Imitation in Death (In Death #17)(88)

"Medical supply company, I imagine. Hell; probably pick some up at a higher, end rehab place, for people who want the old stuff, want authentic plasterwork."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking,. Appreciate it?"

"Medical supplies or building supplies?' Peabody asked as they walked out.

"I want both. Cash sales. He won't want a paper trail. And I'm betting there aren't that many cash sales for this sort of thing. Small amounts, self-pickup. Delivery means he had to give an address. He walked in and bought this, paid cash, walked out. Run building supplies first," she decided. "Any Joe Blow can walk into one of them and nobody notices. That's his first choice."

She checked the time as she slid into the car. "Briefing in one hour. When we're done, we're going shopping."

She walked into her office and wasn't sure if she was annoyed or amused to see Nadine Furst sitting at her desk enjoying a cup of coffee and a tiny muffin.

"Don't snap and snarl. I brought you doughnuts."

"What kind of doughnuts?"

"Cream-filled, sprinkled with colored sugar." Nadine opened the small bakery box. "Six of them, and they're all yours, fatso."

"I like a good bribe. Now get out of my chair."

She walked to the AutoChef, ordered up coffee. When she turned back Nadine was sitting in her single visitor's chair, crossing her silky legs.

"I should rephrase. Get out of my office."

"I thought we'd have breakfast, together." Nadine lifted the minuscule muffin to her lips, and took a bite Eve estimated contained three crumbs. "Dallas, I appreciate your stand on playing favorites, and the bitching and moaning from other members of the Fourth Estate. I've backed off. You have to agree."

"I'm not seeing your back, but with that shirt, I'm seeing a lot of your tits."

"Pretty, aren't they? But to remain on track, I've respected your stand because you had a point. I know you've fed Quinton some information-no more, no less, than you wanted out there. I respect that as well."

"We're just loaded with respect this morning." She took a huge bite of pastry. "Bye-bye now."

"He hasn't put it together. He may, especially after I give him a good nudge. He's bright and he's eager, but he's green. As yet, he hasn't wondered why you're primary on what is now three seemingly unrelated homicides."

"Crime is running rampant in our city. Run and hide. Better yet, move to Kansas. And it's two homicides, Nadine. Marlene Cox isn't dead yet."

"Sony, my information was she wasn't expected to make it through surgery."

"She has. Barely."

"Even more curious then. Why our stalwart homicide lieutenant is picking at the threads of an assault." She took a tiny sip of coffee, rubbed her lips together. "I say we've got one killer employing a variety of methods. And this occurred to me when I got wind of the last-"

"Cox was attacked. about two-thirty this morning. Shouldn't you have been asleep, or banging your flavor of the month?"

"I was asleep, and was awakened from my virginal bed--"

"Pig's eye.,,

"With an anonymous tip," Nadine finished with a little cat's smile. "I started wondering, then I started working, and I started asking myself what these three -women had in common, besides you. I decided, the killer. The first was, obviously, an imitation of the infamous Ripper. What if the others were also imitations of previous crimes?"

"I'm not going to comment on this, Nadine."

"Albert DeSalvo and Theodore Bundy.'

"No comment."

"I don't need you to comment." She leaned forward. "I can put enough together to go on the air with a story, with supposition."

"Then what're you doing here?"

"Giving you a chance to confirm or deny, or to ask me to hold the story I'm putting together. I'll hold it if you ask me, because you won't unless you need to."

"You're also thinking I won't ask unless you're right, and then you'll have a big, sexy story with big, sexy ratings."

"That plays, too. But I'll still hold it, if you need me-to. And by holding it, I'm giving competitors the chance to come to the same conclusions I have."

Eve contemplated her doughnut. "I need to think a minute, so just be quiet."

There were pros and cons here, and Eve ran through them all while Nadine sat silently, eating her muffin crumb by crumb.. "I'm not going to give you data. I'm not even going to give you hints. Because when I'm asked, and I will be, I want to be able to say honestly that I didn't. That I wasn't your source. I'm not going to confirm or deny your supposition, which is what you'll have to say if and when you break this story. Lieutenant Dallas would neither confirm nor deny. I will, however, make a personal comment, between us girls. Besides having those pretty tits, you've got a sharp brain."

"Why, thank you. I've also got great legs."

"Now if I were doing this story, which I'm not, I'd wonder why this particular bag of nuts has so little personality, power, and imagination. He has to pretend he's somebody else to do the job. And the last time out, he flubs it up so bad, a girl about half his size hurts him and he has to run away."