Obsession in Death (In Death #40)(47)

“Carnelian.”

“Isn’t that the animal who changes colors?”

“That’s a chameleon.”

“Okay. Well, I like the color so it’s good it doesn’t change on you.” She two-pointed the tube into the recycler. “Still got it,” she said, and headed out.

“That you do,” Morris agreed, then turned back to Ledo. “And she’ll use that to find who did this to you. If the killer doesn’t know that, he doesn’t know her as intimately as he believes.”

She got back into Central for a last quick briefing from Kyung.

“I know the drill,” she told him.

“You do, but if you’re annoyed and snap at me, you’ll get it out of your system before they start annoying you.”

He had a point. “I won’t lose my temper. If I go a round with some idiot reporter I could be putting a target on his back.”

All amusement faded from Kyung’s eyes. “I hadn’t considered that.”

“I had,” Eve said, and walked out into the media briefing room to get it over with.

Cameras and recorders immediately started to hum. Those standing, jumped into chairs. A packed house, Eve noted.

“Leanore Bastwick was murdered in her apartment on the evening of December twenty-seventh. I’m primary on this homicide and am investigating it along with my partner, Detective Peabody. We are pursuing all avenues. Evidence to date shows that an unidentified subject disguised as a delivery person gained access to Ms. Bastwick’s residence, stunning her with a handheld weapon, then strangling her. In her capacity as a criminal defense attorney, Ms. Bastwick received numerous threats over the years. We are looking into those threats.”

She ignored the few shouted questions. She’d damn well finish the statement first.

“In the early hours this morning, Wendall Ledo was murdered, also in his apartment. Mr. Ledo was a known illegals dealer who frequented the underground in the area known as the Square. His building was not secure. Evidence indicates his very simple locks were picked, giving the killer access. He was also stunned, then stabbed. I am also primary on this case, and we are actively pursuing all avenues.

“Evidence further indicates the same unidentified subject murdered both Leanore Bastwick and Wendall Ledo.”

She spotted Nadine in the back of the room, still in her traveling outfit – but she had a camera with her now.

“We connect these homicides through evidence, and due to the fact that messages were left at both crime scenes. All the evidence, including the messages written, will be processed and analyzed, studied, dissected, and used to identify and apprehend the person responsible for the deaths of Leanore Bastwick and Wendall Ledo. I will not discuss specific details of any of that evidence or any specifics of this ongoing and active investigation. You’d save us all time if you remember that before asking your questions.

“Go ahead.”

“Is it true the messages were addressed to you?”

“Not going to save time,” Eve concluded. “I will not discuss specific details.”

“Is it true you had altercations with both victims? There was bad blood between you?”

“No, it’s not. I interviewed Ms. Bastwick after the murder of her law partner, as is routine. Ms. Bastwick subsequently represented Jess Barrow, and I was his arresting officer. Mr. Ledo was an illegals dealer, and had more… interactions with the Illegals division of the NYPSD than with me. I interviewed him a few times, as a witness or person of interest on an investigation.”

“So you knew both of the victims.”

“I did. I also know you – it’s Flake, isn’t it? And you…” She glanced left and farther back. “Newton. And there’s Jackson over there. I know a lot of people. Some of them are reporters, some are lawyers, some are criminals. Some are law enforcement.”

“Didn’t the messages indicate the killings had been done on your behalf?”

She started to go with the scripted version, more or less, she’d gone over with Kyung. Changed her mind on the spot.

“Your information is inaccurate. And at this point in the investigation I will not discuss specifics. I will not speculate in the media as to the killer’s motivations. What I can and will say is this. Two people are dead through the deliberate and callous act of another. This is an open and active investigation, and as primary of that investigation, I will use the full resources of the NYPSD in the pursuit of the person who took their lives. It’s my job to identify and apprehend the person responsible, and to turn this person over to the courts so they can mete out justice.

“I’m going to do my job.”

She stepped back from the podium and, ignoring the questions shouted in her wake, walked away.

“That’s it,” she told Kyung.

“Not quite what we had discussed, but it worked well enough. I’ll deal with the rest.”

She nodded, then stopped. “The information was inaccurate. He – or she – didn’t kill on my behalf. I’m the excuse, and that’s a different thing.”

And that, she told herself, was what she had to remember, because if he had a third target in his sights, she didn’t have enough to stop him.

10

She went straight to Mira’s office, prepared to battle the dragon at the gates to get ten minutes inside. When Mira’s tight-assed admin held up a finger, Eve bared her teeth, ready to attack.