Visions in Death (In Death #19)(50)

"She always cut through the park." Carleen groped for her husband's hand. "It's quicker. It's safe."

"A mugging?"

Get through it, Eve told herself. Get it done fast, so they don't suffer in the speculation. "She was raped and strangled."

"Lily?" Carleen's teary eyes went huge in shock. " Lily?" She would have slid to the floor if her husband hadn't held her. "No, no, no."

"The city should be safe." There were tears in Steeple's eyes now as he rocked his wife. "A woman should be able to walk home from goddamn work and be safe."

"Yes, sir. She should. We're going to do everything we can to find who did this to her. We need your help. I need to ask you some questions."

"Now?" He tightened his hold on his wife. "Can't you see we're grieving?"

"Mr. Steeple." Eve leaned forward so he met her eyes, so he saw what was in them. "Did you care for your sister-in-law?"

"Of course I did. Jesus."

"Do you want the man who did this to her punished?"

"Punished?" He spat out the word. "I want him dead."

"I want to find him. I want to stop him. I will find him, and I will stop him. But with your help, I may be able to do it faster. I may be able to do it before he does this to someone else's sister."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Could you give us a minute? A minute alone?"

"Sure."

"You could go in the kitchen over there." He gestured.

Eve left them alone, walked into a galley-style kitchen with a bump out for eating. There were benches for seating covered by cushions with zigzagging patterns of yellows and blues. Yellow curtains with blue borders framed the windows. Place mats, she supposed you called them, lay on the table at each space, and matched the bench cushion.

Eve picked one up, fingering it.

"Lieutenant Dallas?" Steeple came to the doorway. "We're ready now. I'm going to make some coffee. I think we could all use some."

———«»——————«»——————«»———

They sat in the living area, and with the little girl settled down, Peabody joined them. Carleen's eyes were stark and damp, but she was making an effort to compose herself, Eve saw.

"Nothing about this is easy," Eve began. "We'll be as brief as possible so we can give you some privacy."

"Can I see her?"

"Not at this time, no. I'm sorry. Your sister worked at O'Hara's Bar and Grill?"

"Yes. Five years now. She liked it there. It's a friendly place, and close to her apartment. She made good tips. She liked working nights and having most of her afternoons free."

"Was she in a relationship?"

"Not right now. She dated some, but she's been a little shy of men since the divorce."

"And the ex-husband?"

"Rip? He's remarried and lives in Vermont. I think, really, he was the love of her life, but she wasn't his. Things just fell apart. It wasn't ugly. It was just sad."

"Don't go looking at him for this." Temper spiked in Steeple's voice. "Some junkie maniac did this, and you waste time hassling a decent guy. A moron, but a decent guy, while the bastard who—"

"Andy." With a muffled sob, Carleen gripped his hand. "Don't. Just don't."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But whoever did this is out there running around right now, and we're just sitting here. Next thing, she's going to ask where I was, and shit like that. Oh, goddamn." He lowered his head to his hands. "Oh, goddamn."

"The sooner questions are asked and answered, the sooner we can leave you alone. Do you know if anyone's been bothering her?"

"No." Carleen stroked her husband's hair as she spoke. "Some of the guys at the bar tease her, but it's not like that. She's shy. Lily's shy, but she's comfortable there. They're nice people. We go in sometimes. She never hurt anyone. I have to tell our parents. They live in South Carolina now. On a houseboat. They... how do I tell them Lily's gone? How do we tell Kiki?"

"Don't think about that yet," Steeple said before Eve could speak. He lifted his head, appeared to have regained some composure. "One step at a time, sweetie. Is this like the other woman?" he asked Eve. "I saw it on the news. I saw you. Is this the same?"

"We're pursuing that probability."

"She was—"

Eve saw it in his eyes. Mutilated. But he stopped himself from saying the word, and drew his wife closer. "She was killed uptown."

"Yes. Mrs. Steeple, did Lily do crafts?"

"Crafts? Lily?" A smile trembled onto her lips. "No. She didn't like to play house, as she called it. It was part of the problem between her and Rip. He wanted a homebody, and Lily just wasn't."

"You have what look like handcrafted pieces in the other room."

" Kiki'sroom, too," Peabody added. "It's a lovely quilt on her bed."

"That's my work. When I got pregnant with Drew, our son, I decided—well, we decided," she amended, linking her fingers with her husband's, "that I'd try the professional-mother route. I wanted to be able to stay home with the children. Then I realized, pretty quickly, I'd need something to do. I started quilting, then that expanded to needlepoint, macramé. I enjoy it."