Holiday in Death (In Death #7)(38)

“No, come in.” Eve jerked a thumb toward a chair. “Let’s get started.”

“Coffee?” Roarke offered. He’d already figured out what Eve had in mind for her aide.

“Yeah, thanks. McNab isn’t here yet?”

“No. I’ll brief you first.” Eve shot Roarke a look, waited.

“I’ll just get out of your way.” He passed Peabody a cup, turned and kiss his wife despite — or perhaps because of — the fact that she scowled at him, then walked into his adjoining office and shut the door.

“Does he always look like that in the morning?” Peabody wanted to know.

“He always looks like that period.”

Peabody sighed deeply. “Are you sure he’s human?”

“Not always.” Eve angled a hip on the corner of her desk and studied Peabody carefully. “So… want to meet some guys?”

“Huh?”

“Want to broaden your social circle, meet some men who share similar interests?”

Certain Eve was joking, Peabody grinned. “Isn’t that why I became a cop?”

“Cops make lousy life partners. What you need, Peabody, is a service like Personally Yours.”

Sipping coffee, Peabody shook her head. “Nope. I did a dating service a few years back, right after I moved into the city. Too regimented. I like picking up strange men in bars.” When Eve only continued to stare at her, Peabody slowly lowered her cup. “Oh,” she said as realization struck. “Oh.”

“I’d have to clear it with Whitney. I can’t put a uniform undercover without the commander’s okay. And before you agree, I want you to know just what you’d be getting into.”

“Undercover.” Despite the fact that she had been a cop long enough to know better, the phrase conjured up images of excitement and glamour.

“Get the stars out of your eyes, Peabody. Christ.” Eve straightened, scooped both hands through her hair. “I’m talking about putting your ass on the line here, using you as bait, and you’re grinning like I’ve just given you a present.”

“You think I’m good enough for it. You trust me to handle it. That’s a pretty good present.”

“I think you’re good enough,” Eve said, dropping her arms. “I think you can handle it because you know how to follow orders, exactly. And that’s what I’d expect. Following orders to the letter. No grandstanding. If I get it cleared, and if I can get the f**king budget to stretch enough for the consultant fee for that place, you’ll go in.”

“What about Rudy and Piper? They’re not off the suspect list, and they’ve seen me.”

“They saw a uniform. People like that don’t pay attention to who’s wearing it. We’ll get Mavis and Trina to deck you out.”

“Cool.”

“Get a grip, Peabody. We’ll work out a cover, an identity. I’ve gone over the victims’ videos and personal data. We’ll cull out the similarities and work them into your profile. The idea is to tailor make you.”

“That’s bullshit.”

McNab stood in the doorway. His face was flushed with a fury that had his eyes glittering, his mouth tight, and his hands fisted at his side. “That’s f**king bullshit.”

“Detective,” Eve said mildly. “Your opinion is noted.”

“You’re going to stick her like a worm on a line and drop her into the pool? Goddamn it, Dallas. She’s not trained for undercover.”

“Mind your own business,” Peabody snapped as she lunged to her feet. “I know how to handle myself.”

“You don’t know squat about undercover.” McNab strode forward, turning on his heel so that they were nose to nose. “You’re a goddamn aide, a button pusher, next up from a droid.”

Eve saw the intent flash in Peabody’s eyes and managed to shove between them before her aide’s fist plowed into McNab’s nose. “That’s enough. Your opinion is noted, McNab, now shut up.”

“The son of a bitch isn’t going to stand there and call me a droid and get away with it.”

“Suck it in, Peabody,” Eve warned, “and sit down. Both of you sit the hell down and try to remember who’s in charge before I put the pair of you on report. The last thing I need on this case is a couple of hotheads. If you can’t maintain, you’re off.”

“We don’t need Detective Data Bank,” Peabody muttered.

“We need what I say we need. And we need inside information and bait. Bait,” she added, shifting her eyes from face to face, “of both sexes. You up for it, McNab?”

“Wait a minute. Wait.” Peabody was out of her chair again, as rattled as Eve had ever seen her. “You want him to go under, too? With me?”

“Yeah, I’m up for it.” McNab smiled thinly at Peabody as he agreed. It would be the perfect way to keep an eye on her — and keep her out of trouble.

“This is going to be mag!” Mavis Freestone danced around Eve’s home office in thigh-high boots. The material was clear and snug, molding her legs and showing them off while she balanced on their three-inch glittery red heels. The heels matched the slither dress that barely met the top of the boots.

Her hair was the exact same glittery Christmas red and fell in Medusa-like coils to her shoulders. She had a tiny heart tattoo under the peak of her left eyebrow.