Devoted in Death (In Death #41)(98)

“Okay, thanks very much. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.”

“I’ve got kids, and grandkids, of my own. I’m going to keep my eye out for the little girl. Bless her heart.”

Out of all the units, the canvass netted six doors that didn’t open – not counting the Delwickies as Eve considered them crossed off.

She ran them all, found two worked night shifts, and when contacted were indeed at work, on shift. Two more reportedly out of town, and on the twelfth and fifteenth floors respectively.

Low probability.

But for them, and the last two, she dragged in very unhappy supers to authorize entrance. And cleared them all.

“That’s it now.” Determined, Roarke took her arm, and pulled her toward the elevators he’d released once the unmarked was in place.

“They’re not in these buildings, which means you’ve made serious progress. You have the van, you have evidence which will put them away. You can’t knock on every bloody door left in this sector, at least not tonight.”

“Could do some. The missing-girl gambit’s holding.”

“Eve, if you were any paler I swear I’d be able to pass a hand through you. You need sleep, then you’ll do what comes next. It’s near three in the morning now. Whatever they’ve done to your victims tonight is done.”

She thought the same, so didn’t argue, but got into the all-terrain.

“It’s narrowed down more, a lot more. Compared to where we started it’s like a handful of blocks. I gotta see what Banner’s come up with, and Peabody. Vacants, missings, DBs.”

He let her talk it out, though her words had started to slur. He edged the heat up a bit, knowing how warm relaxed her. And when she started to droop, eased her seat back.

She was out before they reached Midtown.

She stirred when he lifted her out of the seat, muttered when he carried her to the door, then surfaced as he maneuvered to get the door open.

“What? Jesus, I went out.”

“Stay that way,” he advised and started up.

“No, put me down. God, I can’t have you carrying me around in front of cops.”

“I doubt there’s a single cop in our bedroom – until I get you in there.”

“I need to check in my office.”

“It’s half-three, Eve. Everyone’s in bed but us.”

“I need to check.”

He detoured, but didn’t set her down.

“I can walk.”

“No point in it when I’ve got you.”

He noted the lights remained on in her office, paused in the doorway.

Peabody and McNab flopped together like puppies in the sleep chair. Banner had stretched facedown on the floor, with Galahad’s limp body sprawled over his waist like a fat, furry belt.

“Christ, cops,” Roarke muttered, and gave in, set Eve on her feet.

“Take Banner,” she told Roarke, then walked over to poke Peabody’s shoulder.

“Not now.” Peabody rolled over. “We can do it in the morning.”

“Ick,” was Eve’s opinion, and gave her partner a firmer poke.

“Uh-uh, in the morning.” But her eyes blinked open, stared blindly at Eve. Then cleared. “What? You? Where?”

“Get McNab up, go to bed, and I don’t want to hear about the morning.”

“Huh? Wait.” She started to sit up. McNab shifted, pulled her closer. And laid a hand directly over her left breast. “Um.” Peabody removed his hand. “We needed to take five.”

“Now you can have three and a half.”

“Eve, have some pity here,” Roarke insisted.

“Four. Back here, oh-seven-thirty.”

“We didn’t get ’em?”

“We will. Full briefing, oh-seven-thirty, but we eliminated three buildings, and the van’s being watched. Hit the rack.”

She strode out, past Banner who, awake now, sat on the floor like a man coming out of a dream.

The cat gave him a friendly head bump, then deserted him to trot after Eve.

Eve dreamed, harsh and bloody dreams, dreams where Jayla Campbell opened dead eyes to accuse her.

Where were you? I needed help. I wanted to live.

Dreams where her mother snuck in to taunt her.

I might as well have tossed you out the window like I wanted to half the time for all the good you do.

Dreams where all the known dead lay on slabs crowded into her office.

How can you sleep? they demanded. How can you sleep?

So, scarcely three hours after she’d closed her eyes in her own bed, she opened them again.

Roarke wrapped her closer when she started to rise. “You’ve time yet.”

“They won’t let me sleep. The dead won’t let me sleep. How can I? They keep asking me that. How can I sleep?”

“It’s you who asks it, darling Eve. Not the dead.” He hoped to soothe her under again, stroked her back. “Death brings knowledge, to my thinking. Of all that couldn’t be known in life. So the dead know what you do, what you give.”

“I don’t know. But if they know so much maybe that’s why they always seem so pissed off.”

He laughed a little. “Rest a bit more.”

“I can’t. I need to get going on it again. It’s today, Roarke. If we don’t find them today, Campbell’s dead, and probably Mulligan. I know it, like your dead know. Only hours now, or I lose both of them.”