Born in Death (In Death #23)(18)

“I want to know where you shop,” she demanded.

“Huh? Hey, Dallas.”

“Because I never want to make the lethal mistake of going there.” She dug out credits. “Get me a tube of Pepsi from that sarcastic, sadistic thing people call a vending machine.”

“Sure.” He caught the credits she tossed him.

Peabody was right, at least about the fact he didn’t have much ass. He was built like a reed, dressed like a circus star, and had the soul of an e-geek.

His hair was slicked back in a blond tail leaving his thin, pretty face unframed. There were countless silver hoops in his left ear. She wondered why he didn’t list to that side when he walked.

“I caught your case,” he told her, and tossed her the tube. “Just on my way back from making a pit stop. About to tag you.”

“You got something for me?”

“Got the first vic’s trans, seven days back. Can get you more. See, even when you clear the ’link, the trans are on the hard drive for—”

“I don’t want a nerd lesson, just the results.”

“Come on back.”

If Homicide was business casual, EDD was haute couture. On Venus. McNab’s lightning bolts sizzled among a storm of clashing colors, shiny materials, gel-boots, and pounds of body adornments. Where Homicide hummed, EDD sang. Shrieked, actually, Eve thought, with beeps and buzzes, voices, music, and electronic whistles.

She’d go mad in an hour under these conditions and often wondered how her old partner, Feeney, captain of the division, survived. In fact, she corrected,thrived among the peacocks and passion flowers.

McNab grabbed a disc from his workstation. “We’ll take a booth.”

He wound his way through the jungle. Most of EDD danced around, talking on headphones. It gave her the jitters. She followed McNab through glass doors where a dozen clear booths were lined up like soldiers. More than half of them were occupied.

McNab snagged one, then slid the disc into a slot on a sleek little comp unit. “Most of the trans are to the second vic. Some to her mother, her sister, the office. Others to shops and stuff—she was getting married, right?”

“That was the plan.”

“Yeah, doing checks on flowers, the dress, that kind of stuff.”

“Can we skip those?”

“Figured as much so I made two files. This one just has the trans to the boyfriend. You can review the other if you need it. Replay,” he ordered.

The computer recited the date of the transmission, the time, the codes used. Byson came on screen, as he would have on Natalie’s pocket unit.

He’d been a good-looking guy, Eve mused, before he’d had his face smashed in.

Hey, Nat.

Bick. Are you alone?

Yeah, I’m about to head into a meeting. What’s up?

I need to talk to you—about…what I’ve been looking into. Can you take lunch?

I can’t. I’ve got one scheduled. What is it?

I don’t think we should talk about it on the ’link. After work—we’ll go to my place. I need to show you. Come down when you’re finished for the day, okay? I think this is really important.

Okay, see you later.

The computer announced end of transmission, time elapsed.

“A little stressed, a little jumpy, but excited, too,” Eve mused. “Like,Look what I found. ”

The next was a day later, an incoming.

Hey, babe. I’m trying to move this dinner meeting along, but it’s dragging. Do you want me to come by after?

No, no, that’s okay. I’m working. Bick, I’m finding more. I think a lot more. I’ll fill you in tomorrow. Meet me for breakfast maybe? Our spot.

I’ll be there. Seven-thirty good?

Perfect. God, Bick. I just can’t believe all this. We have to find it all. It has to be stopped.

We could go to the cops.

Not yet. We have to be absolutely sure. We don’t know who’s involved, not on this end. Not for certain. We have to be careful. I’ll tell you about it in the morning.

Don’t work too late. Love you.

Love you right back.

There were a handful of others, increasingly tense, equally cryptic, ending with one near midnight, only a couple of hours before the first murder.

Just wanted to talk to you. See your face.

Nat, listen, I’ll just come over.

It’s late, and you had such a long day. I’m fine, really. Just edgy, I guess. And Palma will be here later. I always feel so odd having you sleep here when she’s staying over.

You puritan.

Guess I am.

But she laughed a little.

I’m going to tell her, Bick, talk it through with her.

I don’t like the way you were approached. Nat, they tried to bribe you.

And as far as they know I’m thinking about it.

It was more ultimatum than bribe. They might try to hurt you.

I asked for forty-eight hours to think about it. I’ve got time. There’s no reason for them to try anything before I give them my answer. I’ve got the new lock, the security peep, Palma’s coming. I’m in this now, Bick. I want to finish it. I just want to put it all together, talk to Palm. Tomorrow, we’ll take everything to the authorities.

I’ll come over in the morning. We’ll go together.