Treachery in Death (In Death #32)(54)

“Kisses to the crowd!” Mavis switched her handhold to Bella’s waist so the baby could smack her palm against her lips, then wave it.

Eve had to admit it was a pretty good routine.

“You brought the baby to a cop shop?”

Mother and daughter both turned, and big, happy smiles spread. “She wanted to visit.”

Bella threw out her arms, babbled.

Eve inched back. “What does she want?”

“You. Which is great.” Mavis popped up. “‘Cause I absolutely have to pee. BRB,” she added, and shoved the baby at Eve.

“Hey! Hey!” But Mavis’s shiny pink sandals were already skipping away. “Jesus Christ.”

Bella giggled, patted her drool-dewed hands on Eve’s cheeks, then got a Herculean grip on her hair. She tugged then slurped her wet lips on Eve’s cheek.

“Slooch!”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember.” Smooch, Eve thought, and eyed Bella’s lips—and more drool. “On the mouth?”

“Slooch!” Bella pursed like a guppy and made kissy noises.

“Fine, fine.” Eve gave her a little peck, then stared into her big blue eyes. “Now what?”

Bella widened her eyes, and looked, to Eve’s mind, very serious as she babbled and garbled, head turning side-to-side, little butt bouncing on Eve’s forearm.

“Nobody understands that. Anybody who tells you they do is just stringing you, kid.”

She decided to sit—safer and closer to the floor if the kid wriggled free. Plus maybe she could start on the probabilities. But the minute they were down, Bella pushed up.

“God! I wish you wouldn’t do that. Sit.”

In response Bella pumped her legs and danced on Eve’s knees. She grinned like a maniac and squealed, “Das!”

“Sure, sure.” Eve eyed the mountainous purple bag taking up most of her desk. “Probably something in there to keep you occupied. One of those plugs, something.” Hooking an arm around Bella’s waist, she pulled out things at random—shaking things, beeping things, singing things.

But all the kid wanted to do was dance.

She pulled out a box highlighted with a baby’s cherubic face. Bella danced harder, cried, “Yum!” and made a grab for it.

“Hold it, hold it.” It was a struggle, but Eve managed to hold the box out of reach and peek inside at what appeared to be thick crescents of stale bread.

“Those look disgusting.”

Bella narrowed those big blue eyes, slitting them into what looked suspiciously like a warning. “Yum!”

“Is that a threat? Do you see how much bigger I am than you? Do you really think that’s going to work?”

Now the little mouth quivered, and the big blue eyes filled with tears. “Yum,” she sniffled. A single fat one slid down the rosy cheek.

“Okay, that works.” Eve dug one out. The box wouldn’t have a baby on it if it wasn’t for babies, she reasoned.

Bella clutched it and brought the biscuit and Eve’s hand to her mouth to gnaw. Tears miraculously vanished into a sunny smile.

“Yum!”

“You’re a player, aren’t you? I have to admire that. But turning on the waterworks to get what you want? That’s weak. Effective, but weak.”

Still smiling, Bella pulled the gnawed biscuit from her mouth and shoved it at Eve’s.

“No. Thanks. Oh, God, it is disgusting.”

“Yum,” Bella insisted, then plopped her butt on Eve’s desk and happily gnawed away.

Eve looked around quickly as Mavis bounced in. “If she’s not supposed to have that thing, you shouldn’t have left it here.”

“No big deal, those are her yums.”

“So she told me—I guess.”

Mavis pulled a heart-covered bib out of the bag, whipped it around Bella’s neck. “They’re kinda messy.”

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you? Dumped her in my lap and poofed.”

Mavis giggled, lifted her shoulders. “Busted. But I did pee.”

“Why?”

“Because my bladder asked me to.”

“Mavis.”

“Because she loves you, and because you’ve pretty much stopped holding her at arm’s length like she’s a boomer full of poop.”

“Poop is sometimes involved.”

“True.” Mavis took a quick sniff. “But not now. She can say your name.” To prove it Mavis gave Eve a kiss on the cheek. “Dallas.”

“Das!” Bella squealed and stroked a gooey hand where her mother had kissed.

On a strangled sound, Eve started to swipe the goo off with the heel of her hand, but Mavis pulled a damp wipe out of a packet.

“That’s my name?”

“It’s the closest she can come to Dallas right now. She can’t manage Peabody, but she’s got McNab.”

“Nab!” Bella waved her dripping biscuit in triumph.

“And she’s got Roarke.”

“Ork!”

“Ork.” That tickled a laugh out of Eve, and the sound had the baby sending out a chant.

“Ork! Ork! Ork!” Then damned if the kid didn’t take a bow.

“Jesus, Mavis, she’s you all over.”