by J. D. Robb
The steel came back into Angelini’s eyes. There would be no more sighs. “Let me ask you something, Jack, just between us. If it was one of yours, and there was the slightest chance—just the slightest—that they’d be convicted of murder, would anything stop you from protecting them?”
“You can’t protect David by stepping in with some bullshit confession.”
“Who said it was bullshit?” The word sounded like cream in Angelini’s cultured voice. “I did it, and I’m confessing because I can’t live with myself if my own child pays for my crime. Now tell me, Jack, would you stand behind your son, or in front of him?”
“Ah, hell, Marco,” was all Whitney could say.
He stayed for twenty minutes, but got nothing more. For a time he guided the conversation into casual lines, golf scores, the standings of the baseball team Marco had a piece of. Then, quick and sleek as a snake, he’d toss out a hard, leading question on the murders.
But Marco Angelini was an expert negotiator, and had already given his bottom line. He wouldn’t budge.
Guilt, grief, and the beginnings of real fear made an unsettling stew in Whitney’s stomach as he stepped into Eve’s office. She was hunched over her computer, scanning data, calling up more.
For the first time in days, his eyes cleared of their own fatigue and saw hers. She was pale, her eyes shadowed, her mouth grim. Her hair stood up in spikes as if she’d dragged her hands through it countless times. Even as he watched, she did so again, then pressed her fingers to her eyes as if they burned.
He remembered the morning in his office, the morning after Cicely had been murdered. And the responsibility he’d hung around Eve’s neck.
“Lieutenant.”
Her shoulders straightened as if she’d slammed steel poles into them. Her head came up, her eyes carefully blank.
“Commander.” She got to her feet. Got to attention, Whitney thought, annoyed by the stiff and impersonal formality.
“Marco’s in holding. We can keep him for forty-eight hours without charging him. I thought it best to let him think behind bars for a while. He still refuses counsel.”
Whitney stepped in while she stood there, and he looked around. He wasn’t often in this sector of the complex. His officers came to him. Another weight of command.
She could have had a bigger office. She’d earned one. But she seemed to prefer to work in a room so small that if three people crowded into it, they’d be in sin.
“Good thing you’re not claustrophobic,” he commented. She gave no response, didn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow. Whitney muttered an oath. “Listen, Dallas—”
“Sir.” Her interruption was fast and brittle. “Forensics has the weapon retrieved from David Angelini’s room. I’m informed that there will be some delay on the results as the blood traces detected by the sweeper are of an amount borderline for typing and DNA.”
“So noted, Lieutenant.”
“The fingerprints on the weapon in evidence have been matched to those of David Angelini. My report—”
“We’ll get to your report momentarily.”
Her chin jutted up. “Yes, sir.”
“Goddamn it, Dallas, yank that stick out of your butt and sit down.”
“Is that an order, Commander?”
“Ah, hell,” he began.
Mirina Angelini burst through the doorway in a clatter of high heels and a crackle of silk. “Why are you trying to destroy my family?” she demanded, shaking off the restraining hand of Slade who had come in behind her.
“Mirina, this isn’t going to help.”
She jerked away and crowded into Eve. “Isn’t it enough that my mother was murdered on the street? Murdered because American cops are too busy chasing shadows and filling out useless reports to protect the innocent?”
“Mirina,” Whitney said, “come on to my office. We’ll talk.”
“Talk?” She turned on him like a cat, gold and sleek, teeth bared for blood. “How can I talk to you? I trusted you. I thought you cared about me, about David, about all of us. You’ve let her lock David in a cell. And now my father.”
“Mirina, Marco came in voluntarily. We’ll talk about this. I’ll explain it all to you.”
“There’s nothing to explain.” She turned her back on him and aimed her scorching fury at Eve. “I went to my father’s house. He wanted me to stay in Rome, but I couldn’t. Not when every report in the media is smearing my brother’s name. When we arrived, a neighbor was more than happy, even gleeful, to tell me that my father had been taken away by the police.”
“I can arrange for you to speak with your father, Ms. Angelini,” Eve said coolly. “And your brother.”
“You’re damn right you’ll arrange it. And now. Where is my father?” She used both hands to shove Eve back a pace before Whitney or Slade could stop her. “What have you done with him, you bitch!”
“You want to keep your hands off me,” Eve warned. “I’ve just about had my fill of Angelinis. Your father’s in holding, here. Your brother’s in the tower at Riker’s. You can see your father now. If you want to see your brother, you’ll be shuttled over.” Her gaze flicked to Whitney, and stung. “Or since you’ve got some pull around here, you can probably have him transported to Visitation for an hour.”
“I know what you’re doing.” This was no fragile flower now. Mirina fairly vibrated with power. “You need a scapegoat. You need an arrest so that the media will get out of your face. You’re playing politics, using my brother, even my murdered mother, so that you won’t lose your job.”
“Yeah, some cushy job.” She smiled sourly. “I toss innocent people in a cage every day so I can keep all the benefits.”
“It keeps your face on the screen, doesn’t it?” Mirina tossed her glorious hair. “How much publicity have you traded over my mother’s dead body?”
“That’s enough, Mirina.” Whitney’s voice lashed like a whip, in one vicious snap. “Go to my office and wait.” He looked over her shoulder at Slade. “Take her out of here.”
“Mirina, this is useless,” Slade murmured, trying to tuck her under his arm. “Let’s go now.”
“Don’t hold me.” She bit off each word as if they were stringy meat, then shrugged away from him. “I’ll go. But you’re going to pay for the grief you’ve brought my family, Lieutenant. You’re going to pay for every bit of it.”
She stalked out, giving Slade time for only a muttered apology before he followed after her.
Whitney stepped quietly into the silence. “You okay?”
“I’ve dealt with worse.” Eve jerked a shoulder. Inside she was sick with anger and guilt. Sick enough that she wanted badly to be alone behind closed doors. “If you’ll excuse me, Commander, I want to finish going over this report.”
“Dallas—Eve.” It was the weariness in his tone that had her gaze lifting warily to his. “Mirina’s upset, understandably so. But she was out of line, way out of line.”
“She was entitled to a couple of shots at me.” Because she wanted to press her hands to her throbbing head, she tucked them negligently into her pockets. “I’ve just put what’s left of her family in a cage. Who else is she going to be pissed at? I can take it.” Her gaze remained cool, steely. “Feelings aren’t my strong suit.”
He nodded slowly. “I had that coming. I put you on this case, Dallas, because you’re the best I’ve got. Your mind’s good, your gut’s good. And you care. You care about the victim.” Letting out a long breath, he dragged a hand over his hair. “I was off base this morning, Dallas, in my office. I’ve been off base a number of times with you since this whole mess began. I apologize for it.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“I wish it didn’t.” He searched her face, saw the stiff restraint. “But I see it does. I’ll take care of Mirina, arrange the visitations.”
“Yes, sir. I’d like to continue my interview with Marco Angelini.”
“Tomorrow,” Whitney said and set his teeth when she didn’t quite mask the snee
r. “You’re tired, Lieutenant, and tired cops make mistakes and miss details. You’ll pick it up tomorrow.” He headed for the door, swore again, and stopped without looking back at her. “Get some sleep, and for Christ’s sake, take a painkiller for that headache. You look like hell.”
She resisted slamming the door after him. Resisted because it would be petty and unprofessional. But she sat down, stared at the screen, and pretended her head wasn’t shuddering with pain.
When a shadow fell over her desk moments later, she looked up, eyes fired for battle.
“Well,” Roarke said mildly and leaned over to kiss her snarling mouth. “That’s quite a welcome.” He patted his chest. “Am I bleeding?”
“Ha-ha.”
“There’s that sparkling wit I missed.” He sat on the edge of the desk where he could look at her and catch a glimpse of the data on the screen to see if that was what had put the miserable anger in her eyes. “Well, Lieutenant, and how was your day?”
“Let’s see. I booked my superior’s favorite godson on obstruction and other assorted charges, found what may be the murder weapon in his console drawer in the family town house, took a confession from the prime suspect’s father, who claims he did it, and just took a couple of shots between the eyes from the sister, who thinks I’m a media grabbing bitch.” She tried on a small smile. “Other than that, it’s been pretty quiet. How about you?”
“Fortunes won, fortunes lost,” he said mildly, worried about her. “Nothing nearly as exciting as police work.”
“I wasn’t sure you were coming back tonight.”
“Neither was I. The construction on the resort’s moving ahead well enough. I should be able to handle things from here for a time.”
She tried not to be so relieved. It irritated her that in a few short months she’d gotten so used to his being there. Even dependent upon it. “That’s good, I guess.”
“Mmm.” He read her well. “What can you tell me about the case?”
“It’s all over the media. Pick a channel.”
“I’d rather hear it from you.”
She brought him up to date in much the way she would file a report: in quick, efficient terms, heavy on facts, light on personal comments. And, she discovered, she felt better for it afterward. Roarke had a way of listening that made her hear herself more clearly.
“You believe it’s the younger Angelini.”
“We’ve got means and opportunity, and a good handle on motive. If the knife matches . . . Anyway, I’ll be meeting with Dr. Mira tomorrow to discuss his psych testing.”
“And Marco,” Roarke continued. “What do you think of his confession?”
“It’s a handy way to confuse things, tie up the investigation. He’s a clever man, and he’ll find a way to leak it to the media.” She scowled over Roarke’s shoulder. “It’ll jerk everything around for a while, cost us some time and trouble. But we’ll smooth it out.”
“You think he confessed to the murders to complicate the investigation?”
“That’s right.” She shifted her gaze to his, lifted a brow. “You’ve got another theory.”
“The drowning child,” Roarke murmured. “The father believes his son is about to go under for the third time, jumps into the torrent. His life for his child’s. Love, Eve.” He cupped her chin in his hand. “Love stops at nothing. Marco believes his son is guilty, and would rather sacrifice himself than see his child pay the price.”
“If he knows, or even believes, that David killed those women, it would be insane to protect him.”
“No, it would be love. There’s probably none stronger than a parent’s for a child. You and I don’t have any experience with that, but it exists.”
She shook her head. “Even when the child’s defective?”
“Perhaps especially then. When I was a boy in Dublin, there was a woman whose daughter had lost an arm in an accident. There was no money for a replacement. She had five children, and loved them all. But four were whole, and one was damaged. She built a shield around that girl, to protect her from the stares and the whispers and the pity. It was the damaged child she pushed to excel, who they all devoted themselves to. The others didn’t need her as much, you see, as the one who was flawed.”
“There’s a difference between a physical defect and a mental one,” Eve insisted.
“I wonder if there is, to a parent.”
“Whatever Marco Angelini’s motive, we’ll cut through to the truth in the end.”
“No doubt you will. When’s your shift over?”
“What?”
“Your shift,” he repeated. “When is it over?”
She glanced at the screen, noted the time in the bottom corner. “About an hour ago.”
“Good.” He rose and held out a hand. “Come with me.”
“Roarke, there are some things I should tie up here. I want to review the interview with Marco Angelini. I may find a hole.”
He was patient because he had no doubt he’d have his own way. “Eve, you’re so tired you wouldn’t see a hundred-meter hole until you’d fallen into it.” Determined, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Come with me.”
“All right, maybe I could use a break.” Grumbling a bit, she ordered her computer off and locked. “I’m going to have to goose the techs at the lab. They’re taking forever on the knife.” Her hand felt good in his. She didn’t even worry about the ribbing she’d take from the other cops who might see them in the hall or elevator. “Where are we going?”
He brought their linked hands to his lips and smiled at her over them. “I haven’t decided.”
He opted for Mexico. It was a quick, easy flight, and his villa there on the turbulent west coast was always prepared. Unlike his home in New York, he kept it fully automated, calling in domestics only for lengthy stays.
In Roarke’s mind, droids and computers were convenient but impersonal. For the purposes of this visit, however, he was content to rely on them. He wanted Eve alone, he wanted her relaxed, and he wanted her happy.
“Jesus, Roarke.”
She took one look at the towering, multilayered building on the brink of a cliff and goggled. It looked like a extension of the rock, as if the sheer glass walls had been polished from it. Gardens tumbled over terraces in vivid colors, shapes, and fragrances.
Above, the deepening sky was devoid of any traffic. Just blue, the swirl of white clouds, the flashing wings of birds. It looked like another world.
She’d slept like a stone on the plane, barely surfacing when the pilot had executed a snazzy drop landing that had placed them neatly at the foot of zigzagging stone steps that climbed the towering cliff. She was groggy enough to reach up to be certain he hadn’t slipped VR goggles on her while she’d slept.
“Where are we?”
“Mexico,” he said simply.
“Mexico?” Stunned, she tried to rub the sleep and the shock from her eyes. Roarke thought, with affection, that she looked like a cranky child awakened from a nap. “But I can’t be in Mexico. I have to—”
“Ride or walk?” he asked, pulling her along like a stubborn puppy.
“I have to—”
“Ride,” he decided. “You’re still groggy.”
She could enjoy the climb later, he thought, and its many views of sea and cliffs. Instead, he nudged her into a sleek little air cart, taking the controls himself and shooting them up to vertical with a speed that knocked the rest of sleep out of her system.
“Christ, not so fast.” Her instinct for survival had her clutching the side, wincing as rocks, flowers, and water whizzed by. He was roaring with laughter when he slipped the little cart into place at the front patio.
“Awake now, darling?”
She had her breath back, barely. “I’m going to kill you as soon as I make sure all my internal organs are in place. What the hell are we doing in Mexico?”
“Taking a break. I need one.” He stepped out of the cart and came around to her side. “There’s no
doubt you do.” Since she was still holding onto the side, knuckles white, he reached in, plucked her up, and carried her over the irregularly shaped stones toward the door.
“Cut it out. I can walk.”
“Stop complaining.” He turned his head, expertly finding her mouth, deepening the kiss until her hand stopped pushing at his shoulder and began to knead it.
“Damn it,” she murmured. “How come you can always do that to me?”
“Just lucky, I guess. Roarke, disengage,” he said, and the decorative bars across the entrance slid apart. Behind them, doors ornate with carving and etched glass clicked open and swung back in welcome. He stepped inside. “Secure,” he ordered, and the doors efficiently closed while Eve stared.
One wall of the entrance level was glass, and through it she could see the ocean. She’d never seen the Pacific, and she wondered now how it had earned its serene name when it looked so alive, so ready to boil.
They were in time for sunset, and as she watched, speechless, the sky exploded and shimmered with bolts and streams of wild color. And the fat red globe of the sun sank slowly, inevitably, toward the blue line of water.
“You’ll like it here,” he murmured.
She was staggered by the beauty of an ending day. It seemed that nature had waited for her, held the show. “It’s wonderful. I can’t stay.”
“A few hours.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Just overnight for now. We’ll come back and spend a few days when we have more time.”
Still carrying her, he walked closer to the glass wall until it seemed to Eve that the entire world was made of frantic color and shifting shapes.
“I love you, Eve.”
She looked away from the sun, the ocean, and into his eyes. And it was wonderful, and for the moment, it was simple. “I missed you.” She pressed her cheek to his and held him tightly. “I really missed you. I wore one of your shirts.” She could laugh at herself now because he was here. She could smell him, touch him. “I actually went into your closet and stole one of your shirts—one of the black silk ones you have dozens of. I put it on, then snuck out of the house like a thief so Summerset wouldn’t catch me.”