Rapture in Death (In Death #4)(93)

Roarke said nothing, but he rose and slid the disc into his entertainment unit. The screen filled with light, with music, then the volume and intensity lowered as a background for Jess’s voice.

“I’m not sure what the results will be. One day I’ll find the key to tapping in at the source. For now, I can only speculate. The suggestion is to the memory. The reenactment of trauma. Something’s at the core of those shadows on Dallas’s mind. Something fascinating. What will she dream tonight after playing the disc? How long will it be before I can seduce her to share it all with me? What secrets does she hide? It’s such fun to wonder. I’m just waiting for the chance to tap into Roarke’s darker side. Oh, he has one, so close to the surface you can almost see it. Thinking of them together, with just the animal in control, gives me such a rush. I can’t think of two more fascinating subjects for this project. God bless Mavis for opening the door. Within six months I’ll know these two so well, anticipate their reactions so clearly, I’ll be able to lead them right where I want them. Then there’s no limit. Fame, fortune, adulation. I’ll be the goddamn father of virtual pleasure.”

Roarke remained silent as the disc ran out. He didn’t remove it, certain his fingers would crush it like powder.

“I’ve already hurt him,” he said at length. “But not enough. Not nearly enough.” He turned to Mavis. She’d risen and stood, small as a fairy, her slip-shouldered dress of pink gauze somehow valiant. “You aren’t responsible for this,” Roarke told her.

“Maybe that’s true. I have to work that out. But I know he wouldn’t have gotten that close to her, or you, without me. Will that help keep him in a cage?”

“I think he’ll hear the lock turn and wait a long time before he hears it open again. You’ll leave it with me?”

“Yeah. I’ll get out of your hair now.”

“You’re always welcome here.”

Her mouth quirked. “If it wasn’t for Dallas, you’d have run like hell in the opposite direction the first time you saw me.”

He came to her, kissed her firmly on that crooked mouth. “That would have been my mistake — and my loss. I’ll call a car for you.”

“You don’t have to — “

“A car will be waiting for you at the front entrance.”

She rubbed a hand under her nose. “One of those mag limos?”

“Absolutely.”

He walked her to the door, closed it thoughtfully behind her. The disc would be enough, he hoped, to drive another nail in Jess. But it still didn’t point to murder. He went back, ordered both of his machines to display on screen.

Sitting behind his desk, he picked up the VR goggles and studied the data.

Eve lowered her gaze to the stunner. From her angle, she couldn’t be sure which setting was clicked. A sudden move, she knew, could result in anything from mild discomfort and partial paralysis to death.

“It’s illegal for a civilian to own or operate that weapon,” she said coolly.

“I don’t believe that’s particularly relevant, under the circumstances. Take yours out, Eve, slowly, and by the fingertips. Then set it on the desk. I don’t want to hurt you,” Reeanna added when Eve made no move to obey. “I never have. Not really. But I’ll do whatever’s necessary.”

Keeping her eyes on Reeanna’s, Eve reached slowly for her side arm.

“And don’t think about trying to use it. I don’t have this on max, but it is on a very high setting. You won’t have use of your extremities for days, and though the possible brain damage isn’t necessarily permanent, it is very inconvenient.”

Eve knew very well what the stunner could do, and she took out her weapon carefully, laid it on the corner of the desk. “You’ll have to kill me, Reeanna. But you’ll have to do it face to face, in person. It won’t be like the others.”

“I’m going to try to avoid that. A short, painless, even enjoyable session on VR, and we can adjust your memory and direct your target. You’re well aimed at Jess, Eve. Why don’t we just keep it that way?”

“Why did you kill those four people, Reeanna?”

“They killed themselves, Eve. You were right there when Cerise Devane jumped off that building. One has to believe what one sees with one’s own eyes.” She sighed. “Or most do. You’re not most, are you?”

“Why did you kill them?”

“I merely encouraged them to end their lives in a certain manner at a certain time. And why?” Reeanna shrugged her lovely shoulders. “Why, because I could.”

She smiled beautifully and gave her bell tinkle of a laugh.

CHAPTER TWENTY

It wouldn’t take long, Eve calculated, for Peabody or Feeney to home in on her signal. She just needed time. And she had a feeling Reeanna would provide it. Some egos, like some people, fed on regular admiration. Reeanna fit on both levels.

“Did you work with Jess?”

“That amateur.” Reeanna tossed her hair at the idea. “He’s a piano player. Not that he doesn’t have a certain talent for basic engineering, but he lacks vision — and guts,” she added with a slow, feline smile. “Women are so much more courageous and more vicious than men, all in all. Don’t you agree?”