“Is Mr. Mira—”
“No, it’s not that.” Reading the genuine fear in the admin’s eyes, Eve fought to throttle back. “But it concerns both of them, and it’s important.”
“She is in a session, and specifically asked not to be interrupted barring emergency. She’ll be done in forty minutes. I can get you in directly after and shift her next appointment.”
“I’ll get back if I can. She doesn’t leave here today without seeing or speaking to me. Clear?”
“Absolutely.”
With a curt nod, Eve strode out. She chose glides again to give herself time to settle down, then pulled out her ’link.
Another admin answered, but Roarke’s sort of magnificent Caro usually proved more flexible.
“Good afternoon, Lieutenant. What can I do for you?”
“Hey, sorry, but is there any way I can speak to him, or that he can tag me back as soon as possible?”
“Give me a minute.” So saying, the screen went to a waiting blue.
It took that minute, and a little more, but Roarke’s face came on screen.
She heard a babble of voices in the background, and a number of whooshes, thuds.
“Lieutenant?”
“Where are you?” she asked.
“At An Didean, just outside what will be the recreation center.”
She thought of the shelter he was creating for disenfranchised kids—and the dead girls they’d found sealed inside the walls of the building the previous year.
“I need a favor.”
“All right.”
“Can you work in a stop by the Miras’ sometime today?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, and I just want to keep it that way.” Stupid, she told herself. Overreacting. But she couldn’t stop it. “I thought you could take a good look at their security, maybe do what you do to beef it up, or add a couple layers. He hit again last night, killed both of them this time. I know the Miras aren’t on the list—she’s outside his age preference, and they’re not seriously wealthy, exactly, but—”
“I’ll pick up a few things, go by before I come home tonight. Will that work?”
“Yeah.” Ridiculous relief flooded her. “Thanks. Mavis and Leonardo and the kid are in New L.A. for a couple of days. Some fashion thing for him, some gig for her. They’re not really in the pattern, either, but I don’t have to think about them right now. The Miras … I just don’t want to risk it.”
“Then we won’t.”
“I’ll let her know you’re doing this. I … I can’t talk now, but thanks for this.”
“They’re mine as they’re yours. Tag me if you’re going to be delayed, more than usual, getting home.”
“I will.”
She clicked off as she turned into Homicide.
“Carmichael’s on the way with the new uniform to scoop up Anson Wright,” Peabody told her. “I just got off with Baxter. He and the other detectives are coordinating, and they can handle the rest of the list. One of the couples he and Trueheart talked to are friends of the Patricks, and were at their table the night of the gala. No connection to the vendors, but the wife’s done numerous vid ads, and is currently one of the stars in one of On Screen’s projects in development. Baxter says she’s ‘Ooh-la-la.’”
“Other than him getting a woody over an actress who’s someone else’s wife, any more buzz?”
“Neither of them remember anything unusual about that night. The wife admits she gets hit on pretty regularly, just part of the package, but doesn’t recall anything that night, or anything period that’s gone beyond her expected hitting on. Oh, and some mildly creepy and suggestive fan mail. They asked if we can take a look at that.”
“Take a closer look at her, send me what you get.”
In her office, Eve updated her book, her board, wrote detailed reports on the interviews. Then meticulously wrote up the report on the double homicide.
Rather than take the time to return to Mira’s office, she wrote out an e-mail, read it, fiddled with it, sent it.
It would be harder for Mira to argue the need for Roarke’s visit if Eve didn’t give her a way to argue.
She flicked over to an incoming, read Peabody’s quick, additional run of one Delilah Esterby.
Eve remembered the name, the face—husband of ten months （only dating at the time of the gala）， Aidan Malloy, of the really, seriously rich Malloys.