Abandoned in Death (In Death, #54)(49)

An oval mirror, framed in pale green, stood over a pale blue dresser with drawers painted to alternate the peach and green. Atop ranged a trio of fancy bottles, a faceted glass box, and a slim tray holding little candles.

No sign, Eve thought, of packing for a trip, outfits considered, tossed aside.

“Would you say this is how her room typically looks?”

“Oh, absolutely. If a hurricane blew through, M.K. would have everything back in its place within an hour.”

With a quick laugh, Cleo pointed across the hall to a room with bold, bright colors and cheerful disorder.

“I’m the hurricane. M.K.—sorry, Mary Kate and her sister, Tara, helped decorate my room, and the rest of the place. They’ve got vision, and Mary Kate needs order and, well, pretty, like she needs to breathe.”

Eve imagined Mary Kate felt short of breath at the moment, but didn’t say so. “We’d like to look through her things. I know it’s an intrusion, Cleo,” Eve continued when she saw Cleo’s anxiety, “but any detail can help us find her. I’d also like to send someone from EDD to take her D and C unit in, run a thorough search.”

“That’s for work. I mean to say, she’s really strict about that. Anything personal, she used her ’link or tablet. She wouldn’t even contact her mom from her home comp.”

“And still,” Eve said.

“Okay, yeah. Anything.”

“Thanks. Peabody, contact EDD, have this unit picked up.” As she spoke, she opened the closet door.

They spent an hour, and while they found nothing that pointed to where Covino might be, or the identity of who held her there, Eve added to her picture.

Girlie, organized, and—from her scan of the computer—hardworking. Family and friend oriented, and with a strong enough personality to have her less tidy roommate keep their shared space in order.

“Let’s walk down and have a conversation with the boyfriend.” Eve scanned the block when they came out of the building. “Plenty of places along here to keep tabs on the building. Shops, restaurants, and with the good weather, sitting outside having coffee or whatever. Still, he had to see her to want her.”

“The bar.” Peabody fell into step beside her. “Elder and Hobe both worked at bars, and Covino started hanging out in one, pitching in because of asshole boyfriend. He’s trolling bars looking for women who tick off points on his list.”

“Which means he’s been at this for months, most likely, not days, not weeks. This takes time. There’ll be others who didn’t make the cut, but it took time to eliminate them and select the ones that clicked for him.”

“Others,” Peabody agreed, “who wouldn’t be as easy to grab. They walked home or to transpo with somebody, or he found out they carried a sticker. Or … none of the three we’re looking at had kids. Yeah, young for it, but it happens.”

“Good point. His mother’s his mother, and nobody else’s.” She paused at a shop with an outdoor flower cart, then with a gesture to Peabody, went in.

Your basics, as Eve saw it. A small produce section, a tiny dairy one offset with shelves of dehydrated milk, eggs, soy products.

Candy, snacks, general household stuff.

She walked to the counter, where the clerk finished ringing up a sale. “Enjoy the day,” she said to the departing customer, offered Eve and Peabody an easy smile. “Help you?”

“Maybe.” Eve held up her badge and the photo of Covino on her ’link. “Do you recognize this woman?”

“Why?”

“She’s been reported missing. We’re looking for her.”

“Oh my God. No. I mean, yes, I recognize her. M.K., she’s in here several times a week. As nice as they come. But, wait, when she was in last—I guess last week—she said she was going on a little trip so wouldn’t be in.” The clerk, a tiny Black woman with a tat of a sinuous branch of ivy running from the inside of her elbow to her wrist, let out a huff of relief. “She went on a trip.”

“No,” Eve said, “she didn’t. She came in here regularly?”

“Yeah, yeah. For flowers once a week for sure, and just for this and that. Are you sure she didn’t go on that trip? She was awfully excited about it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Ivy, I’m Ivy. I don’t know what to think. I’d hate for anything to happen to that girl. Nice as they come.”

“Did you ever notice anyone, maybe who came in when she did? A male, likely Caucasian and in his sixties?”

“I get customers like that, sure, but nobody I noticed especially. If I’d seen anybody giving her the eye—the wrong kind of eye—I’d’ve said something. A sweetheart’s what she is. Takes time to chat a minute. Most are too busy or just don’t bother. She asks how I’m doing. My grandson—he works now and then after school or when I can squeeze him into it—he’s got a little crush on her.”

Ivy immediately looked horrified. “Zel would never—”

“Relax. Do you think Zel might have noticed someone you missed?”

“I can ask him. I can sure ask him. He’s coming in soon. Should be here any minute.”

“We have another stop to make in the neighborhood, then we’ll be back. We’d like to talk to him then.”