Immortal in Death (In Death #3)(89)

“What did she want, Justin? Money? A lot of money? You? Did she taunt Jerry? Did she threaten you? Is that why you killed her?”

“No. I never touched her. I tell you I never touched her. We argued, all right? We had an ugly scene after Leonardo’s woman left that night. Jerry was upset. She had a right to be, after everything Pandora said. That’s why I took her out, had a few drinks, calmed her down. I told her not to worry, that there were other ways of getting a supply.”

“What other ways?”

His breath heaved in and out. Frantically, he shook off his lawyer’s restraining hand. “Shut up,” he snapped at her. “Just shut up. What the hell good are you doing me? She’ll have me in a cage for murder before she’s finished. I want to cut a deal. Why aren’t you cutting a deal here?” He scrubbed the back of his hand over his mouth. “I want to deal.”

“We’ll have to talk about that,” Eve said calmly. “What have you got to offer me?”

“Paul,” he said and shuddered out a breath. “I’ll give you Paul Redford. He killed her. The bastard probably killed them all.”

Twenty minutes later, Eve paced the conference room. “I want Redford to stew for a while. Let him wonder how much they’ve told us.”

“Not getting much out of the lady.” Casually, Casto propped his feet on the table, crossed his ankles. “She’s tough. Showing signs of withdrawal — dry mouth, trembling, occasional lack of focus — but she’s sticking.”

“She hasn’t had a fix in what — over ten hours. How long do you figure she can last?”

“Don’t know enough.” Casto spread his hands. “She could ice it out, come out the other side, or she could be a sloppy puddle of tapioca in another ten minutes.”

“Okay, so we don’t count on her breaking.”

“Redford was showing a few cracks,” Peabody put in. “He’s scared boneless. His lawyer’s the hard-ass. If we had him alone for five minutes, he’d crack like a walnut.”

“That’s not an option.” Whitney studied the hard copy of the most recent interviews. “You’ll have Young’s statement to pressure him with.”

“It’s weak,” Eve muttered.

“You’ll have to make it look stronger. He claims Redford first introduced Fitzgerald to Immortality about three months ago, suggested a partnership.”

“And according to our fair-haired boy, it was all going to be legal and aboveboard.” Eve gave a derisive grunt. “Nobody’s that f**king naive.”

“I don’t know,” Peabody murmured. “He’s cross-eyed over Fitzgerald. I’d say she could have convinced him it was a straight deal. Research and development, a new line of beauty and youth aids carrying Fitzgerald’s name.”

“And all they had to do was edge out Pandora.” Casto smiled. “The money would roll in.”

“It still comes down to profit. Pandora was in the way.” Eve dropped into a seat. “The others were in the way. Maybe Young’s just an innocent schmuck, maybe not. He’s pointed at Redford, but what he hasn’t figured out yet is that he could be fingering Fitzgerald at the same time. She told him enough for him to plan a trip to the Eden Colony, hoping the two of them could finesse a specimen of their own.”

“You’ve got your illegals conspiracy,” Whitney pointed out. “If Young shakes off the rest, he’ll have his deal. You’ve still got a way to go for murder. At this point, his testimony isn’t going to hold much weight. He believes Redford did Pandora. He gives us motive. We can establish opportunity. But there’s no physical evidence, no witnesses.”

He rose. “Get me a confession, Dallas. The PA’s putting on the pressure. They’re dropping charges on Freestone Monday. If they don’t have something else to feed the media, we’re all going to look like ass**les.”

Casto took out a penknife, began trimming his nails as Whitney left the room. “Christ knows we wouldn’t want the PA to look like an ass**le. Shit, they want it all laid out on a platter, don’t they?” His eyes lifted to Eve’s. “Redford’s not going to cop to murder. Eve. He’ll go down for the drug. Hell, it’s almost fashionable, but he’s not going to swing to four homicides. We’ve only got one hope to pin on.”

“Which is?” Peabody wanted to know.

“That he didn’t do it alone. We crack one of the others, we crack him. My money’s on Fitzgerald.”

“Then you take her.” Eve blew out a breath. “I’ll work Redford. Peabody, take Redford’s picture. Go back to the club, go back to Boomer’s place, to Cockroach’s, to Moppett’s. Show the damn thing to everybody. I need one lousy make.”

She scowled as the ‘link beeped, and she engaged it. “Dallas, don’t bother me.”

“It’s always lovely to hear your voice,” Roarke said implacably.

“I’m in conference.”

“So am I. I’m leaving for FreeStar in thirty minutes.”

“You’re going off planet? But… well, have a good trip.”

“It can’t be avoided. I should be back within three days. You know how to contact me.”