Holiday in Death (In Death #7)(58)

“Did you get it on?”

“Of course.” Staying comfortably in the body-mold chair, he gestured toward the droid. “Rodney, this is Lieutenant Dallas.”

“Lieutenant.” The droid was short and squat, with a homely face and a clipped voice. Obviously Holloway hadn’t wanted any competition, even in his electronics.

“What time were you disengaged tonight?”

“At ten oh three, shortly after Mr. Holloway returned for the evening. He prefers that I remain off unless he requires my services.”

“He didn’t require them tonight.”

“Apparently not.”

“Did he have any visitors from the time he returned and you were disengaged?”

“No. If I may say, Mr. Holloway didn’t appear to be in the mood for companionship this evening.”

“How so?”

“He appeared upset,” the droid claimed, then folded his lips.

“Rodney, this is a police investigation. You’re required to answer my questions fully.”

“I don’t understand. Has there been a burglary?”

“No, your employer is dead. Did anyone come to the door before Holloway returned?”

“I see.” Rodney took a moment, as if adjusting his circuits to the news. “No, there were no visitors this evening. Mr. Holloway had an outside engagement. He returned home at nine fifty. He was angry. He swore at me. I noticed he had some facial bruises and I asked if I could be of assistance. He suggested that I f**k myself, which is a function I am not programmed to perform. He ordered me to go to hell, which was not possible, then countermanded that order with one to come into this room and shut down for the night. I was programmed to reengage at seven a.m.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Eve could see Roarke grinning. She ignored him. “Your employer has illegal drugs and  p**n ographic materials on the premises.”

“I am not programmed to comment on those matters.”

“Did he entertain sexual partners here?”

“Yes.”

“Male or female?”

“Both, occasionally at the same time.”

“I’m looking for a man, approximately six feet tall. I believe he has long hands, long fingers. He’s likely Caucasian. Over thirty years of age, but probably not more than fifty. He has some artistic talent, and interest in theater.”

“I’m sorry.” Rodney inclined his head politely. “That is insufficient data.”

“You’re telling me,” Eve muttered.

Eve waited until the body was bagged and removed. “There’s more to this guy than we have on record,” she said to Roarke. “Look around here, you can see. He had money, and liked to spend it on his face and body. He liked to look at himself.” Her gaze scanned the room, noting mirrors on nearly every surface. “He uses a dating service, claiming to be straight hetero, but his droid says he was bi. The dating service screens better than the Candidate Control Division out of East Washington, but he slips all this by them. He finger rapes Peabody on their first meet. If he did it once, he did it before, but he gets by with it.”

She paced the living room while Roarke said nothing. Nothing was required, he knew. She was using him as a bounce for her thoughts. “Maybe he’s connected to either Rudy or Piper. A lover. Or he’s helping to fund the place, or he’s got something on them so they let it all slide. This guy wasn’t a lonely heart, he was a pervert. They had to know it. At least one of them had to know it.”

She paused by the cabinet, empty now of the discs already taken into evidence. “Some of those were homemade jobs. I wonder who we’ll find doing nasty things with Holloway.”

She looked back at Roarke. They were alone for the moment, but Peabody would be back shortly. She struggled with the decision, then thought of four body bags. “I have to go in with this. I don’t know when I’ll be home.”

He knew her very well. He moved close, touched a hand to her cheek. “Do you want to ask, or do you want me to just do it and tell you after it’s done?”

She blew out a breath. “I’ll ask.” She jammed her hands in her pockets as she did. “You can dig beneath the surface of what Holloway put on record. You can find out in hours what it would take Feeney days. He can’t cut the corners you can. I don’t have days. I don’t want this bastard to give me another body to be bagged.”

“I’ll call you when I have something.”

He was making it simple, and that only made it worse. “I’ll transmit his file when I get into Central,” she began, then shut her mouth firmly when he grinned.

“No point in wasting time when I can get it myself.” Leaning down, he kissed her. “I enjoy helping you.”

“You just like screwing CompuGuard and running illegal programs.”

“There is that added benefit.” He laid his hands on her shoulders, rubbed briefly at the tension there. “If you work until you fall on your face, I’m going to be annoyed.”

“I’m still standing. I need the car and I don’t have time to take you back home.”

“I think I can manage to get there.” He kissed her again before starting toward the door. “Oh, by the way, Lieutenant, you have an appointment with Trina at six tonight. She and Mavis will come to the house.”