent auction, an orchestra. Very elaborate, as I recall. She was very bright and clever. I remember watching them dancing at