Obsession in Death (In Death #40)(43)

She shoved the ’link back in her pocket. “He’ll tag you in two minutes, give you what can be given – from an unnamed source at the NYPSD.”

“I can work with that.”

“You can use the room till you’re done. I have to go.”

“All right. Hey, hey. Dallas.”

Eve turned, snapped, “What?”

“Watch your six.”

Eve blinked. “You’re standing there in shiny boots that come up to your crotch and carrying a zebra, and telling me to watch my six.”

“Bruno’s into military thrillers. It’s the lingo.”

“I know what it is. Watch your six,” Eve repeated, and for some reason left the room lighter.

9

With little choice, Eve agreed to a media conference in the afternoon.

It gave her time to do actual police work beforehand, starting with a visit to Peabody’s favorite pick from Mira’s refreshed list.

“Mason Tobias,” Peabody reported as they got into the car in the garage. “Age twenty-six. Single – never married or cohabbed. Lives with his mother, currently employed as dishwasher/delivery person for Shakey’s Diner. Previous employment – stock clerk, janitorial assistant, delivery person for Midtown Pizza, and most recently mall guard. Criminal charges include multiple instances of trespassing, disorderly conduct, cyber bullying, resisting arrest, and one count of assault – dropped. He’s got a couple of restraining orders active against him.”

“Did he do any time?”

“Time served, community service, mandatory behavior rehab.”

Eve managed to find a street-level slot less than a block from Tobias’s pitted prefab building.

“Nothing violent on record but the dropped assault.”

“Yeah, but he’s got a pattern,” Peabody countered. “And he’s written to you fifteen times in the last year. Four times the year before. His main theme is working with you for justice, righting wrongs, punishing those who disrespect the law. He sees you as partners, Dallas, with him working in the background, in the shadows – that’s his term – as your backup.”

Considering, Eve approached the building, hit the buzzer for Tobias.

“Yeah!” The voice was raspy and female. “Make it quick. I’m late.”

“NYPSD.”

“Ah, hell.”

The main door buzzed. Eve shoved it open, eyed the toothpick width of the elevator, and opted for the stairs.

“Four flights,” Peabody complained, toes curling in her pink cowboy boots. “Punishment for the double-chunk brownie.”

“Suck it up.”

“What I sucked up was a dietary power drink for breakfast since I ate about five million of my aunt’s painted sugar cookies over Christmas. Then there was the cream cake, and the trifle, and somewhere in there peppermint schnapps, which made me think I could eat all the cookies, the cake, the trifle. Then what do I do?” Peabody demanded as she hoofed up the steps. “I fall to the seduction of the brownie.”

“What the hell is trifle anyway?”

“A hundred zillion calories in one delicious dish. But I made up for it with the diet power drink until…” Peabody set her teeth. “The siren’s call of the double-chunk. I should climb twenty flights.”

“Keep it up, and I’ll make you go up and down a dozen times.”

As they turned onto the fourth floor a woman opened an apartment door. She had short golden-blond hair with spikes tipped in Christmas green. She wore a mustard-colored uniform and thick-soled white shoes.

“You the cops?” she said, then went stiff as she got a good look at Eve. “Ah, shit. Shit, this can’t be good.”

“Ms. Tobias?”

“Yeah. I know who you are. What did he do? What did Mason do?”

“What do you think he did?”

“Hell, I don’t know.” She closed her eyes a moment, and when she opened them again they held resignation. “But whatever he did, he thought he was doing the right thing. He’s a good boy, he really is. He just has a hard time sticking in what’s real. You can’t arrest him – I mean you. If you were to do it, I don’t think he’d ever get over it.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, he worships you, doesn’t he? You’re everything he wants to be. Everything he wishes his old man had been. His father was a cop. Knocked us both around plenty, until I cut loose. Knocked us around a time or two after till his partner finally broke ranks and put the fear of God in him. After that he mostly ignored us at best, made sure Mason knew he thought he was nothing at worst. Then you took him down.”

“I took who down?”

“My ex. Mason’s father. That whole thing – almost two years back now. Officer Roland Tobias – he was under Captain Roth. He was on the take.”

So had been too many others, Eve remembered. And a good cop had died at the hands of dirty ones. But she didn’t remember Tobias, specifically.

“Offed himself the summer after it came down. I’m not going to say I’m sorry he’s dead. But that’s when Mason started talking about you, and then writing to you, and all the rest…”

She glanced behind her, and nerves showed as she twisted the chain with its little winged fairy she wore around her neck.