Innocent in Death (In Death #24)(119)

“I have a wit,” Eve continued, relentlessly. “The clerk who waited on Rayleen, and who’s already identified her photo. Cora verifies they stopped in to that particular store on that particular day at Rayleen’s request.

“I have a statement from her great-aunt, Quella Harmon, verifying she had interest in and knowledge of how ricin was made. Don’t even think of saying circumstantial to me,” she snapped.

Kick him and keep kicking him while he’s down, she thought. It’s the only way.

“In her own words, Oliver.” She leaned over to pick up the pages he’d dropped. “In her own words she writes how she decided to kill her mother, how she left Allika to die while she herself went to make a snack, to listen to music. She did this without a single twinge of regret.”

“I can’t…You can’t expect me to believe.”

“You already believe, in that place inside you. That’s what’s making you sick. But you’re going to have to suck it in, because I’m going to tell you what’s going to be done. And…look at me, Oliver. Look at me.”

His eyes were glazed over with shock and unspeakable pain when they met hers. “She wrote it down,” he said dully. “She wrote it down while Allika was…”

“That’s right. Allika was a barrier, like Trevor was.” Use their names, Eve thought. “Allika and Trev stood in the way of something she wanted, so sheremoved them.”

“She’s my daughter, she’s my child. She’s…”

“I’m going to make you a deal right here. You and me. If I don’t prove to you that everything I’ve told you is true, I won’t fight any attempt to try her as a minor instead of an adult.”

“She’s ten years old. She’s only ten.”

“Multiple premeditated murders. She gets legal adult status, unless I pull it out of the mix. That’s the deal. I prove to you that she put your wife—that she put Allika in that hospital bed, with a machine breathing for her, I prove she pushed Trevor down the stairs on f**king Christmas morning, that she did Foster and Williams and some sick old lady in a nursing home. All of it. Without a shadow of a doubt. If I don’t, you’ll have ammo to break down my case. That’s the deal. Take it, or I take her down now.”

Rayleen was in the CCU family room, drawing. When Eve stepped in, she stopped, let her eyes swim with shining tears. “My mommy—”

Eve closed the doors behind her. “I know the doctor who’s been working on her. She thinks your mother’s going to pull through this.”

She wandered over to the counter. Hospital coffee was nearly as lethal as cop coffee. But it would make a nice prop. Eve poured a cup, turned. “Not such good news for you, Ray.”

“What?”

“Just you and me, Ray. Door’s shut.” Eve pulled off her jacket, turned. I’m not wearing a wire. Here’s my recorder.” She unpinned it, set it down. “Turned off. Haven’t read you your rights. Your father’s a lawyer, and you’re smart, so you know I can’t use anything you say to me.”

Eve sat down, stretched out her legs, sipped at the coffee. Maybe hospital coffee was, actually, worse than cop coffee. “I’ve come across some tricky ones, but I have to say, you’re the trickiest. Even if your mother comes out of it, she’s not going to point the finger at you. Still, it must’ve pissed you off when Cora came back and found her before it was finished.”

“I don’t want to talk to you.” The tears spilled out now. “You’re so mean.”

“Oh, come on. I don’t scare you. You know I’ve got zip. I’ll give you better.” Eve shrugged, chanced another sip. “My commander and the house shrink think I’m full of it. Maybe tipping over the edge myself because I tried to sell them on you. I value my career, kid. I’m not going to toss it away on this. I’m done. The investigation will remain open for a while, then we’ll move it to inactive. Then to cold.”

She leaned forward. “I’m not having the brass and the shrinks looking over my shoulder because of you, screwing up my very excellent chances for promotion over you. I’m riding a wave right now. Icove, the black-market baby bust. Big, juicy cases I closed. I can afford to let this one slide.”

Rayleen tilted her head. “You can lie in an interview with a suspect.”

“Yeah. But I can’t even hold an interview with a minor suspect without parental permission. So, officially, I’m not even here.”

Rayleen went back to drawing. “Why are you here? I can go to my daddy right now, and you’ll be in trouble.”

“Shit. I just came in to see how you were doing, no reason for him to think otherwise. If you make a stink about it, he’s going to wonder why I’d hassle you. Yeah.” Eve smiled, set the hideous coffee aside. “Why don’t you do that, Ray? He might start thinking how your mother wouldn’t have done herself with you alone with her in the apartment. Go ahead and get him. Last I saw him he was sitting beside your mother’s bed.”

“He shouldn’t have left me alone. He should be with me. When she dies—”

“If. It’s still if . ” Playfully, Eve wagged a finger. “Don’t count your chickens, kid. I could hang the two murders on her, and maybe make it stick. But I’m not quite as practical as you are. I like to close cases, but doing that would stick in my craw. So…it goes cold.”