J. Robb - Indulgence in death

“It would help our records if we could have the names in your party.”

His eyes bored into hers. “It’s difficult enough to have any sort of connection with a murder. Now you’ll contact my personal friends to verify my word? It’s insulting.”

“Murder’s a nasty business for everybody.”

Now the muscles in his jaw twitched as he reached into his pocket for an appointment book. “I don’t care for your demeanor, Lieutenant.”

“I get that a lot.”

“No doubt.” He rattled off a series of names and contacts while Peabody scrambled to key the information into her notebook.

“Thank you. Do you have any idea, any speculations as to how Urich’s identification was compromised?”

“I just completed a meeting on that subject, and have ordered a full company screening and internal investigation.”

“You believe the compromise came from inside the company.”

He took a sharp breath in and out of his nose. “If it didn’t our security is lacking, and security is the core of my company. If it did, our employee screening is lacking, and we are in the business of screening. So either way we require our own investigation.”

“I hope you’ll keep us informed of your progress and findings.”

“Believe me, Lieutenant, when we find how this was done, and by whom, we will notify you. I will not have Intelicore’s reputation smeared in this matter. Now, I have another meeting, with our public relations division. We have a media crisis on our hands with this. So if there’s nothing else at the moment…”

“Thank you for your time. If you could take another moment of it, and verify your whereabouts night before last, between seven P.M. and midnight, it would be very helpful.”

Color flared in his cheeks. “That’s simply outrageous.”

“It may seem so, Mr. Moriarity, but we’re pursuing a line of investigation, and it would benefit us as well as you and your company if we had that information on record.”

“I was at home that evening, if you must know. I had a headache, took some medication, and went to bed early. Am I under arrest?”

Eve answered in kind. “Not at this time. I apologize for the inconvenience, and the intrusion, but we have a body in the morgue with a connection to your company. We owe it to her to be thorough. Again, thank you for your time. Peabody, with me.”

In the elevator, Peabody cleared her throat. “I guess it’s understandable he’s upset, but we’re just doing our job.”

Eve shrugged. “He can be an asshole, as long as we have the information. Check out the alibi so we can cross him off.”

“Yes, sir. So… what are you and Roarke up to tonight?”

Amused, Eve cocked an eyebrow. “No plans. I’ll probably be working late anyway. I’m going to sit hard on EDD. We’ve got a hacker out there somewhere who likes to kill people. They need to find the source.”

Outside, Peabody slid into the passenger’s seat. “He’s not going to like you calling him an asshole, if he was listening.”

“Oh, he was listening, and he expected the asshole, or some similar insult. He played for it. Dudley goes slick, this one goes sharp.”

“You think that was an act.”

“At least some of it.” She tapped her fingers on the wheel as she drove. “If they’re in this, and if they’re in it together, what’s the point? What’s the purpose? I tell you this, they’re too clever for their own good. Each of them alibied tight for one night, home alone on the other. Switch-off. But why? What’s the root?”

“What if Houston driving that night was rigged. It looks random, but what if the killer knew, or maybe played the odds it would be Houston?”

“It doesn’t feel that way, but okay.” Flip of the coin, Eve thought, but then again fifty-fifty odds weren’t bad. “Keep going.”

“One of these guys has some connection to Houston. Could be way back when the vic was getting in fights, in trouble. Could be more recent. Houston sees something he’s not supposed to see, hears something he’s not supposed to hear. He’s a driver, an overheard conversation, an exchange of money for illegal goods. Whatever. With the LC, it could’ve been jealousy, unrequited passion.”

“Neither of them are in her book.”

“Well, we know they-if it’s they-can diddle with ID. Maybe one or both of them used her services with a false ID. And okay, it’s all reaching way out,” Peabody admitted, “but why do a couple of really, really rich guys without any priors hook up to kill a couple of complete strangers?”

Damn good question, Eve thought. “Maybe they’re bored.”

“Jeez, Dallas.”

Eve glanced over at the dismay in Peabody’s voice, saw it reflected on her partner’s face. “You’ve been a cop for a while now, and in Homicide for a couple years. And you still don’t get people are just fucked up?”

“Boredom as motive is more than fucked up. I’ll buy maybe for the thrill, in part, but it just seems there has to be something under that. Jealousy, revenge, profit.”

“Then look into it. Seriously,” she added when Peabody frowned at her. “Maybe you’re right, and there’s some concrete motive here, some connection between killer or killers and victims we haven’t found. Find it. If you do, it opens things up. If you don’t, it narrows the focus. Either way it’s progress.”

“My own fork in the investigative road?”

“Whatever. Work on it, at Central, or take what you need and work at home. Carve out some downtime before your brain goes to mush.”

“Is that what you’re going to do?”

“I’m going to try to grab Mira, run some things by her, then I need to take what we have to Whitney. After that, yeah, I’m thinking I’ll work at home.”

They separated at Central, with Eve heading toward Mira’s office as she contacted the commander’s with a request for a report meeting. She geared herself up to confront Mira’s fierce gatekeeping admin but found a young, perky woman in the dragon’s place.

“Who are you?” Eve demanded.

“I’m Macy. Doctor Mira’s administrative assistant is out today. What can I do for you?”

“You can give me five minutes with Doctor Mira.”

“Let me see what I can do. Who should I say would like to speak with her?”

“Dallas, Lieutenant Eve.”

“Oh!” She bounced a little in her chair, and actually clapped her hands as if one of them had won a prize. “I know who you are! I read Nadine Furst’s book. It’s all just amazing.”

Eve started to dismiss it, rethought. “Thanks. Being able to consult with Mira made a huge difference in the Icove case. I’m working on a pretty hot one now. I could really use that five.”

“Give me one minute!” She all but sang it as she turned to her com. “Doctor Mira, Lieutenant Dallas would like five minutes with you if you’re available. Of course, yes, ma’am.” Macy beamed at Eve. “You can go right in.”

“Thanks. Ah, how long are you on the desk?”

“Oh, just for a couple days. I wish it was longer. It’s fun!”

“Yeah.”

Mira started to rise from her desk when Eve came in. “No, don’t get up. Five minutes tops. Could there be two?”

“I’m sorry?”

“No, my sorry. I’m thinking ahead of myself. Two murders, two killers. My cases.”

Mira frowned. “With the pattern, the repeat of element types, I have to conclude these murders are connected.”

“Connected, yeah, but two killers, working in tandem, working a set pattern.”

“Interesting. Again, the elements, the executions are so very similar, even the tone.”

“Yeah, and that could be deliberate. Involve number one through an employee, but you’re alibied because number two’s on that one. Then repeat, switching off.”