Forgotten in Death(28)

“Well.” Over her coffee, Peabody studied the board. “That gets an aha.”

“He built some summer cottages—and another big mansion for himself. He still owns them. Singer has a property management department. They handle rentals on the cottages. She also sold Park Avenue—Yuri Bardov.”

“More aha. We’ve got a long-term connection.”

“We do. With a company with reputed ties to the Russian mob—and Tovinski’s rumored to be an enforcer.”

“Bad company.”

“Meanwhile the new generation has no interest—so he told us—in running the company. He wants to rock it. He focuses on music in college—stays out of New York and the business to give this a try. Doesn’t appear—from what I’ve found—to be the party animal his father was.”

“He was good, too. I was curious,” Peabody added. “I dug up a couple short vids of him performing. Really strong voice—made for ballads. Solid talent on the guitar and piano—he played one in each of the vids I watched.”

Shrugging, Peabody eased a hip down on Eve’s desk. “It’s a hard road, though, especially if you’re trying to live on what you make at it at the start, and you don’t have pro management and some support.”

“He got tired of living on the edge,” Eve concluded, “came home, invested himself in the business. And, according to at least one of his contractors, isn’t stupid about it. So how much does he know about people like Tovinski?”

“Looks like we need to have another conversation.”

“Sure as hell does. Check and see if he’s still in his office.”

Peabody took out her ’link as Eve turned back to the board.

“First generation starts it up,” Eve murmured. “Second digs in and expands it, grows it. Third generation fucks it up. What does the next in line do?”

“When do you expect him to be out of the meeting?”

At Peabody’s words, Eve turned back. “Is that Diller?”

When Peabody nodded, Eve took the ’link. “Lieutenant Dallas. You should be able to answer a couple of questions that came up.”

The eyes came across no less reptilian over a ’link screen. “I’ll be happy to help if I can, of course.”

“Do any of Bardov’s people have access to the Hudson Yards site?”

“Bardov Construction is an investment partner, and representatives from same had input on the design and scope. They are not part of the actual build and would have no off-hour access.”

“Okay, who brought them into the deal?”

“I … I couldn’t tell you. I wasn’t privy to the negotiations.”

“Do you know an Alexei Tovinski?”

“I don’t believe so.”

“You make and keep Mr. Singer’s appointments, field his calls, correct?”

“I do.”

“And that name doesn’t ring a bell? It’s not a common one.”

“I don’t recognize the name.”

“Okay. You said Mr. Singer’s in a meeting?”

“He is. I’m not going to interrupt unless it’s of vital importance.”

“Not yet.” He had to go home sometime, Eve thought, and home might be a better place to pin him down. “Thanks for the information.”

“Mr. Singer’s orders are to cooperate as much as possible. He spoke to me about hoping you find the poor woman’s family so he could speak with them personally. He feels a responsibility.”

“Me, too. We’ll be in touch.”

Eve clicked off, handed the ’link back to Peabody. “I think I’ll take a pass at him at home later. Out of the power center. We’re going to set up interviews with his father, his grandmother. Let’s find out how much they had to do with bringing in the partners.”

“They may be able to tell us more about the second site,” Peabody put in. “It’s most likely they were in charge then.”

“Most likely isn’t definitely. We need DeWinter to nail down the TOD, as close as she can. Right now she should be working on Alva Quirk, analyzing how long ago she got the shit kicked out of her.”

Eve shoved a hand through her hair. “Roarke’s going to work on finding out when she washed her ID—he said that’s what it was. He needs some time on that.”

“I had a ten-second conversation with McNab about an hour ago. He said Roarke was up there helping them out.”

“Yeah, he’ll look into Alva tonight. And it won’t hurt to have him with me when I drop by Singer’s home. They aren’t pals or anything, but murders, even decades apart, make a connection.”

“Maybe you can take him with you and track down the plumber. I’m still waiting for him and one other to get back to me so I can set up interviews. The other’s the second IT—the one installing the building systems. But her place is like a block from my apartment, so I was going to try her there after shift.”

“You take her, I’ll take the plumber, and we’ll wrap up that part of it. I need a name and address.”

“I’ll send you both.”

“I’ve got a couple more things I need to do here, then I’m going up to see how much longer Roarke figures he’ll be. If it’s awhile I’ll take the plumber and come back for him. And I’ll tell McNab you’re in the field if they’re still wrapped up in it.”