by J. D. Robb
“But I—”
“You had a plan, the plan was approved. Stick with the plan and don’t bother me, or I’ll personally stuff all that shiny stuff up your butt. And you.” She jabbed a finger in the other man’s chest. “Stay out of his way, or I’ll save some shiny stuff for you. Okay, you, tall blond girl with the flowers…”
“Poinsettias,” the tall blonde clarified with New Jersey so thick in her voice Eve could have driven on it across the river. “There were supposed to be five hundred, but there’re only four hundred and ninety-six, and—”
“Deal. Finish building your… what the hell is this?”
“It’s a poinsettia tree, but—”
“Of course, it is. If you need four more, go get four more from the poinsettia factory. Otherwise work with what you’ve got. And you, over there with the lights.”
Roarke rocked back and forth on his heels and watched her rip through the various crews. Some of them looked a little shaky when she’d finished, but the pace of work increased considerably.
“There.” She walked back to him, folded her arms. “Handled. Any problems?”
“Other than being strangely aroused, not a one. I think you’ve put the fear of God into them and should reward yourself with a little break.” He draped an arm over her shoulders. “Come on. We’ll find you a truffle.”
“The chocolate kind.”
“Naturally.”
* * *
Hours later, or so it seemed to her, she stepped out of the bathroom. She’d done the best she could with the lip dye and the eye gunk. On the bed, waiting for her, was what looked like a long panel of dull gold. She figured it became a dress of some kind once it was on a body.
At least it wasn’t fussy, she decided as she fingered the material. There were shoes of the same tone, if you could call a couple of skinny straps with an even skinnier heel shoes. She glanced at the dresser and saw he’d thought of the rest. A black case was open, and the diamonds— nothing sparkled like that but diamonds, she assumed, though they looked to be the color of champagne—formed a circle against the velvet. Another held the dangle of earrings, and still another a thick bracelet.
She picked up the panel of gold fabric, studied it, and concluded it was one of those deals you just wiggled into. Once that was done, she carried the shoes, which weren’t going on her feet until zero hour, and fumbled her way through the accessories at the dresser.
The bracelet was too big, she noted. She’d probably lose it, then someone would pawn it and have enough money to buy a nice little island country in the South Pacific.
“You’re wearing it wrong,” Roarke told her from the doorway. “Here.” He stepped in, walked to her, elegant in formal black. He slid the glittering triple band to just above her elbow. “A bit of a warrior touch, suits you.”
He stepped back. “You look like a flame. A long golden flame on a cold night.”
When he gazed at her like that, things started melting inside her, so she turned away, studied herself in the mirror. The dress was a column, sleek and fluid from just over her breasts to her ankles.
“Is this dress going to stay up?”
“Until the guests leave, at any rate.” He leaned over to brush his lips over her bare shoulder. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist so they studied the image they made in the glass.
“Our second Christmas together,” he said. “We’ve stored up a few things in the memory box Mavis and Leonardo gave us last year.”
“Yeah.” She smiled at him, and had to admit the two of them looked pretty damn terrific. “We have. Maybe things’ll stay quiet this year, so we can make more instead of running around after a deranged Santa.”
“We can hope.” The bedroom ‘link beeped twice. “Our first guests are arriving. Shoes?”
“Yeah, yeah.” She bent down to tug on one, narrowed her eyes at the sparkle on the strap. “Oh, my Jesus, don’t tell me these are fricking diamonds on my shoes.”
“All right, I won’t tell you. Hustle up, there, Lieutenant. The hosts can’t be fashionably late.”
Diamonds on her shoes. He was a crazy man.
* * *
The crazy man threw a hell of a party—she had to give him credit. Within the hour, the ballroom was crowded with people. Lights sparkled tike wine, and the music streamed through. The tables were loaded with a good deal more than pig truffles. Fancy canapes, pates, mousse, glossy delicacies from around the world, and beyond it.
The waitstaff was every bit as elegant as the champagne they served on silver trays. She didn’t bother to count the poinsettias, but the tree looked fine to her. In fact, it looked amazing, as did the pines that dripped more light, more color. The forest she’d seen that afternoon had become a wonderland.
Yeah, the guy threw a hell of a party.
“This is so totally juiced!” Mavis Freestone rushed up, leading with her very pregnant belly. At her velocity she bumped into Eve before Eve could avoid contact. “Nobody throws a splash like you guys.”
Her hair was silver tonight, in a lot of long, shaggy layers. She wore red, so snug Eve wondered that the ball of her belly didn’t burst free. In concession to her condition, her silver boots had short, squat heels shaped like Christmas trees.
Her eyebrows were a curve of silver stars. Eve didn’t want to ask how she’d managed that one.
“You look absolutely radiant.” Roarke took her hand, then smiled at the giant of a man in silver and red at her side. “Both of you, in fact.”
“We’re coming to the countdown.” Leonardo rubbed his big hand over Mavis’s back.
“Almost at what they consider full-term. Um, what’s that? Can I have some of that?” She snatched three canapes off a passing tray, popped them like candy. “So when, you know, we’re there, we’re going to have sex day and night. Orgasms can kick you into labor. My teddy bear can sure do orgasm.”
Leonardo’s wide, copper-hued face went red along the cheekbones.
“So, you’re set for the classes, right?”
Eve just couldn’t talk about it, couldn’t think about the coaching classes she and Roarke were scheduled to take. “Hey, there’s Peabody. I think she’s got a truffle.”
“Truffle? Chocolate? Where? Later.”
“There’s my clever girl,” Roarke murmured. “Saving us by baiting your best friend with food. The Miras have just arrived,” he added.
Before Eve could comment, he was steering her toward them.
It was going to be awkward, she knew. It had been awkward between her and Mira since the two of them had knocked heads and sensibilities over the Icove case.
They’d both worked to keep it smooth, but there were still ripples. And Eve could feel them now as Mira glanced over and spotted her.
“We were held up.” Mira kissed Roarke’s cheek, smiled at Eve.
“Not literally, I hope,” Roarke said as he shook Dennis’s hand.
“Misplaced my tie.” Dennis patted it. It was Christmas red with a pattern of little green Christmas trees running over it.
“Actually, I hid it.” Mira slanted a look at her husband. “And was found out.”
“I like it.” Something about Dennis Mira with his dreamy eyes and mussy hair went straight to Eve’s soft spot. “Festive.”
“And look at you.” Dennis took her hands, pulled back, wiggled his bushy eyebrows. “Glamorous.”
“His idea.” Eve tipped her head toward Roarke. “I’m ditching the shoes first chance.”
“You look wonderful, both of you. And everything looks amazing.” Mira, lovely as always in midnight blue, glanced around the ballroom. She’d done something with her hair, Eve noted. Little sparkly things glinted against the rich sable sweep.
“Let’s get you a drink.” Even as he spoke, a waiter magically appeared at Roarke’s elbow. He lifted a glass of champagne from it for Mira. “Champagne, Dennis? Or can I offer you something stronger?”
“Stronger? Wouldn’t say no.”
“Come
with me. I have something a little special. Ladies.”
That was on purpose, Eve thought, and her neck tensed. Small talk was bad enough, and she only had a limited supply. But in the strained small-talk department, she was all but empty.
She fell back on the cliche. “So, I guess you’re all ready for the holidays.”
“Just about. You?”
“I don’t know. I think. Listen, the food’s—”
“Actually, I have something for you . I didn’t bring it because I hoped you might be able to find a little time, come by the house tomorrow. For coffee.”
“I…”
“I badly want to be friends again.” Mira’s eyes, a quiet blue, went misty. “I miss you. I miss you very much.”
“Don’t. We’re friends.” Or something more complicated, Eve thought, that was tangled in friendship. “I have something I have to do tomorrow, but after… I think I might want to talk about it. I think I might need to talk about it. After.”
“Something serious.” Mira touched a hand to Eve’s arm, and the tension was gone. “I’ll be home all day.”
Chapter 6
THE NEXT MORNING, SHE FELT BETTER THAN she’d anticipated. Her feet hurt a little because she’d never found the right moment to get rid of the shoes. But considering she hadn’t hit the mattress until nearly four a.m., she was doing okay.
She couldn’t say it was because she had a rare two days off in a row. Preparing for a party, giving a party, recovering from a party wasn’t time off in her book. But it had kept the task she had today off her mind.
In any case, she felt better in normal clothes and a good pair of boots.
She found Roarke in his office, his feet propped on his desk as he talked on a headset. “That will do very well.” He held up a finger, signalling her that he was nearly done. “I’ll expect you then. Yes. Yes, I’m sure I will. Thank you.”
He took off the headset, smiled at her. “Well, you look rested.”
“It’s nearly eleven.”
“So it is. I imagine some of our guests are still in bed—a sign of a successful party.”
“Pouring Peabody and McNab into one of your limos so that Mavis and Leonardo could cart them into their apartment’s probably another sign. What was that all about? You don’t usually use a headset at your desk.”
“A quick call to Santa.”
“You haven’t, like, gone completely insane with the presents, right?”
His smile remained easy and mild. “So, it seemed as if you and Mira were back to normal.”
Of course he’d gone insane with presents, she thought. And there was no point fighting it.
“Yeah, we’re good. In fact, she wanted me to stop by today, and I was thinking maybe I would.” She slid her fingers into her pockets, gave a little shrug. “Maybe talking to her about all this will put it to bed. Figuring that, you really don’t have to come with me to the hotel. If they’re still at the hotel.”
“As of an hour ago, they were. And haven’t indicated they plan to check out today. I’m going with you.”
“It’s really okay if you—”
“I’m going,” he repeated, and swung his feet to the floor, rose. “If you want to speak with Mira alone, I’ll drop you there afterward. I’ll either come back for you myself and we could go have ourselves a nice meal somewhere, or I’ll send a car. Are you ready now?”
No point fighting this either, she decided. Better to save all the energy for the face-to-face with Trudy. “As I’ll ever be.” She stepped up, put her arms around him, and squeezed. “In case I get all worked up and pissed off and forget to thank you later.”
“So noted.”
* * *
It wasn’t a fleabag, Eve decided when she studied the facade of the hotel. In a city of five-diamond hotels, it maybe earned a half carat. It didn’t run to parking, so Roarke had paid an obscene amount in a private lot a block east. But then his ride was probably worth more than the building that housed the hotel and some souvenir shop called Tokens on Ten.
It didn’t run to doormen either, and what passed for its lobby was a double-wide alcove with a counter. Behind it and a security screen was a droid clerk fashioned to resemble a man in his forties suffering from male-pattern baldness.
He wore a tired white shirt, and as bored an expression as a droid could manage.
“Checking in? Luggage?”
“Not checking in. No luggage. Try this instead.” Eve drew out her badge.
Bored became long-suffering. “Was there a complaint? No one filed a complaint through me. All our licenses are in order.”
“I need to speak to one of your guests. Lombard, Trudy.”
“Oh.” He swiveled to his register comp. “Ms. Lombard has a Do Not Disturb on her room. She hasn’t taken it off yet today.”
Eve kept her eyes on his, tapped a finger on her badge.
“Yeah, well… She’s in four-fifteen. Do you want me to call up, let her know you’re here?”
“I think we can find four-fifteen all by ourselves.”
She eyed the single elevator with some distrust, but her feet were still a little achy from her diamond slippers.
“Voice activation’s broke,” the desk droid called out. “You have to push for your floor.”
She stepped on, pushed four. “This thing gets stuck, you can get us out, right?”
“Not to worry.” Roarke took her hand. “Look at her the way you looked at the clerk, and you’ll be done.”
“How’d I look at the clerk?”
“Like he was nothing.” He lifted their joined hands, kissed hers as the elevator groaned its way upward. The droid wouldn’t have registered the nerves, Roarke thought, and he doubted Trudy would. But they were there, under the surface. “If you’re up for it after Mira’s, why don’t we do a little shopping?”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“No, seriously. We’ll stroll around on Fifth, look at the decorations, wander over to watch the skaters. Be New Yorkers.”
She started to point out that no sane New Yorker would hassle with Fifth on a weekend this close to Christmas, much less stroll. But suddenly, it seemed like just the thing.
“Sure. Why not?”
The elevator squeaked open on four. The hall was narrow, but it was clean. A maid’s cart stood outside the open door of four-twelve, and a woman—curvy, blond, mid-twenties—was knocking lightly on four-fifteen.
“Come on, Mama Tru.” The woman’s voice was soft as cotton. As she knocked again, she shifted from foot to foot, nervously, on simple canvas skids the same quiet blue as her pants. “We’re worried about you now. Come on and open the door. Bobby’ll take us out for a nice lunch.”
She glanced over with eyes baby blue like her outfit, and gave Eve and Roarke an embarrassed smile. “Morning. Or afternoon by now, I expect.”
“She doesn’t answer?”
The woman blinked at Eve. “Um… No. My mother-in-law. She wasn’t feeling very well yesterday. I’m sorry, is the knocking bothering you?”
“I’m Dallas. Lieutenant Eve. She probably mentioned me.”
“You’re Eve!” She slapped crossed hands to her chest as her face lit up. “You’re Eve. Oh, I’m so glad you came by. This is going to make her feel so much better. I’m just so happy to meet you. I’m Zana. Zana Lombard, Bobby’s wife. Oh, gosh, and I’m just not fixed up like I wanted.” She brushed at her hair that fell in soft, shiny waves. “You look just like you did on-screen. Mama Tru played that interview for me a couple times. I’m just so distracted I didn’t recognize you. Goodness, we’re like sisters, aren’t we?”
She made a move—an obvious hug move—which Eve evaded by stepping to the side. “No, we’re really not.” This time Eve knocked, three good, strong pounds with the side of her fist. “Lombard, it’s Dallas. Open up.”
Zana bit her lip, twisted the silver chain she wore around her fingers. “Maybe I should get Bobby. We’re down at the end of the hall. I should get Bobby.”
“Why don’t you give this a moment?” Roarke suggested, and drew her back gently with a hand on her arm. “I’m the lieutenant’s husband.”
“Oh, Lord, oh my, of course you are. I recognize you, I sure do. I’m just so confused. I’m starting to worry that something’s wrong. I know Mama Tru went to see Eve—the lieutenant—but she wouldn’t talk to us about it. She was that upset. Then yesterday.” She gripped her hands together, twisted them. “I don’t know what’s going on. I hate when everyone’s upset.”
“Then you’d better take a long walk,” Eve told her. She shook her head at Roarke, then signalled to the maid who was peeking around I; the corner of the open door of four-twelve. “Open it,” she ordered and flashed her badge.
“I’m not really supposed to without permission from the desk.”
“See this?” Eve waved her badge in the air. “This is permission. You I open the door, or I break in the door. Take your pick.”
“I’ll get it, I’ll get it.” The maid hustled over, digging her master out of her pocket. “Sometimes people sleep late on Sundays, you know. Sometimes they just like to sleep in.”
When she’d used the master, Eve nudged her aside. “Stand back.” She thumped twice more on the door. “Coming in.”
She wasn’t sleeping. Not in that position, not sprawled on the floor with her nightgown hiked up to her hips and her head resting in a pool of congealed blood.
Odd to feel nothing, Eve realized as she automatically pulled her recorder from her coat pocket. Odd to feel nothing at all.
She fixed it to her lapel, engaged. “Dallas, Lieutenant Eve,” she began, then Zana was wiggling around her.
“What is it? What’s…”
The words became a gurgle, and the first screech erupted before Eve could push her aside. By the second, the maid had joined in with a kind of hysterical harmony.
“Quiet. Shut up! Roarke.”
“Wonderful. Ladies…”
He caught Zana before she hit the floor. And the maid ran like a gazelle toward the stairs. Doors began to open here and there along the hall.
“Police.” She turned, held her badge in clear view. “Go back in your rooms, please.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t have my field kit.”