Faithless in Death (In Death, #52)(22)

“Saves time and trouble in the long run. So. Gwendolyn Huffman, you have the right to remain silent.”

Eve read off the Revised Miranda in pleasant, casual tones.

“Okay—see, not much time. Do you understand your rights and obligations in this matter?”

“I do, of course.”

“Great.” Eve started to draw papers out of a file, stopped. “Before you sign off, you mentioned to Peabody that Ariel Byrd told you she’d noticed someone hanging out in the neighborhood, someone out of place? Can you tell us about that? We can put it on record.”

“Of course. Honestly, it just occurred to me when Detective Peabody mentioned you were looking for someone like that. Ariel commented, a couple of times over the last few weeks, she’d noticed some guy hanging out, walking up and down the street, and she didn’t like the look of him.”

“Did she describe him?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

“But she indicated male.”

“She did.” Eyes clear and direct, Gwen gave a decisive nod. “A guy. Not all that clean, she said, and walking around, studying the buildings. She even said, like, he was casing the apartments, the shops. I’m sorry to say I fluffed it off, joked about it. People walk in New York.”

Gwen looked away, worked up a tear shine in her eyes. “The idea that she was right, it haunts me.”

“Did he ever approach her, try to panhandle or connect with her?”

“She never said so, and I think she would have. Or … I don’t know, since I joked about it.” She worked up more shine so tears just trembled but didn’t fall. “God, maybe he did, and she didn’t tell me because she thought I’d make fun of her again.”

As if to give Gwen time to compose herself, Eve paused.

Peabody picked up the cue. “Why don’t I get you another water, Ms. Huffman?”

“Would you? Thank you. This is all so upsetting.”

Peabody took the empty tube. “Peabody exiting Interview.”

“You can’t blame yourself for not taking that comment seriously.”

“It’s hard not to. If I could just have a minute?”

Eve lifted her hands. “All the time you need.”

Gwen took a pack of tissues out of her purse, dabbed at her eyes. The door opened again.

“Peabody reentering Interview.”

Gwen picked up the fresh tube, sipped delicately.

“You never noticed him, this man Ariel mentioned?”

“No. But I didn’t go to her apartment that often.”

“Really?” Eve leaned back. “Yet you purchased flowers at Fruit and Flower a block and a half from her apartment numerous times, and wine at the Wine Cave two blocks from her apartment.”

“I often buy wine and flowers. I may have patronized those shops on occasion when downtown. What difference does it make?”

“Here’s where it makes a difference. You purchased flowers—flowers that the victim had on her dining table—and wine—the wine in the victim’s kitchen—on the evening of her murder.”

“That’s impossible, as I wasn’t downtown. I’ve clearly stated where I was last evening.”

“Peabody, cue it up and run it. Both those vendors have security cams, and both those cams are date and time stamped. And both?” Eve pointed to the split screen that showed Gwen purchasing the flowers, the wine. “Both clearly show you. And show you wearing the dress, the shoes you wore when you were on the hallway, elevator, and lobby cam of your apartment.

“Peabody?”

Peabody made a business of looking at her notes. “You walked two blocks, hailed Rapid Cab number 982, rode downtown to the Wine Cave, where you paid cash for a very nice Shiraz before walking the half block to buy the flowers, again for cash.”

“Those things, those cameras, can be manipulated.”

“Sure, sure, House Royale, the flower place, the wine place, they all manipulated their security feeds just for kicks. Time to cut the crap, Gwen. You left the damn wineglasses in the bedroom.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

No tear shine now, Eve noted, but a hard gleam.

“I want to contact Merit.”

“You want your lawyer? Sure, that’s your right. I wonder what your fiancé’s reaction will be when we tell him your DNA, your pubic hair were found in the dead woman’s bed. Your DNA and prints on the wineglass beside the bed. Should be interesting.”

Eve rose. “We’ll step out so you can contact your lawyer.”

“You just wait a minute.”

“Can’t continue once you say lawyer. Peabody, let’s step out.”

“I said wait a minute! I’m not contacting Merit yet. We’ll just straighten this out. I don’t want him upset by all this.”

Eve stood, hand on the door. “So you don’t want a lawyer at this time?”

“That’s what I said.”

Eve stepped back, sat again. “The record shows you waive legal representation at this time.”

“And I know this without a lawyer.” Gwen’s lips curved, smugly. “My fingerprints and my DNA are not on file, and you can’t compel me to give them to you without charging me. If you spied on me with my apartment security, you know I was in my apartment when Ariel was killed.”