J. Robb - Divided in Death

She set her cup down again, without drinking. “It was my hope that I’d have grandchildren, when they were ready. And my secret hope, one I never shared with Reva, that when the grandchildren came I’d find that love for Blair.”

“And his work?”

“It’s necessary to be honest now, isn’t it?” There was, for just an instant, a twinkle in her eyes. “I could never be honest before. Preposterous, occasionally offensive, and very often unseemly. Art should often be surprising, and even unseemly, I suppose. But I’m more traditional in my tastes. He did very well, though.”

“Reva strikes me as an urbanite. What’s she doing in a house in Queens?”

“He wanted it. A big house, in his own style. I admit it broke my heart a little to have her move even that far away. We’ve always been very close. Her father hasn’t been part of our lives since she was twelve.”

“Why?”

“He preferred other women.” She said it without any trace of bitterness. Without, Eve noticed, any trace of anything. “It seems my daughter was attracted to the same kind of man.”

“She lived farther away from you at one time, during her time with the Secret Service.”

“Yes. She needed to spread her wings. I was very proud of her, and extremely relieved when she retired and moved back, went into R and D. Safe, I thought.” Caro’s lips trembled. “So much safer for my girl.”

“Did Reva ever talk about her work with you?”

“Hmm? Oh, from time to time. We were often involved, in our different ways, in the same projects.”

“Has she discussed with you the project she’s involved with now?”

Caro picked up her cup again, but Eve had seen the quick widening of her pupils. “I imagine Reva’s involved in a number of projects at the moment.”

“You know the one I’m talking about, Caro.”

This time there was a faint line of confusion between her eyebrows, and a quick glance at Roarke. “I’m not at liberty to discuss any of the projects in development through Roarke Industries. Even with you, Lieutenant.”

“It’s all right, Caro. The lieutenant is aware of the Code Red.”

“I see.” But it was clear to Eve that she didn’t. “I’m privy to certain details on any project with this level of sensitivity. As Roarke’s admin, I assist in meetings and review contracts, evaluate personnel. These are part of my duties. So yes, I’m aware of the project Reva’s heading.”

“And the two of you have discussed it.”

“Reva and I? No. We wouldn’t speak of this, any details of it. With Code Red, all data-verbal, electronic, holographic-all files, all notes, all intel remains top level. I’ve discussed this with no one, until now, but Roarke himself. In the office. This is global security, Lieutenant,” she said with brisk disapproval in her tone. “It isn’t coffee talk.”

“I’m not bringing it up to juice up the cookies.”

“They’re great cookies,” Peabody piped up, and earned a scowl from Eve. “I bet you get them from a bakery.”

Caro smiled a little. “Yes, I do.”

“We always had fresh cookies in the house when I was a kid. Now that we’re grown up, my mom still has them around. Habit,” Peabody said, and took another bite. “You probably always had them around when Reva was a kid.”

“I did.”

“I guess especially when you’re raising a kid on your own, you tend to be close, and a mom gets to be even more protective.”

“Probably.” The stiffness in Caro’s voice, in her body language relaxed. “Though I’ve tried, always, to give her room. Independence.”

“Still worry, like you said. Like when she was with the Secret Service. Probably worried some, too, like moms do, when she got serious about Blair.”

“Yes, a bit. Still, she was a grown woman.”

“My mom always said we can get as old as we want, she’s still our mom. Did you run Bissel, Ms. Ewing?”

Caro started to speak, then flushed and stared hard at the window. “I… she’s my only child. Yes. I’m ashamed to say I did. I know I asked you specifically not to,” she said to Roarke. “Made a point of it, even an issue of it with you.”

“I did two levels anyway.”

“Well, of course. Of course, you did.” Her hand fluttered to her face, then fell back into her lap. “She was an employee, after all.” She sighed now. “I knew you would do that much. You have to protect yourself, your holdings.”

“I wasn’t only thinking of myself, Caro, or my holdings.”

She reached out, touched his hand. “No, I know that. But I also knew, because I asked-well, demanded, really-you wouldn’t go deeper than that. And I swore to myself I wouldn’t. I absolutely would not interfere in such an underhanded way with my daughter’s life. Then I did. Another full level. And I used your resources to do it. I’m terribly sorry.”

“Caro.” He picked up her hand, kissed her fingers gently. “I was perfectly aware of what you did. I had no problem with it.”

“Oh.” She let out a shaky laugh. “How foolish of me. Remarkably.”

“How could you do that, Mom?” Reva stepped into the room. Her eyes were ravaged, her hair disordered from sleep. “How could you go behind my back that way?”

Roarke got to his feet and moved so smoothly, so subtly between mother and daughter, Eve wondered if anyone noticed that he’d placed himself as Caro’s shield.

“For that matter, Reva, so did I, go behind your back, as it were.”

“You’re not my mother.” She bit the words off as she stepped forward, and Roarke simply shifted his body without seeming to move at all.

“Which would mean, all in all, I had less of a right.” He spoke easily, drawing his cigarette case out of his pocket. The gesture, Eve noted, distracted Reva. If only for a moment. “Do you mind, Caro?” he asked, very pleasant.

“No.” Flustered, she looked around, then rose. “I’ll get an ashtray.”

“Thanks. Of course you could say I did the basic run on Blair as your employer. And that would be true.” He lit the cigarette. “True enough, but not fully true. You’re a friend of mine, as is your mother, so that was another factor.”

Color was riding high in Reva’s cheeks, a full temper strike at the flashpoint, made no less volatile by the fact she was bundled into a petal pink robe and wearing thick gray socks. “If I can’t be trusted to-”

“You I trust, and always have, Reva. Him I didn’t know, so why should I have trusted him? Still, I didn’t go beyond two levels out of respect for your mother.”

“But not for me, not out of respect for me. Either of you,” she said with a furious look at her mother as Caro came back with a small crystal dish. “You were spying on him, checking up on him, and all the while you were making wedding plans, pretending to be happy for me.”

“Reva, I was happy for you,” Caro began.

“You didn’t like him, you never liked him,” Reva spat out. “If you think I didn’t know you-”

“Sorry. If you want to get into a family spat, it’ll have to wait.” Eve made a show of getting out her recorder when Reva whipped around toward her. “Homicide investigations take precedence. You’ve already been read your rights-”

“You agreed to give me ten minutes,” Roarke reminded her. “I’ll take it now.”

Eve shrugged. “A deal’s a deal.”

“Caro, is there somewhere private I could have a few moments with Reva?”

“Yes. You could use my office. I’ll just show you-”

“I know where it is.” Turning her back on Caro, Reva stalked away. The ensuing silence was punctuated by the violent slamming of a door.

“I’m very sorry.” Caro sat again, folded her hands in her lap. “She’s understandably upset.”