Innocent in Death (In Death #24)(117)

It was all there, meticulously documented: motives, means, opportunities, plans, execution. Rayleen didn’t stint on details.

If it had been the journal of an adult killer, Eve would have wrapped the investigation and the perpetrator in a heavy chain and locked the door.

But the sticking point was how to handle a killer of such a young age, whose father was a top defense counsel.

By seven A.M. , Eve had Mira and Peabody in her home office, and her commander on hologram.

“I’m not going to buy she’s legally insane,” Eve began.

“Did she and does she know right from wrong? Most certainly,” Mira agreed. “Her crimes are planned and executed, and her motives in each case are self-serving. The motives are the very reason a psychiatrist hired by the defense will argue insanity.”

“Will you argue against it for the prosecution?”

“Yes. I’ll need to examine her, of course, but at this point, most certainly I can argue against. Eve, either way, she must be put away, and I believe she will be. She won’t stop.”

Mira drew a deep breath as she studied the pretty face on Eve’s murder board. “Unless she’s stopped by the system, there’s no reason for her to stop. This process works for her. It’s satisfying to her, and proves her superiority. In a childish way, this gets her what she wants, and getting what she wants is her primary goal.”

“Her own mother,” Peabody added. “She writes about killing her own mother without a moment’s regret or hesitation. She didn’t feel a thing about it.”

“I want to get her for the brother. He’s not mentioned in the diary. He’s not part of her scope any longer.” Eve glanced at Mira, got a nod of agreement. “It’s not just that he’s not worth her time, or the space, she doesn’t think about him or what she did to him now. Everything is now with her.”

“You said before you’d get a confession, see that she wanted to tell you,” Mira continued. “But—”

“I’ll get a confession. The hitch will be Straffo. If he decides to protect her, she’ll clam. If she believes I can use what she tells me, she’ll clam. I have to get to him, through him, first.”

“He’s a father, who’ll instinctively want to protect his child.”

“He’s a father whose son was carelessly disposed of, and he’s a husband whose wife may very well be Rayleen’s next victim.” And those, Eve knew, were her weapons. “Hard place for him. He’s going to have to choose who he stands up for.”

“If you give him this information,” Whitney cut in, “you’re giving a potential defense a head’s up, a running start. He could, potentially, erect a shield around his daughter that will take months to hack through.”

“Yes, sir, he could. And if I don’t slap this in his face, knock his feet out from under him while he’s still shaky over his wife, he could do that anyway. He needs to see her for what she is. And for that, I could use the expert consultant, civilian.” She glanced at Roarke.

“Lay it out, Lieutenant,” Whitney told her.

It took time, and Eve struggled against impatience. It took care and caution, and she fought not to push. So it was nearing ten before she, Peabody, and Mira headed out to the hospital, well after Roarke, Feeny, and McNab were already in play.

When her ’link beeped, she snapped it up. “Dallas.”

“Lieutenant? I don’t know if you remember me. This is Billy Kim-ball, the assistant manager from Kline’s? You were in the other day making inquiries about a go-cup we carry.”

“I remember you. You got something?”

“One of our seasonal clerks happened to stop in last night, near closing? I mentioned the go-cup to her, just on the off chance that she knew anything about it. She did.”

“What did she know?”

“She remembers the sale very well. It was after the holiday. She worked through our January clearance sales? She said a young girl came in, with a nanny, she thought it was a nanny. As the girl wanted to purchase something as a surprise, she asked the nanny to go to another part of the store for a while. And this was a bit of a struggle of willpower as the nanny didn’t want to—”

“Wind this up for me, Billy.”

“Sorry. Well, the clerk promised the nanny she’d keep a close eye on the girl, so the nanny went to another department. The girl wanted the go-cup you asked about, and had it engraved. The clerk remembers the girl because she was so bright and charming, and very polite. Now, the clerk isn’t a hundred percent sure of the name, but she did recall that the girl told her it was a going-away present for her favorite teacher. She paid cash. Since it was after the first of the year, it was easy for me to pull up the store copy of the receipt, for cash. It was a go-cup of the make and model you asked about, in black, with the additional fee for silver engraving in the Roman script font. Does that help at all?”

“It does.” Sometimes, Eve thought, the stars just freaking aligned. “Good job, Billy. I’m going to pass you to my partner. I need you to give her the name and contact info on your clerk. I want her to look at some pictures, see if she can identify the little girl.”

“I’m sure she’d be glad to help. She mentioned the girl was a pretty little blonde, curly hair? With very unique eyes. Nearly purple.”