New York to Dallas (In Death #33)(66)

With a nod, Eve stepped outside the door, but faced the porthole window, continued to watch.

“Do you know what she might have taken?”

“Not at this time. They’ll bring in the contents of her purse, whatever she had at her residence, in her vehicle. You’ll have to run a tox yourself to determine. She’s dangerous,” Eve added. “She’s to be under guard at all times. She is not to be allowed any communications, and must be kept in restraints.”

“What the hell did she do?”

Eve glanced over, saw Annalyn and Bree coming at a fast clip. “These officers will tell you what you need to know.”

“What’s her status?” Bree demanded. “Has she said anything?”

“Nothing helpful. Ask the nurse re status.” Eve went back to watching.

She’d live, Eve thought. She’d damn well live because there were questions to be answered.

Machines and scanners on her now, Eve noted, taking pictures of what was inside her. She’d stopped screaming and turned on the tears.

“Messed up, but not critical.”

Eve nodded at Annalyn’s interpretation of the nurse’s rundown. “EDD’s scanning the duplex for alarms and trips. When they clear it, we’ll go in, take it apart.”

“What about her coms?”

“Last communication was a text.” She pulled out her notebook.

U wore me out last night. Going to salon, some shopping. B there about 3. CU later.

“Gives us some time. Any chance of a trace?”

“If he contacts her, we’ll trap and trace. They’re working on the code she used to send. I don’t know yet.”

“Did the van have navigation? I didn’t see.”

“Disabled,” Annalyn reported. “All her ’links are disposable clones, juiced up with filters. But EDD will cut through.”

“She knows where Melly is,” Bree murmured. “She knows.”

“And we’ll get it out of her,” Annalyn assured her. “He won’t miss her until after three. We’ve got time to work her.”

“Send another text,” Eve said. “After fourteen hundred, send another. It took longer at the salon, she booked a massage, or whatever the hell. Out shopping. Bought him a present. Something. Running late. Might be six. Buy us a few more hours.”

“That’s an idea.”

“I’m full of them,” Eve muttered.

“I got word on the way over. We nailed down the salon. If we need to we can cover that in case he tries to contact her.”

“Cover it,” Eve ordered. “We’re not taking any chances.” She turned away from Annalyn when she spotted Roarke. “Stay on her. If they take her out, stay with her. I need to take care of something.”

She intercepted Roarke. “Let’s go outside. I could use some air.”

He touched the abrasions on her cheek, the cut on her lip.

“Just the air bags. Hers didn’t deploy, so she’s banged up pretty good. She’ll live, but she’s going to hurt for a while.”

“McQueen?”

“She made us, tried to rabbit. So no. Not yet.” She went out, kept walking. Away from people moving in and out. “She didn’t have time to warn him, and we’ve got a window to work her.”

“That’s not what’s wrong.”

“I need you to do something for me, fast and private.”

“All right.”

She pulled the swabs out of her pocket. “I need DNA. Need these two samples compared. I need to know if... One’s mine. One’s hers.”

She saw it come to him, first the shock, then the sorrow. “Christ. Christ Jesus, Eve.”

“I recognized her from the first on some level.” Her voice wanted to shake, but she feared if she let it, it would never stop. “Down deep where I couldn’t—or wouldn’t reach it, I knew her. It made me sick. Then I pulled her out of that van, and she looked at me, and I knew. It was the same look. The same as the day I remembered when I was two or three—who knows—and I’d been playing with her face stuff. She was so angry, hyped, violent. And she looked at me with such hate. Murderous hate.”

She took a shuddering breath. “My mother.”

“You’d just been in an accident,” he began.

“Roarke.” She made herself meet his eyes, made herself let him see. “I know. She was Stella then, but the name doesn’t matter. She sticks with names starting with S. Maybe she’s got monogrammed sheets or some shit.”

She didn’t tremble, not until he touched her. Then she shook, her body, her voice. “I know. I just need it confirmed.”

“I’ll take care of it.” He drew her in. “I’ll see to it, don’t worry about that. Did she know you?”

“No. Why would she? I was nothing to her.” You’re nothing. She’d said it even now, Eve thought. “A potential meal ticket, a punching bag. Just another long con.”

He eased her back, took her face in his hands. “You need to step back from this, from her.”

“Never going to happen.” Reaching up, she wrapped her fingers around his wrists, felt his pulse beat against her palms. “I won’t let who she is, what she did get in the way of finding McQueen. It’s only more important now. I’ll think about that after it’s confirmed. Think about what to do, how to do it. It’s not going to break me.”