Treachery in Death (In Death #32)(52)

“You want to come hard because we took a look around? We didn’t know the little prick was dead, and we’ve got a major investigation coming to flashpoint. Maybe he had something on it. I don’t know how you work it in Homicide, but—”

“Obviously not. Did you or your fellow officer remove anything from the area?”

“Nothing there but garbage. He lived like a pig, and from what I hear he died the same.”

“The little prick who lived like a pig is my victim,” Eve said coldly. “And by violating procedure you may very well have compromised the chain of evidence needed to bring his killer to justice.”

“I heard he OD’d.” Garnet shrugged. “There’s no reason for anybody to kill the little ass**le.”

“Really? Even if the little ass**le had information about an individual connected to a major investigation that is at flashpoint?”

Caught in that little hole in the web of lies, Garnet shut his mouth. Eve turned back to Renee. “In addition to the other data already required, I’ll need a copy of all files and data on this Geraldi investigation.”

Now Garnet surged to his feet, and his face blotched with angry color. “There’s no f**king way you’re sticking your nose in my case. You’re looking to bust our balls over some dead weasel because you’ve got nothing else.”

“You’d better stand down, Detective,” Eve warned.

“Fuck you!” He snarled it out even as Renee said his name. “Fuck her.” He whirled on Renee. “She’s not coming in here telling me how to run a case, screwing up my work over some useless dead junkie. You better back me on this, goddamn it, or—”

“Detective Garnet!” Renee’s voice sliced through the air, cut off his words so his breath heaved in and out.

“You’d better back me,” he repeated.

“I’m going to have that data, per procedure, Detective. Deal with it.” Eve stepped a little closer, angled, lifted a hand. “You’ve already crossed over into insubordination, so—”

He spun around, and as she’d hoped, his forearm smacked sharply into hers. To make it a little more dramatic, she fell back a step.

“Get off my back. You’re not in charge here.”

“From where I’m standing, nobody is.” Eve spared Renee a brief, disgusted look. “And you, Detective Garnet, just earned yourself a thirty-day rip. Another word comes out of your mouth, it’ll be sixty,” she warned, then gave Bix a cold stare as he got slowly to his feet. “Sit down, Detective Bix, unless you want the same.”

“Bix.” Renee spoke quietly when he didn’t move. “Take your seat.”

Good dog, Eve thought when he obeyed.

“Detective Garnet, sit down and calm down. Not another word,” Renee added. “Lieutenant Dallas, obviously we have a situation where emotions ran hot. My detectives are running a difficult investigation that appears to have bumped into yours. There’s no reason why we can’t work this out, reasonably, and without any undue interference to either investigation, right here in this office.”

“You want a favor from me?” Eve looked amazed. “You’re going to stand there and ask me to do you a solid when you failed to control your own detective, when you failed to take any action when he spoke to me with extreme disrespect, even after I warned him. When he laid hands on me?”

“In the heat of the moment—”

“My ass. I’ll be writing him up because, frankly, I don’t trust you to do so. I’ll also be writing up the incident regarding my vic’s residence. I will be speaking to any member of your squad who’s involved in this Geraldi case. Further, as already detailed, I want all data on any busts or investigations that involved the substance known as FYU.”

“That’s absolutely—”

Eve stepped closer, let her own heat show. “You don’t know how we do things in my division? I’ll tell you this, if one of my men displayed such extreme disrespect to a superior officer, I’d be the one who took him down. Because it’s my command. I want the data and files on the investigation within the hour.”

Eve strode out, pleased to see every eye in the place follow her out—and enjoyed the faint smirk Detective Strong didn’t quite mask.

Part of her wanted to break out in song, but she kept cold, controlled fury on her face as she stormed back to her own level, her own bullpen.

“Reineke!”

His head snapped up, eyes wide at the tone. “Sir!”

“What would happen if you said ‘f*ck you’ to a superior officer in my presence?”

“If I said it in my head or out loud?”

“Out loud.”

“My ass would be extremely sore from the repeated and forceful application of your boot thereto.”

“Fucking A. Peabody, my office.” She kept that pissed-off look in place until Peabody came in, obeyed Eve’s signal to shut the door. “Watch this, because you won’t see it often.”

Eve swiveled her hips, pumped her arms in the air.

“Would that be your happy dance, sir?”

“It’s restrained, I know, but this is serious business and requires some restraint. I just creamed Renee, embarrassed her, pissed her off, and undermined her command—and as a bonus maneuvered Garnet into behavior that earned him a thirty-day rip. Which I will write up forthwith.”