The woman paused mid-scream to smile wearily. "Who is? What is?"
"I haven"t got time for philosophy. They"ve already picked out the next."
"The next what? The next who? The next what?"
"Do you mind," one of the hooded men said. "You"re interrupting the program."
"Fine. Carry on."
She moved into the next room, sweeping her weapon, right, left. In the sleek black-and-white drama, the bold red on the floor was blood, and on the blood floated a chauffeur"s cap.
Leaving signs, she thought. They liked leaving clues. Liked thinking they were too smart, too insulated, too rich to be caught.
She stood in the center of the room, studying it. What was missing? What had she missed?
She stepped through and into her own office at Central where her murder board dominated.
Was it there? Already there?
Limo driver, crossbow, transpo center.
LC, bayonet, amus.e.m.e.nt park.
Who, what, where.
But why?
She eased out the door, turned toward the bullpen.
But rather than the cops, the desks, the smell of bad coffee, she stepped into what she imagined to be a room in some exclusive club. Big leather chairs, a simmering fire though the heat was fierce, deep colors, paintings on the wall of high-cla.s.s hunting.
Hounds and horses.
The two men sat, swirling amber-colored brandy in balloon gla.s.ses. Long, slim cigars smoked on the silver tray on the table between them.
They turned to her as one, and their smiles were sneers.
"I "m sorry, you"re not a member. You"ll have to leave or face the consequences. I t takes more than money to belong."
"I know what you did, and I think I know how. But I don"t know why."
"We don"t answer to you and your kind."
I t was Dudley who lifted the gun, an enormous silver weapon.
She heard the snap when it c.o.c.ked.
She jerked, and her eyes flew open. She swore she heard-even smelled-the explosion of gunfire.
"Shh." Beside her Roarke pulled her closer, wrapped her in. "Just a dream."
"What"s it telling me?" she mumbled. When she tried to shift, an annoyed Galahad dug his claws into her b.u.t.t. "Ow, d.a.m.n it." She maneuvered him off, and ended up face-to-face with Roarke. "Hi."
"Again." He trailed his fingers lightly over her wounded arm. "How?"
"Idiot with a plastic knife sharpened to a shiv, right in f.u.c.king Central. The worst was Whitney made me get a medic on it while I gave him my report."
"Why the b.a.s.t.a.r.d, forcing one of his cops to have a wound tended."
"I "d field-dressed it. Jacket"s toast."
He snuggled her in on the remote chance they"d both just drift off again. "There"s more where that came from."
"I don"t like Dudley or Moriarity."
"Isn"t that handy? Neither do I , particularly."
"Dudley comes up smarm and charm, with that "I just love women" light in his eyes, and the other"s all "I "m a busy and important man so move this along, peon." And maybe that"s what they are, on top of it. Maybe it is. But under it they were smirking."
He watched her face as she spoke, and decided that remote possibility didn"t exist. "I know that look," he murmured. "You think they did this- together."
"I t"s a theory." She scowled at nothing. "I t"s the right theory. And not just because I don"t like them. I didn"t like that little b.a.s.t.a.r.d Sykes either, but I didn"t look at him for murder."
"All right, so you know who. How?"
She took him through it, the alibis, the lack of them, the friendship.
"I t"s not a h.e.l.l of a lot, but there was ... a tone, a feel, a sense that they"d been waiting to play those scenes. And ... I know what I missed.
Family. Family firms, right?"
When she started to sit up, he just kept his arm hooked around her waist. "Let"s just lie here a bit. I "m listening."
"Well, why wasn"t there anything of or about family in their offices? They"ve got huge s.p.a.ces, all fancied up. No family photos, or photos at all. No, there"s the cricket mallet my-"
"Bat. I t"s a cricket bat."
"I t doesn"t look like a bat. Or mallet either, but it doesn"t matter. Here"s the cricket whatzit my dear old dad gave me on my tenth birthday, or yes, that"s my great-grandfather"s pocket watch. They"re generational firms without any generational tokens in their s.p.a.ces. Nothing. Neither of them.
They"re running a company pa.s.sed down from father to son, and so on, and there"s nothing."
"Devil"s advocate. I t might be a deliberate show that they"re their own men."
"That"s part of where I "m going. Legacies are a deal with those types, even if it"s for show. And family weighs. Mira"s got her family all over her office. Whitney"s got stuff, Feeney, like that, and maybe that"s a different kind of thing, but there ought to be some sort of show. I t"s off, isn"t it, that neither of them has anything, at least visibly, that connects them to their family but the company itself?"
"You think they resent being put in their positions?""Maybe. I don"t know. Or they figure it"s their due so who gives a f.u.c.k about dear old Dad or whoever. And maybe it"s nothing. I t"s just odd it"s both of them. Common ground. I think that"s how it started. They have all this common ground."
"I t"s a long step from a similar background to a murderous partnership."
"There"s more than background between them."
"s.e.x?"
She considered. "Maybe. That would certainly add a layer of connection and trust. I t could be s.e.x, even love. Or just the bond of like minds, like interests. People find each other."
"We did."
"Aw." She exaggerated the sound as she grinned at him. She kissed him lightly, then nudged him away. "I "ve got to update my board, and do some runs. I have to keep looking for a connection between the vics, and between the vics and the company, even though I don"t think there are any.
And I "ve got one that should be done on military ancestors who might"ve owned the bayonet."
"Red meat."
"Huh?"
"We"ll have steak. We could both use the boost."
"You"re not tired anymore. I "m looking right in your eyes, and I "d see if you were. I t"s annoying."
"I still want steak."
"Now I want it, too. But first I want a shower. Wash off this day and a half." She sniffed at him. "How come you smell so good?"
"Could be I "m simply blessed that way, or it could be the shower I had at the office. Go on then." He gave her a.s.s a friendly pat. "I "ll set up the meal."
She felt better, after the shower, another hit of coffee, a change of clothes. And when she walked into her home office, she smelled grilled meat, and felt better yet.
And it reminded her of her early-morning conversation with Morris.
"Ah, I sort of said how we might have a thing, you know with that big-a.s.s grill of yours, and people."
Roarke lifted the bottle of wine he"d opened. "You want me to grill people?"
"Only some people. But that should be done privately. Just half a gla.s.s of that for me."
He poured. "You"re after having a cookout."
"I "m not really after it, but I saw Morris this morning, and he looked so d.a.m.n sad, and I said something about it before I actually thought about it, then I forgot about it until I smelled the steak."
He crossed to her, handed her the winegla.s.s, then caught her chin in his hand, kissed her. "You"re a good friend."
"I don"t know how the h.e.l.l that happened."
"Sat.u.r.day evening?"
"I guess. Unless-"
"There"s always an unless, but as we"ll be entertaining cops or those a.s.sociated with, it"s a given for all."
"You"re okay with it?"
"Eve, I know this continues to astound and baffle you, but I actually like to socialize."
"I know. I f it wasn"t for that, you"d be perfect." When he laughed, she walked over, lifted the cover of a plate. "G.o.d, that really does smell good. I "m getting that boost and I haven"t even eaten it yet."
"Let"s see what happens when you do. How"s the arm?" he asked when they sat at the table by the window.
"I t"s okay." She rolled her shoulder, flexed. "Hardly feel it."
"We should have a contest," he decided, "to see if you can go, say, two weeks without an on-the-job injury."
"I was just switching glides." She cut into the steak. "Minding my own business. And what kind of idiot thinks they"re going to get away with stabbing their ex with a plastic knife in the middle of Cop Central?"
"One who"s only thinking of the satisfaction of the act, not the consequences."
"Probably toked up," she muttered. "But not enough he didn"t feel it when I kicked his b.a.l.l.s until they tickled his tongue."
I t made him smile to picture it. "Is that what you did?"
"I t was the quickest and most satisfying action."
"That"s my girl." He toasted her.
"What are you going to do? a.s.shole with a plastic knife in Cop Central. I t"s like ..."
He knew that look as well, and said nothing to interrupt her train of thought.
"Make that a.s.shole"s Ex with a plastic knife in Cop Central."
"All right."
"Could that be it? Is it just that sick?"
"I can"t say." Watching her, he sipped his wine. "You tell me."
"I t"s Major Ketchup in the bathroom with the laser scalpel."
"Hmm." He sliced a delicately herbed spear of asparagus. "Obviously we were meant for each other as I can interpret that as you meaning something more like Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick."
"Whatever. I t"s that game-who was it-McNab or Peabody said something about that game sometime back."
"Clue."
"You always know this c.r.a.p. But yeah, and it sounded interesting, so I brought it up on the comp one day to check it out. And that doesn"t matter."