Promises in Death (In Death #28)(111)

She walked into the conference room. Grady sat at the conference table, drinking coffee, studying the screen. Looking, Eve thought, very pleased with herself.

“I was just about to hunt for you. I think I might have something.”

“Funny, I have something, too. You helped me get to it.”

“Yeah?” Genuine pleasure lit Cleo’s face. “Can I be there when you arrest the f**ker?”

“Front and center. Do you think it comes down in the blood?” Eve asked conversationally. “You know, bad blood begets bad blood? I think that’s a cop-out myself. You’re in the job long enough, you see it’s not that simple. You see people who come from shit and crawl out of it to make a decent life. Others who come from decent and crawl into the shit. Because they like it. Then again, Ricker’s blood’s partially foul.”

“Alex Ricker doesn’t have his father’s brains. He’s just been coattailing. No offense, but somebody was going to nail him sooner or later.”

“Maybe. His problem was getting stuck on the woman. Not enough to make him change his ways, but enough to mess him up. Guy’s got a soft streak in there, sentimental, I guess. Men.” She shook her head. “They think they’re stronger, tougher than women. We know better. The coldest killers I’ve known have been female.

“But back to blood. I’m curious. Were you a cold, murderous bitch before you knew you had Ricker’s blood, or did you turn into one after? Don’t answer yet,” Eve continued as Grady rose slowly. “Let’s deal with the formalities. Cleo Grady, you’re under arrest for the murder of Amaryllis Coltraine, the murder of Rod Sandy. Other charges include—”

Even as Cleo reached for her weapon, Eve reached for hers. They drew together.

“I’d love to do it,” Eve said. “I’d feel joy in my heart watching you drop. But maybe you’ll drop me. Maybe. Then my partner, who’s got her weapon at your back will drop you. You’re not walking out of this room, Grady. Lower your weapon, or you’ll get a taste of what you gave Coltraine.”

“Mine’s on full. You go down, you won’t get up.”

“Maybe. My partner’s still going to drop you. Put down your weapon.”

“The f**k I will. You move away from—”

Eve fired. Her weapon was on its lowest setting and did no more than jolt Cleo, sent her stumbling back as her own weapon clattered to the floor. “That felt good. Small of me, but damn, that felt good. Got her weapon secured, Peabody?”

“Yes, sir, I do. And it felt good over here, too.”

“Hands behind your back, Cleo.” Eve secured her own weapon, took out her restraints. “Oh, and please make a try for the door,” she invited, “so I have an excuse to kick your ass.”

“Easy to say when you and your partner have weapons on me.”

“Yeah, it is.” Eve grinned. “Want me to say it again?”

“You can’t make this stick. None of it’s going to stick.”

“Bet?” She shoved Cleo into the chair, looped the restraints through the back rungs and chained her to it as she completed the Revised Miranda.

No blood on my hands, Eve thought. “I guess Mira was right,” she muttered, then shook her head at Peabody’s questioning look. “Nothing. I know you’re Max Ricker’s daughter,” she said to Cleo. “I know you recruited Rod Sandy to pass data re Alex Ricker to Max Ricker. I know you’ve been in communication with your father since his incarceration on Omega, and that you communicated with him the night of Coltraine’s murder.”

“You can get me a slap on the wrist for that, you can cost me my job. But you can’t pin murder on me.”

“Oh, I will. You went looking for him, didn’t you? Went looking for Daddy.”

“What if I did? No crime.”

“Hoping for his love and affection. Maybe a puppy. Pathetic.”

Insult had Cleo yanking against the restraints. “I know about you, how you were raised by the State. You don’t even know where you came from. That’s pathetic.”

“I know where I landed.” Eve brought a chair around, straddled it. “Max Ricker sent you to college, paid your freight.”

“So what? No crime.”

“But it wasn’t free. No free lunch from Max. Not for anyone. But then, it had to be a pleasure for you to find a way to stick it to your brother.”

“Half.”

“The half that got all the attention, all the bennies all those years. The son. Men are so freaking high on having sons.”

“Depends on the son.”

“Rod Sandy was easy to mold. He was so jealous of Alex. You just had to plant the seeds, show him the opportunity and the rewards.”

“Can’t prove it because, oh yeah, that’s right. He’s dead.”

“Got your stiletto, Cleo.”

“I’m a collector. I’m licensed.” She yawned deliberately. “I’d lawyer but this is too entertaining.”

“We’ve accessed your bank box. We have Coltraine’s ring. That was stupid. A cop taking a trophy that can tie her to a murder.”

Cleo merely jerked a shoulder and looked bored. “She lent it to me, a couple of days before she died. I put it in there out of respect.”