Celebrity in Death (In Death #34)(20)

“What about when the lights came up? Was everyone there?”

“K.T. wasn’t. I know that because I’d been keeping an eye on her. She’d been drinking too much, and I didn’t want another scene. I’d planned on getting her out, into a car, and gone, but she wasn’t in the theater.”

“Was anyone else missing?”

“I’m not sure. My focus was on her because of what happened earlier, and the way she’d been stewing. I wasn’t going to risk another scene. I started to go out, see if she’d gone home or was still in the house, but Valerie waylaid me. She wanted a list of the desserts for a story she wanted to pitch on the evening. Then Nadine came up, and we started talking. I let it go.”

Eve caught sight of Roarke, gave him a subtle signal to come in.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

“It’s okay. We’re good here for now, Connie. I’ll send for someone else in just a minute.”

“Your sweepers and the morgue team arrived,” Roarke told Eve when he was alone with her and Mira. “They went up to the roof.”

“Let’s move this along. Tell Peabody I want her to take Roundtree, Dennis Mira, and the publicist, in any order, in some other location. That leaves me with Andrea Smythe and the ass**le producer and Nadine. We’ll take Julian together last. When we’re nearly there,” she said to Mira, “you could get some Sober-Up in him for me. No point in talking to a drunk.”

She was a cunt.” Eyes alert, Andrea chugged down coffee. “It’s a term I use for particularly nasty people of either sex, and she was a world-class cunt. I disliked her in the part because I found the character of Peabody so appealing. Water was never wet enough for K.T.”

She paused a moment, smiled. “And that was a very poor choice of words, considering.” She threw back her head and laughed. “I don’t give a rat’s warty ass she’s dead. It only means she’s a dead cunt.”

“That’s a strong opinion.”

“And the only kind worth having. I threatened to shove a stick up her twat and light it on fire just yesterday. Maybe the day before. I lose track as there was rarely a day that went by she didn’t make me want to strangle her with my bare hands after I’d beaten her in the face with a rusty shovel.”

Andrea drank some coffee, smiled over the rim. “She tended to stay out of my way.”

“I bet.”

“I don’t mind being a suspect when the corpse is a shit-for-brains f**kwit, but if I’d killed her it would’ve been bloody and loud. And I’d have enjoyed it too much to keep it to myself.”

For the moment at least, Eve believed her. And cut her loose.

The minute Joel Steinburger strode in, he grabbed for the controls.

“We have to get a few things straight.”

“Do we?”

“Nothing can be released to the media until I, Valerie, or one of my people vets it. This feed has to be carefully massaged. I need my ’link. I can’t be out of contact with my people at a time like this. In addition, I need everyone here—that includes the staff, the police, all the guests—to sign a nondisclosure agreement. We can’t have some server running to the tabloids selling some twisted version of tonight, or some underpaid cop trying to line his pockets with a ’link vid of K.T. lying up there dead. I’m told you plan to have her taken to the morgue. We can’t have that.”

“We can’t?”

“I can arrange for a private facility, a private examiner. Jesus Christ, do you know how much one of those Internet hounds would pay for a picture of K.T. Harris, naked on some slab in the morgue?”

“Anything else?”

“Yes. I need—”

“What you need has to wait because you have the right to remain silent. And I suggest you f**king do so until I finish Mirandizing you.”

“What are you talking about?” He looked genuinely shocked. “What is she talking about?” he demanded of Mira.

“Joel,” Mira began as Eve continued to recite. “Take a breath. Take a moment. Lieutenant Dallas has to do her job.”

“I have to do mine! Everybody involved in this production requires I give this incident all my attention, and make certain it’s handled properly.”

“Do you understand your rights and obligations?” Eve asked him.

“You’re not going to treat me like a criminal.” He folded his arms. “I want my lawyers.”

“Fine. Contact them. We’ll go down to Central and wait for them to get there. No problem.”

“You can’t—”

“Yes, I can.” Eve slapped her badge on the table. “I’m in charge here. This and the dead woman on the roof put me in charge. You can give me a statement here or we can go to Central and wait for your lawyers. That part’s up to you.”

“You’re going to watch your tone or I’ll be speaking with your superiors.”

“Whitney, Commander Jack. Have at it.”

Steinburger let out a long breath. The color that had flooded his face cooled a little. “I want you to understand, this is my project, these are my people. I’m just trying to protect my project, my people.”

“And I’m trying to find out how a woman we all had dinner with a few hours ago ended up facedown in the lap pool. I win. Here or there, Joel. Your choice.”