Loyalty in Death (In Death #9)(45)

Eve closed her eyes, breathed out slowly. “Thanks. I owe you.”

“No, you don’t. I’ve got a man of my own. I’d do the same thing.”

“I owe you anyway. I’ve got data coming in,” she added when her machine beeped. “It’s a place to start. I’ll be sifting through it, hopefully have it narrowed down by our meeting.”

“Fingers crossed, Dallas,” Anne said and signed off.

“Peabody.” Eve signaled her aide. “My office.”

She sat, tunneled her fingers through her hair, then called up the data Roarke had sent her.

“Sir.” Peabody stepped into the room. “I got the reports back on the Cassandra discs. Analysis doesn’t show anything. Standard units, no initializations or prints. No way to trace.”

“Pull up a chair,” Eve ordered. “I’ve got a list here of potential targets. We’ll run a probability scan, try to slim it down.”

“How did you generate the list?”

“Mira’s take is that we’re likely looking for a club or theater. I agree with that. She thinks it’s a pretty good bet they’ll go for one of Roarke’s again.”

“Follows,” Peabody said after a moment, then sat down next to Eve. And gaped at the list scrolling onscreen. “Man, those are his? He owns all that?”

“Don’t get me started,” Eve muttered. “Computer, analysis current data, select properties considered landmarks or traditional symbols of New York, and list. Ah, add buildings constructed on historic sites.”

Working….

“That’s a good call,” Peabody said. “You know, I was in a lot of these places with Zeke. We’d have been even more impressed if we’d known you owned them.”

“Roarke owns them.”

Task complete, the computer announced with such efficiency Eve eyed it suspiciously.

“Why do you think this thing’s working so well today, Peabody?”

“I’d knock wood when I make statements like that, Lieutenant.” Peabody’s brows drew together as she studied the new list. “That didn’t whittle it down by a whole lot.”

“That’s what he gets for liking old things. The guy has a real obsession for old shit.” She let out a breath. “Okay, we’re thinking club or theater. Mortals gawking at mortals. Computer, which of this list runs matinees today?”

Working….

“They want people inside,” Eve murmured as the computer burped rudely. “Lives lost. Not just a couple of tour groups, not just employees. Why not go for a full house. Impact.”

“If you’re right, we could still have time enough to stop it.”

“Or we could be peeking in the wrong window and some bar downtown blows up. Okay, okay.” Eve nodded when the new data emerged. “That’s better, that’s workable. Computer, copy current list to disk, print hard copy.”

Eve checked the time, rose. “Let’s get this in to the conference room.” She snatched up the hard copy, stared at it. “What the hell is this?”

Peabody looked over her shoulder. “I think it’s Japanese. I told you to knock on wood, Dallas.”

“Get the damn disc. If it’s in Japanese, Feeney can run it through a translator. Out the f**king window,” she muttered as she strode from the room. “One of these days, out the f**king window.”

The disc proved to be in Mandarin Chinese, but Feeney dealt with it and put it on the wall screen.

“Mira’s preliminary profile,” Eve began, “and the computer analysis of data and supposition indicates these are the most likely targets. All are entertainment complexes, either landmarks or constructed on the site of destroyed landmarks. All have performances scheduled this afternoon.”

“That’s a good angle.” Anne tucked her hands in her back pockets as she read the screen. “I’ll send out teams for a search and scan.”

“How much time will you need?” Eve asked her.

“Every damn bit of it.” She whipped out her communicator.

“No uniforms and unmarked vehicles,” Eve said quickly. “They may have the buildings under surveillance. Let’s not tip them off.”

With a nod, Anne began to bark orders into her communicator.

“We got through the fail-safe.” Feeney picked up with EDD’s progress. “The old bastard coded his data. I’m running a code breaker, but he used a good one. It’s going to take more time.”

“Let’s hope it’s something worth looking at.”

“McNab tracked down a couple of names from Fixer’s old unit. Men still in the area. I’ve got interviews set up for noon today.”

“Good.”

“Teams are moving.” Anne tucked her communicator away. “I’ll be in the field. You’ll know when I know. Oh, Dallas,” she added as she headed for the door. “That address we discussed earlier? It’s clean.”

“Thanks.”

Anne sent her a grin. “Any time.”

“I’ll be on the code until we have something to move on.” Feeney rattled his bag of candied nuts. “This kind of shit went on all the damn time during the Urban Wars. Mostly we suppressed and subdued, but there’s bigger and better shit out there now.”