Treachery in Death edahr-40

by J. D. Robb

  “About?”

  “Why are you deliberately baiting a man you believe has already killed at least two people in a matter of days? A man with no sense of urgency, nerves, or regrets regarding those murders? A man who has every reason to see you as an obstacle and a threat, to himself, but more important, to the woman he follows with absolute loyalty, all while knowing that woman has every motive, and would have no compunction, to order him to eliminate you.”

  “Because it’s my job.”

  “Don’t use that on me. I know you. There are certainly other ways to build and close this case, ways I have no doubt you’re pursuing. You enjoyed baiting him. You want him—through Renee Oberman—to try to kill you.”

  “Okay.” Eve moved to the AutoChef, programmed some of the herbal tea Mira drank. “I think you could use this.”

  “Don’t you dare try to brush me off.”

  “I’m not.” Eve set the tea on her desk, programmed coffee for herself. “I’m not,” she repeated. “You’re not wrong. You’re rarely wrong. I did enjoy it. Hell, I relished it. And I do want him to come at me. But I’m not wrong either. All of that is my job. Okay, maybe not the relish, but I’m entitled to some perks.”

  “This isn’t a joke, Eve.”

  “You’re damn fucking skippy it’s not. They’re cops, Doctor Mira, and cops don’t roll so easy. Bix sure as hell isn’t going to roll on Renee because I ask nice or the PA offers him a sweet deal. She’s his direct superior—his commanding officer. She’s given him a mission, made him important to her—made him her right hand, and that’s a powerful seduction. She’s created an atmosphere where they’re above the rest. Elite. Like ... like Special Forces—which he applied for and couldn’t get. They do what needs to be done—and his CO decides what that is. Following orders is part of his code, and his code is his god.”

  “You can’t tell me the only way to stop them, all of them, is to make yourself an irresistible target.”

  “Not the only way, no, but it’s a sure way, not only to stop them, but to carve them out of this department, to absolutely crush them. To make certain Renee, Bix, Freeman—every one of them—pays the heaviest price allowed by law. Every one of them, because believe me I will weed out and carve out every one of them.”

  Eve held up a hand before Mira could speak. “I’m under orders, too. Chief Tibble ordered me to take Renee Oberman and every cop in her network down hard. Bix isn’t the only one who takes orders seriously. I will take them down, and I will do everything in my power to minimize the damage to this department when I do.”

  Eve picked up the tea again. Mira wasn’t just pissed, she’d noted, she was tired and . . . sad.

  “Here. Maybe you could sit down.”

  Mira took the tea, sat. “I’m so angry with you.”

  “So noted. She has strings to pull. She has to have a judge, probably a couple of politicians. She’s got lines in the courts, in the department, maybe the lab, maybe the morgue. I’m stacking it up against her, and the rest of them, but I have to weigh that stack against her lines. She could wiggle out of this—evidence gets lost, lab results doctored, the wrong motion filed, wits vanish or recant.”

  “This entire investigation began because of a statement by what we’d agree is a sterling witness.”

  Struggling not to be annoyed—did she tell Mira how to do her job?—Eve ticked points off on her fingers.

  “Peabody never saw her. Bix’s name was never mentioned. Garnet’s dead. And if this isn’t nailed shut by the time it becomes known what she did see and hear?” Eve shook her head. “I’m her lieutenant. I’m her partner. Do you think I’d leave her ass hanging out with a target on it?”

  “No.” Mira finally sipped her tea. “No, I know you wouldn’t.”

  “Bix would stick his blaster in his ear and fire before he’d turn on Renee. Am I wrong?”

  “No. I believe he would sacrifice himself, and consider it honor, to shield her. Which means, if he does try to kill you—and you survive—you only have him.”

  “I’ve got some geeks up my sleeve, but even without that, collaring him puts a big crack in her wall. She’s disgraced, her career takes a hit it can’t recover from. And we open the floodgates to the money. Garnet’s, Bix’s, hers, the others. Explain that, bitch. She’d be scrambling. More, I think I worked Bix into casting a hard shadow on her.”

  Calmer, Mira sipped again. “You showed him, by his own words and demeanor, to be a soldier—one who follows orders without question, one with intense loyalty to Renee. Not a man who goes outside his CO, who breaks ranks and acts on his own volition.”

  “So I also have a top shrink up my sleeve, because you’d testify to that, in really big, fancy words. Janburry and Delfino, the cops on Garnet’s case, they’ll draw in on Bix. If Bix makes a run at me, he’s going to end up with his face on the sidewalk and a cop’s boot on his neck. I hope it’s mine, but I’ll settle for any cop’s boot.”

  “I know she observed as well. You wanted her to so you could let her know you’re looking in her direction. You did that because it will unnerve her, anger her, and—you hope—push her into giving Bix his green light. But you also did it, Eve, because it’s personal.”

  “It’s absolutely fucking down to the bone personal.” And a relief to say it. A goddamn thrill to say it. “She’s spit on everything I value, on everything I am. On everything I made myself out of a nightmare she can’t even conceive of. It matters.”

  “Yes,” Mira murmured. “Yes, it does.”

  “When I take her down I’m doing it for me, for the badge, for the man who trained me, taught me, who helped make me someone who deserves to wear it. But that’s only part of it. I’m doing it for you, goddamn it.”

  “Eve—”

  “Be quiet,” she ordered, and stunned them both. She had to get it out, she realized. Had to, here and now, let this vicious stew of emotion roiling in her guts spill over.

  “I’m doing it for Whitney, for Peabody, for every man and woman in my bullpen. I’m doing it for every cop she killed and a dead junkie. I’m doing it for every cop who deserves to wear the badge. And though I’ll do everything in my power to bring them all down, I’m doing it for every cop she turned into a disgrace.”

  She stopped herself, took a breath. “If you know me, I guess you should know that.”

  “I do. I know that very well. I let it be personal, too. You’re personal to me.”

  Eve felt the little pinch under her heart. “Are we good?”

  “I can’t help but wish you hadn’t made your case so well; then I could still be angry.” Mira rose. “I’m not going to bother to tell you to be careful. I don’t need to tell you to be smart. Do you have questions for me?”

  “You’ve already answered one of them. Just one other. I figure I know the answer, but it never hurts. Does she know I’m daring her to sic her dog on me?”

  “While she knows now you’re looking at her, and looking hard, she’d never put her life at risk. I don’t believe she can conceive of you doing so, not for something as unimportant to her as justice, as honor. If she sics her dog on you, she’ll believe it’s her idea. And it should be soon.”

  “Okay.” The sooner, the better.

  “Are you having nightmares, Eve? Flashbacks?”

  “No. Not really. Not in awhile. It feels, mostly, done. It’s never all the way done.” Still down there, she thought, down in the deep, but ... “It feels mostly done.”

  “All right.” Mira took Eve’s hand in hers for a squeeze. “Thanks for the tea.”

  Alone, Eve started to check in with Peabody, then Janburry tapped on her doorjamb.

  “You clear, Lieutenant?”

  “Yeah. Sorry, have you been waiting?”

  “No problem. Might’ve had a little one if you’d managed to get a confession on our dead guy.”

  “That’s going to take a little more work. I just set up the play, passed you the ball. Could you close the door, Detective Delfino?”
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  After she had, Delfino leaned back against it. “Renee Oberman,” she said. “Commander Oberman’s baby girl.”

  “Is that how you read it?”

  “He’s the reader.” She jerked a thumb at her partner. “Me? I smell it, like shit and blood in the water.”

  “She’s got a descriptive idiom,” Janburry commented. “I’m wondering if we can borrow your homework, Lieutenant, seeing as we missed a couple days of school on this.”

  “I haven’t been given full authorization, but I can tell you we’re both looking in the same direction. I could give you this.” She took a disc out of her pocket. “It would save you some time. But before I do, let’s make a deal.”

  “We’re listening,” Janburry told her.

  “You can have Bix when it’s time to haul him out of the shit and blood in the water, but Renee’s mine. Not because she’s the bigger catch. You could just say it’s personal. The rest, well, share and share alike.”

  “How much rest is there?”

  “Still working on that. Do we have a deal?”

  The partners exchanged a look. “Is there a secret handshake?” Janburry asked.

  “We’ll settle for regular.” After they’d shaken on it, Eve offered the disc. “You’ll find multiple false IDs, multiple secret accounts, and considerable real property tracked back to Renee, Bix, Garnet, and others we’ve nailed down.”

  “How involved is IAB?” Delfino wanted to know.

  “Thoroughly. Lieutenant Webster is point man there, but his captain has been briefed, as have Commander Whitney and Chief Tibble. This is NTK. Nobody else needs to know until we take them down.”

  “Blood and shit in the water,” Delfino repeated. “That’s what dirty cops smell like. Cops who kill cops? They have a special stench over that.”

  “He’s going to come after you.” Janburry studied Eve. “You know that.”

  “I’m counting on that.”

  “You want cover?”

  “I’ve got it, thanks. But I will contact you if and when. Whoever takes him down, he’s your collar. That’s the deal.”

  When her office emptied out again, Eve flipped the lock. She deserved a little reward, a little boost before she got back down to business.

  She took a tool from her desk and hunkered down beside her recycler. But when she removed the panel, no sealed evidence bag of chocolate waited for her.

  “Damn it! This blows. This seriously blows.”

  Sulking, mourning the loss, she stared at what she’d considered a brilliant hiding place. Her mistake, she admitted, had been leaving her stash in place while she’d gone on vacation.

  She’d given the despicable Candy Thief too much time and opportunity to search and consume.

  Now she not only wouldn’t get her reward, her boost, but she had to find another hide.

  She replaced the panel, tossed her tool back in her desk drawer. She gave herself another thirty seconds to sulk before contacting Peabody.

  “Status?”

  “I’m a little more than halfway through. Devin had one hell of a collection. Maybe this is a dead end. If she kept documentation or notes, one of Renee’s crew probably found it and destroyed it.”

  “Keep at it. Follow it through. If they didn’t find and destroy it, it’s because she hid it well.” Eve gave her recycler a dirty look. “I’ve got some things I need to finish up and tie up here, then I’ll be in. How about the e-team? Are they—Hold on,” she ordered when she heard the faint click at her door.

  Rising, she drew her weapon.

  Roarke opened the door, cocked his head. “Well now, that isn’t the greeting I’d hoped for.”

  She let out a breath, holstered her weapon. “Keep at it, Peabody,” she said. “Tag me if you find anything. Otherwise I’ll see you when I get there.” She broke transmission.

  “That door was locked.”

  “And your point is?” He stepped over, kissed her thoroughly. “I didn’t knock as I thought you might be taking one of your sprawled-on-the-floor-unconscious naps.”

  “Maybe I need a better lock. Maybe I need to start locking it more often.” She dropped into her chair. “Not that it would stop the Candy Thief. My stash is gone.”

  “You were going to stun your Candy Thief?”

  “I might, come the day. But no, I thought Renee might have snapped and sent Bix down to try to throw me out of my own office window. I gave her plenty of incentive when I had Bix in Interview, and I wanted a reward. I want candy.”

  “I haven’t any on me. Get something from Vending.”

  “I want my candy.”

  He smothered a laugh. “There, there.”

  “Bite me.” But she shook it off. “Why are you here? Why is everyone in my office today?”

  “I’m here as I also deserve a reward. As do Feeney and McNab.”

  “You pulled it off.”

  “We did. For the most part they did, but I managed a few flourishes.”

  “We need to set it up, need to get IAB tapped in.”

  “Feeney’s dealing with it. It’s his baby, after all. Or more McNab’s. Ian flashed some brilliance today. And what have you been up to, Lieutenant?”

  “Too many meetings. I’d go psycho if I had to face days stuffed with meetings. There are all these people in them.”

  “Typically, yes.”

  She filled him in quickly, but paused when she’d moved onto the interview with Bix—and when Roarke walked to her window, looked out.

  As Mira had done.

  “I went around about my strategy, purposes, reasonings with Mira, who wasn’t thrilled with me after. Until I laid it out. Do I have to lay it out for you?”

  “No. I understand your strategy, purposes, reasonings. I imagine Mira did as well. But it takes a bit to push through and accept them.”

  “Roarke, I’m so covered I’m practically wearing a blast-proof body glove.”

  “I know it.” He turned back to her. “But it takes a bit. You know, you’re a lean one, darling, but it would take some doing for anyone to throw you out of a window this size.”

  She smiled, and because she understood he needed it, leaned into him when he stepped over to brush a hand through her hair.

  “But since you’re my lean one, I’ll stick close for the time being. I’ve some things to see to. I’m going to find a place to see to them.”

  “I’ve got to write a couple reports, update my board and book. You can use the visitor’s area.”

  He looked at the pathetic chair. “Do you actually call this an area?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll find a space.”

  Lilah continued to keep her head down and her ass in the chair when Renee and Bix came back in—and when Renee, her face thunderous, closed herself in her office with him.

  Nearly end of shift, she thought. Not much longer now. She considered requesting some personal time and ducking out early. But her lieutenant frowned on such requests, and in her current mood might make an issue of it.

  Better just to ride the road.

  She said nothing when Manford and Tulis came back from the field, and Tulis dropped files on her desk.

  It was, she knew, expected she write up the fives, clean up the report, file it. The lieutenant considered her field men too valuable to sweat over paperwork.

  She started in on it, telling herself it would keep her busy, distract her from watching the time. She’d eaten up that time when Renee came out and walked straight to Lilah’s desk.

  Though her heart took a tumble, Lilah looked up placidly. “Yes, ma’am?”

  “You’re with Bix,” Renee said briskly.

  “With Bix, Lieutenant?”

  “As I said. We’re short a man, if you’ve forgotten one of your squad went down. Do you have a problem with field work, Detective? I was under the impression you were eager to break away from your desk.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” She infused her voice with enthusiasm. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”
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  “Bix will give you the details en route. You’re cleared for OT, should it be necessary.”

  Bix stood, looking at Lilah with his flat-eyed stare. “Let’s get it done.”

  This is bullshit, bullshit, Lilah thought as she forced herself up to fall into step with him. She’d left some sort of tell, or one of the others had seen her go in, come out, had given the alert. Or . . .

  Didn’t matter how, she thought. She was made.

  “Where are we going?”

  “One-man cook shop on Avenue D. We’re going to pick up the chef, put some pressure on him, see where it goes.”

  Bullshit, bullshit, Lilah thought again.

  “Something you and Garnet were working on? Look, I’m sorry about Garnet. I know the two of you worked pretty close.”

  “He knew the score.” Bix stepped into the elevator, and since it was crowded with cops, Lilah got on with him.

  She’d be damned if she’d be led like a lamb to the slaughter, and every instinct told her she’d been slated to be put down.

  Quickly she replayed every minute she’d spent in Renee’s office, every move made. She’d left everything exactly as it had been. Besides, if there had been something out of order, Renee couldn’t know who ...

  Unless she did monitor the squad room, and not just when she was in her office. And if she monitored the squad room, she could have her office on monitor. She could’ve seen everything.

  Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

  “Have you dealt with the chef before?” As she asked Lilah tugged at the neck of her top as if plagued by the heat. It wasn’t much of a stretch.

  “Yeah. I’ll handle him. You’re along for ballast.” He cut his gaze down to her when she began to hyperventilate. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Sorry. Claustrophobic. I . . .” She popped off the elevator, shoving cops aside when the doors opened. She’d have run then, but Bix was right beside her. Instead she lowered her head between her knees. “Couldn’t breathe.”

  “How the hell did you get on the force?”

  She let his disgust roll off her back. All the better if he thought her weak and useless. “Look, I’m a good cop. I just have some trouble with tight spaces. I’ll take the glide down, meet you in the garage.”