Born in Death (In Death #23)(96)

“And we wouldn’t know that yet if you hadn’t followed a hunch and sent Peabody and McNab back to Sloan’s to look for records. No one found the others, Eve. No one got close to finding them. Remember that.”

“I will, when and if we do find her, and she’s still breathing.” She checked the time. “I’m not waiting any longer for the warrant. Let’s line it up and knock it down.”

Sometime in the last hour it had started to snow. Thick, fat, wet flakes. Her team and the electronics Roarke and McNab had selected for the op were loaded into one of Roarke’s burly all-terrains.

As they rode, she visualized the interior of the Bullock house. Wide foyer, stairs to the left, living area to the right. Glass doors on east wall to terrace. Possible escape route.

But they wouldn’t run, she didn’t believe they’d run. They were too steeped in their own importance to run.

Chase wouldn’t be served with the mandatory until morning. She bet he and Mommy were both sleeping the sleep of the conscienceless by now. And they were about to get a nasty wake-up call.

Roarke stopped the van a half-block down and across the street from the mansion. “Let’s break out the toys, Ian.”

“Ahead of you.”

McNab sat crosslegged on his seat working the controls of a small keyboard. “Now this is frosty. I already programmed the coordinates. Ready to engage, if you’re set.”

“Baxter? Why don’t you change seats with me.” Though he made his way to the back, Roarke let McNab work the controls. “Go ahead.”

“Infrared and heat sensors engaged. Image on-screen—this bitch is fast! Okay, looks like we got two warm bodies, second level. Horizontal. Sleepy-by. Same room, same bed. I thought we were looking for mother and son.”

“We are,” Eve said as something twisted in her belly.

“Oh. Sick. Two warm bodies,” he repeated. “Second level, east, second room.”

“Only two,” Eve demanded and he sent her an apologetic look.

“That’s what I’m getting. Showing body heat, heart rate, mass and density, height and weight. This is wild-ass equipment, and it gives me the droid count—three first level, one third—but I’m not seeing any sign of a third human. And neither one of these images shows a baby on board.”

“Ian,” Roarke murmured, “have a look here.” Roarke tapped an area on the third level with a fingertip.

“Blank space where there can’t be blank space. Cold room. Jeez, I must be slipping. It’s shielded against the sensors.”

“Can you get by them?” Eve demanded.

“This’ll take a few minutes,” Roarke told her.

“I’m not waiting. We’re on go—” She broke off when her ’link beeped. “Reo. Tell me you got it.”

“I had to sell what’s left of my soul and my hot date went cold. You better bring in the goods, Dallas. Warrant coming through now.”

“Good work, Reo.”

“Tell me about it. You find the woman, you tag me. The minute.”

“Done. One more favor.”

“You’re racking them up.”

“Contact Lieutenant Jaye Smith. She’s MPU. Fill her in on this. I didn’t want to pull her in when the warrant was still hanging.”

“Oh, well, sure, happy to be your message droid. Anything else while I’m—”

Eve clicked off. “We’re a go.”

“I’m not clear here yet.”

“Leave it,” Eve told Roarke. “Peabody, Trueheart, you’re in behind me and Baxter, straight up to the third level. You take that room. Roarke, McNab. You sweep the main level, then work up. Take down the security,” she ordered.

Though she could see irritation flicker over his face because he hadn’t finished the first task, Roarke picked up a sleek little jammer, climbed out of the car, and strolled down the block.

Eve wasn’t sure if he required the proximity to the target, or didn’t care to have a load of cops watch his method of shutting down a high-end security system in just under thirty-five seconds.

“Secondary system’s activated.” His voice was cool and breezy when she joined him. “I need to bypass the automated alarm, if you want the household unaware.”

“I do. How long have you got?”

“Another twelve seconds.”

She watched the time count down on a grid of the jammer, while a flashing series of others blurred by on another grid. They stopped, the jammer beeped. And the time showed three seconds to spare.

“Secondary coming up. And there we are.”

She signaled the others, then jogged across the quiet, snowy street. “Record on,” she murmured, then nodded to Roarke.

The recorders might have been activated, but she turned her body just enough to keep his hands out of their range as he crouched to begin work on the locks.

When it was done, she used hand signals to remind the team which direction each unit was to take. To Baxter she said, “I go low.”

“Suit yourself.”

He went through with her, weapons drawn. Behind them, Roarke and McNab peeled to the right.

“This is the police!” Eve shouted as she charged up the steps with Peabody and Trueheart behind. “We have a warrant to enter these premises, to search same, and to seize any items relating to the terms of the warrant. Go, go,” she ordered Peabody, then swung off the steps with Baxter on the second level.