Abandoned in Death (In Death, #54)(85)

Eve got in the passenger seat while Peabody wiggled her butt in the driver’s seat.

“She’d been a drifter, working the low life. You don’t raise three kids to successful adulthood, stay with the same man for decades unless you want to or you’re forced to. And there’s nothing to indicate force here. She wanted that life, that man, those children, and she made it all hers. You can’t fake love, not for half a century.

“He knows that,” Eve added. “Number one son knows that, knows she gave that love to others and not to him.”

As Eve pulled out her ’link, Peabody finished programming their route and stops. “How about a nice cold drink!”

So saying, Peabody programmed for two tubes. Diet and regular.

“Road trip!”

Eve just cast her eyes to the roof of the car. “She’s not even out of the garage, and I already regret this.”





18





Eve concluded the senator’s older sister had greased the wheels, as it only took plowing through three staffers to reach him.

While he proved more evasive, less conclusive in certain areas, the winding conversation confirmed everything his siblings had stated. He spoke of a halcyon childhood, noisy family dinners, catching his parents kissing in the kitchen, of his mother squealing, then laughing as their old hound Cecil managed to drag a whole baked ham off the kitchen counter.

“Our house was always open to friends and family. It was the center,” he added. “She was the center of that. She was always there. My father’s work sometimes prevented him from being there, but we knew if we couldn’t go to him, we could go to her.”

He took a breath. “They were beautiful together. Their devotion and respect for each other never wavered. Did they disagree at times, even argue? Of course, but never with rancor. He was her hero. She said that to me more than once.

“Whenever I felt my daddy was being too hard, too strict, expected too much—and during my teenage years, there were plenty of times I felt that—she’d tell me he expected much because he loved much. He was what I should aspire to be. A good man, a compassionate one, who never failed to reach out a hand to help another. She’d say he was the foundation for what we’d all become, just as he’d been hers.”

“The foundation for what she became?”

“As you know, my mother had a troubled childhood. It wasn’t something we talked about, not often. It seemed so distant. I’ve always felt she credited my father for helping her put that behind her.”

As Eve wound the conversation up, Peabody—who in Eve’s opinion drove like an old lady past due for her biannual vision adjustment—pulled up at the first stop.

By the third stop, Eve had time to write up the conversation, and start to play with another theory.

She had time to roll it around, touch base with Reineke—still no hits—and study the incoming lab reports on the drive back, with two more stops along the way.

“Maybe he ordered the kit online,” Peabody said as she chugged behind a line of traffic. “Do you want to keep going? We’ve got more in Manhattan, one in the Bronx, more in Queens, and—”

“The way you drive, we’d get to the Bronx by Tuesday.”

“So that’s a no.”

“Head back to the house. We’re coming up on end of shift, and most of the vendors are hitting end of business day. We’ll try a few more by ’link.”

Internally, she imagined whipping around the all-terrain in front of them, then skimming by the mini, snaking through the Rapid Cab and sedan.

“Have you noticed I haven’t brought up the work on the house all day?” Peabody asked. “Not once.”

“Which causes me to assume you intend to do so now.”

“Just for a minute. The drywall’s going up so fast, it’s like magic, and our kitchen cabinets are coming in by the end of the week. My beautiful bright red cabinets.”

“Red? I thought you went with—you said soft blue. Or green. Soft something.”

“You paid attention! I wanted to see if you paid attention, and you did! My sweet soft blue cabinets are on their way. Mavis’s are going to take a few more days, so they’re starting to install some of her studio equipment.”

As if she only had that single minute, Peabody spoke a lot faster than she drove.

“Roarke said she could even try it out next week, just test it in case she decides she wants to change anything. And since Leonardo wants to keep the exposed beams in his big attic studio, they’re going to start installing there. And McNab and I are abso-poso going to nail down our decision on the powder room and guest bathroom tile tonight.

“We pinky swore.”

“Well then. Roarke said you ordered a crap-ton of rocks.”

“Oh, the stone, for the waterfall feature.”

“He said it was a solid design.”

“He did?” Peabody’s face lit up like a candle, and she still failed to pass the AT. “He told me it was, but I thought he could’ve just been being nice, you know? But if he told you, he must mean it. I want it to be just mag. Mavis, I know she wants, like, a fairyland, the flowers and veg, the trees, all of it. I really want to help give it to her. She and Leonardo are doing so much for us. We’re going to have a house and a yard, gardens, space, stuff it would’ve taken years if ever for us to manage, and—”