by J. D. Robb
She held out her hand, and Eve let the ribbon flow into her palm.
“She suffered. Terror and pain. She doesn’t see his face, not really. She’s dazed and afraid and hurt, but she fights him. God, he’s strong. Big, tough, strong. It’s not his face. I think it’s not his face. The rape is quick, almost mercifully quick. He’s in her, panting, pounding, when she feels this tighten around her neck. She doesn’t know what it is, but she knows she’s going to die. And she thinks: Vonnie. She thinks last of her child.”
“Tell me about him.”
She sat straighter, breathed slower. “He hates her. Fears her. Reveres her. But not her. So much rage, so much hate, rage, excitement. It’s hard to get more than that. It’s like blows raining down on my psyche. It’s hard to get through the madness. But I know he’s done this before.”
“Why does he take her eyes?”
“I . . . She needs to be in the dark. I don’t know, except he wants her in the dark. I’m sorry.” She handed the ribbon back to Eve. “It’s hard, and I can’t handle the ribbon for long. It’s too much. I can do it in short sessions.”
Eve nodded, noting the sheen of perspiration covering Celina’s face. “I see that. I need you to come with me to the crime scene.”
Celina pressed a hand to her belly. “I’d like to change first.”
“We’ll wait.”
After Celina had gone upstairs, Peabody let out a low whistle. “You gotta admit, she’s got stones.”
“Yeah. She stands up.”
“And from where I’m sitting, she’s the real deal.”
“Looks like.”
Restless, Eve got up. She liked the space, not just the amount of it, but the use of it. She admired the way Celina had held out her hand for the murder weapon.
“Is it the civilian or the psychic aspect you don’t like?”
Eve flicked a glance over her shoulder at Peabody’s question. “Little of both. I don’t like attaching civilians to an investigation, and don’t bother reminding me how often Roarke ends up that way. It’s bad enough he does, bad enough I’m getting used to it. And the psychic thing. How much good is that really going to do?”
She turned back to Peabody. “What did she tell us? He’s big and strong and out of his fucking mind. That’s no bulletin.”
“Dallas, it’s not like she’s going to give us a name and address. This stuff doesn’t work that way.”
“Why the hell not?” Irritated, she jammed her hands in her pockets. “If you can see stuff, why can’t you see salient details? The killer is Murdering Bastard who resides at 13 Homicide Drive. That would be useful.”
“Frosty. Just think of how quick we’d close a case. Then the department would hire a whole team of psychics—the, ah, the SDD—Sensitive Detective Division—and . . . You know what, I don’t like it after all. We’d be out of a job.”
Eve shot a dark glance toward the stairs. “And I don’t like the idea that she could start poking around in my head.”
“She wouldn’t do that, Dallas. Legitimate sensitives respect privacy. They don’t intrude.”
Peabody’s father had, Eve remembered. Inadvertently, but all the same. And there, she admitted, was the core of her bias.
“I like her,” Peabody added.
“Yeah. She’s okay. We’ll take this little field trip, see what comes of it. Then you and me? We’re going back to straight cop work.”
Celina changed into a pair of black pants and a blue, scooped-necked blouse. She wore several crystal drops on a chain around her neck.
“For protection, intuition, the opening of the third eye.” She held them up as they stood at the edge of Central Park. “Not everyone ascribes to their benefits, but under the present circumstances, I’m willing to try anything.”
She adjusted the enormous sunshades that hid half her face. “Pretty day,” she said. “Warm and sunny. The sort of day that brings people outside. I love New York this time of year. And I’m stalling.”
“The applicable areas have been searched, swept, recorded,” Eve began. “From what we’ve learned, the victim walked the dog in this direction, and entered the park approximately at this point.”
Eve started into the park.
“So many people have been through here, I don’t know what I’m going to get. Truthfully, my gift is more direct, contact with someone or something. Usually.”
About ten yards into the trees, Eve stopped. There was no one around, she noted after a sweep. People were at work, in school, at the shops, in restaurants.
It was too close to the street, this tony street, for chemi-head gatherings or illegals transactions.
“It was here, wasn’t it?” Celina took off her shades, pocketed them, stared at the ground. “Where he grabbed her, dragged her deeper into the woods.”
Her breathing was slow and even as she walked. A very deliberate sound.
“Struck her, in the face, knocked her down, dazed her. I can see the ground’s torn up, so this must be where he . . .”
She took another breath, then squatted down and ran her hands over the grass and dirt. Yanked them back again. “God!”
Eve could see her clench her jaw as she touched the ground again. “He raped her here. Control, humiliate, and punish. There’s a name in his mind—not hers. I can’t see it, can’t quite . . . but it’s not her name, it’s not Elisa he’s punishing.”
She drew her hands back again, tucked them under her arms as if to warm them. “It’s difficult for me to get past her, and what was done to her. She’s my connection, and she doesn’t know him. She doesn’t know why this is happening. He’s just . . .”
She lifted her head, looked at Eve. “I can see you.”
Eve felt a chill in her belly. “I’m not why you’re here.”
“You’re a very strong presence, Dallas. Strong mind, strong feelings. Strong instincts. You layer over it all.”
With a half laugh, Celina straightened, stepped carefully back and away from the scene. “I’m surprised you’re so resistant and suspicious of sensitives when you have a gift yourself.”
“I don’t.”
Staring, Celina huffed out an impatient breath. “Bull. Do you think what you see and feel and know is just instinct? Only instinct?” Then she shrugged. “Whatever you call it, it’s a gift.”
She rubbed her arms. “He carried her from here. It’s dim because she was already gone. Some part of her is still with me, but it’s thin.”
“She weighed about a hundred and thirty. Deadweight now.”
“He’s very strong.”
“Have to be.”
“Prides himself,” Celina murmured as she began to walk. “Yes, there’s pride. In his body, in his strength. She’s so much weaker than he is now.”
“Not the victim.” Eve fell into step with her. “But who the victim symbolizes.”
“Possibly. Probably.” Celina brushed stray hair away from her face. A trio of interlinked gold circles swung at her ears. “You probably see him more clearly than I do. You’re not as afraid of him as I am.”
She paused to study the castle. “I wonder why he picked this spot. It’s fanciful. A landmark. He could have left her anywhere. It would’ve been easier.”
Eve had her thoughts on that, but kept them to herself. “How tall is he?”
“Well over six feet. Well over. Closer to seven. Thick-bodied, but hard—not fat. Not hard fat. Muscular. I could feel that, when he raped her.”
She sat on the grass. “Sorry. I’m getting the shakes. I’m not used to this kind of work. It’s draining. How do you do it?”
“It’s what I do.”
“Yes. Both of you.” She opened her purse, took out a pretty box. “Blocker,” she said when she selected a pill from it. “Vicious headache. I can’t do anymore today. I’m sorry. Tapped out.”
To Eve’s surprise, Celina stretched out full length on the grass. “Do you know what I’d normally be doing now?”
“Can’t say.”
Idly, Celina checked the time. “Oh, yes. Francine. Right about now I’d be settling down to a consult with Francine. I give her a weekly, because I’m fond of her. She’s a lovely, foolish, wealthy woman with a terminal case of husbanditis. She just keeps marrying them. She’s about to take on husband number five, though I’ve advised her against it. Just as I did with numbers three and four.”
Lazily, Celina drew the pair of stylish sunshades back out of her pocket. She slipped them on. “She’ll get teary during our hour together, and protest that she must follow her heart.” Her lips quirked as she patted a hand on her breast. “That this time it’s going to be different. She’ll marry the opportunistic son of a bitch who will then cheat on her—he already has, but she’ll refuse to believe it—make her miserable, then walk off with her pride, her self-esteem, and a nice chunk of her portfolio.”
She shook her head, pushed herself up to sitting. “Poor gullible Francine. And that, Lieutenant Dallas, Detective Peabody, is about the most tragic case I allow myself to deal with.”
“How do you know when you talk to a client that you won’t see something tragic?” Eve asked, and Celina smiled.
“It’s my job to know. And if I miss something, then see it, I do what I can, then I step back. I don’t believe in suffering, particularly when it’s me doing the suffering. I don’t understand why people insist on causing it or enduring it. I’m a shallow creature,” she said, stretching like a cat in the sun. “But until a couple of nights ago, a damn contented one.”
Peabody offered a hand to help her up. Celina studied it, grinned. “Can I take a peek? Just surface. Not deep probe, no secrets. You both interest me.”
Peabody wiped her hand on her trousers, then offered it again. “I guess so.”
Celina clasped hands, continued to hold it after she’d gained her feet. “You’re a dependable woman. Sturdy shoulders, and a loyal streak that encompasses every area of your life. You’re proud of your badge, and the work you do. Careful,” she said with a laugh, and released Peabody’s hand. “You open like a door. I didn’t intend to peek into your personal life. But he’s a cutie.” She winked. “She-body.”
Peabody flushed. “We’re, ah, moving into a new place together. Going to cohabitate.”
“Congratulations. Ain’t love grand?” Smiling, she turned to Eve. Raised her eyebrows.
“No.”
Laughing, Celina tucked her hands into her pockets. “One of these days, I predict, you’ll trust me enough. Thanks,” she said to Peabody. “You cleansed my palate. I’ll catch a cab in a bit. I want to walk off this headache before I go home.”
She started to walk, directing herself away from the path they’d taken. Then she stopped, turned. There was none of the easy humor on her face now. “It’s going to be soon. The next. I don’t know how I know that, but I do. It’s going to be very soon.”
Eve watched her go and, gift or no gift, knew she was right.
Chapter 7
“She’s really interesting.” Peabody waited a beat, then slid her gaze toward Eve as they cut west, then south toward Central. “Don’t you think?”
“She’s not a yawn. But tell me, in specifics, what did we get from this?”
“Okay, not a lot that we didn’t already know or believe or suspect.”
Peabody shifted in her seat and regretted the tea. Now she had to pee, and she knew damn well Eve wouldn’t stop at a handy restaurant where the flash of a badge would get her toilet privileges. She crossed her legs tight, and tried to concentrate.
“Still, the fact is it’s interesting to consult with a sensitive, one as obviously gifted as Celina. I am dependable and loyal, after all.”
“Just like the family schnauzer.”
“I prefer cocker spaniel ’cause they’ve got those cute, floppy ears.” She recrossed her legs. “And, in my experience, if a sensitive’s made this sort of connection, they can get more if they focus and keep open. I think she will. She’s hooked in, and wants to see it through.”
Eve glanced in the rearview at the blast of siren. She recognized the subtle difference in tone and identified an emergency medical vehicle an instant before the spinning red light of the medical tech wagon came into view.
She eased toward the curb, and the rattrap she was currently stuck with driving vibrated like gelatin in the wake of the speeding wagon.
“I want you to call Requisitions the minute we get back to Central. Beg, bribe, threaten, offer sexual favors of any nature, but get us a decent ride by the end of shift.”
Peabody had her teeth clenched and did her best to speak through them. “Who’s going to perform the sexual favors, should it come to that?”
“You, Detective. I outrank you.”
“The sacrifices I make for the badge.”
“Health clubs.”
“What?”
“We’re going to start checking out health clubs.”
“Sir, I don’t think I can tone up appreciably before dispensing sexual favors if you want the vehicle by end of shift.”
“Jesus, Peabody, get your face out of the gutter.”
“Well, you put it there.”
Eve jockeyed through traffic. “Let us return to our sworn duty and our current investigation. If we’re after a solo—and there’s no evidence to lead us to suspect this was a duet or gang killing—this is one strong son of a bitch. Not just in shape, not muscle-bound, but a seriously strong guy. Guy who can carry one-thirty the distance from the kill site to the dump site, and haul that much deadweight down a small cliff of rocks, probably works out regularly and seriously.”
“Could have his own equipment. Somebody really serious usually does.”
“And we’re going to try tracking that, too. Full-scale home gyms to start. But if we’re going to use what the psychic queen gives us, she said he was proud—proud of his body. He’d want to show it off, wouldn’t he? Show what he can do.”
“Health club.”
“Health club.”
“Dallas, just offhand, would you care to guess how many health clubs we have in our fair city?”
“We start with ones who cater primarily to men. He doesn’t like women. So you scratch off the girly gyms where ladies prance around in their skin-suits and drink veggie juice or nibble nutribars before their massage. No day spa attached, no salons on premises. Forget the social clubs where guys go to play on the machines and pick up dates. Scratch off the facilities that cater primarily to same-sex orientation. The gay pickup cathedrals. We look for traditional, serious body-builder spots. The kind that pull in the sweaty guys with big necks.”
“Oooh. Sweaty guys with big necks. Hubba. Lifting face out of gutter immediately, sir.”
“Too late now,” Eve muttered. “We can try another canvass of the victim’s neighborhood. This guy surveilled her, got her routine. We go at it asking about an unusually tall, beefy guy. After you tackle Requisitions, contact the Vanderleas. See if either of them remembers seeing someone like that around.”
“Check.” Just a few more blocks, Peabody thought. Then she’d be able to pee. She squirmed, crossed her legs the other way.
“We run down home gym equipment: weight machines, virtual systems with bodybuilding programs. We check out subscriptions to magazines that—Squirming isn’t going to help, you know. You shouldn’t have downed all that tea.”
“It’s really nice of you to point that out now,” Peabody shot back with some bitterness. “And squirming does too help. Oh, thank all the gods and goddesses,” she breathed when they drove into Central’s garage.
“Free-Ageism pop out when your bladder’s full, Detective?”
“That’s not all that’s going to pop out.” Peabody bolted from the car the instant it stopped, and ran/waddled to the elevator.
In her office, Eve glanced at her ’link, noted several messages. She ordered them to play while she set up a murder board for Elisa Maplewood.
As they ran, she ordered some to delete, some
to save. Then stopped what she was doing to turn around and grin at the screen as Mavis came on.
“Hey, Dallas! We’re back in town, my honey lamb and me. Maui is just iced. Totally TPD—tropical paradise deluxe. Everything was mag. The concert, our roll-on-the-sand-naked vacation part. And guess what? The belly’s completely poking out now. Honest to God, I am so knocked up. You gotta see. I’ll jet by, soon as I can.”
Which was always a treat, Eve thought when the message ended. But if Mavis’s belly really was poking out now, she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to see. Why pregnant women wanted anybody to see their poked-out bellies was another mystery, and one she had no desire to solve.
She turned to the AutoChef for coffee when Nadine Furst, Channel 75’s on-air ace, clicked on.
“Dallas. I know you’re going to give me the usual yaddah-yaddah blah, but I really want to talk to you re the Maplewood case. If I don’t hear from you, I’m just going to show up at your office. I’ll bring you a cookie.”
Eve considered. It might be smart to give a short on-air, especially with the bribe of baked goods. A brief one-on-one, and woman-to-woman. His profile indicated he hated and feared the female, so wouldn’t it burn his ass to be discussed on-screen by two women? It might push him into making a mistake.
She’d think about it.
The thought of cookies made her hungry. With a glance at the door, she reached behind the AutoChef, under the slight lip, and tugged off the candy bar she’d taped there.
It was an obvious hiding place to her mind, but it had foiled the insidious candy thief who plagued her.
She bit righteously into chocolate, dropped down at her desk, and engaged her computer.
YOUR AUTHORIZATION CODE AND PASSWORD ARE NOT RECOGNIZED. ACCESS DENIED.
“What the hell are you talking about?” She gave the machine a quick boot with the heel of her hand. “Dallas, Lieutenant Eve.” She read off her badge number for authorization, repeated her password.