J Robb - Imitation in Death

“Sure, we can talk about that. AfterDallas is done.Dallas and I go way back,” she added with a wonderfully guileless smile. “When she mentioned she was having trouble getting an interview, I said I was sure it was just a communication glitz, and you’d make time. Supporting our local police is a really important issue with me andLeonardo.”

“Cleverly done.” Julietta replied.

“I thought so.”Eve stayed on her feet as Julietta sat down. “If you’re not comfortable, I’m sure Mavis wouldn’t mind waiting outside the office until we’re finished.”

“No need for that.” Julietta leaned back, swiveled in her chair. “You’ve already spoken toTom. I don’t know what I can possibly add. I don’t get involved in his work, and he doesn’t get involved in mine.”

“How about each other’s lives?”

Her tone remained perfectly pleasant. “Which area of our lives do you have in mind?”

“When was the last time you were inLondon?”

“London?” Her brow creased. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“Humor me.”

“I was there a few weeks ago on business.” With the annoyance still creased between her eyebrows, she picked up a small pocket calendar, keyed in for the date. “July eight and nine and ten.”

“Alone?”

There was a quick flicker in her eyes before she set the calendar down. “Yes, why?”

“Your husband ever go over with you?”

“We went in April. Tom thought the experience would be fun for Jed. I had business, and he wanted to do some research. We took an extra two days for a family holiday.”

“Buy any souvenirs?”

“What are you getting at?”

“I guess you travel to Europe pretty regularly,” Eve said, changing tack. “For your business.”

“I do. For fashion shows, for events, to meet with my counterparts in our European offices. Just what does this have to do with Tom helping you in an investigation?”

“It’s part of my investigation.”

“I don’t-” She broke off when her pocket ‘link rang. “Excuse me, that’s my private line. I need to get this.”

She shifted it to privacy mode, slid on a miniheadset, and angled away so Eve couldn’t see the ‘link’s view screen.

“Julietta Gates. Yes.”

Her voice warmed, several degrees, and that just-a-little-too-thin mouth tipped up in a smile.

“Absolutely. I have it on my calendar. One o’clock. Mmm-hmm. Yes, I’m in a meeting.” There was a long silence as she listened, and Eve noted the faint flush that rose to her cheeks. “I’ll look forward to that. Yes, I will. Goodbye.”

She disconnected, slipped off the headset. “Sorry, afternoon meeting. Now-”

“Can you tell me where you were Sunday morning?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She let out a huff of breath. “Sundays, I let Tom sleep in and take Jed to the park, or to some other activity. I’m trying to be cooperative, Lieutenant, since Mavis has asked me to, but I’m finding this very annoying.”

“Almost done. How about the night of September second, between midnight and three?”

Julietta snatched up her calendar again, keyed in. Again, Eve saw the slight change cross her face. “I had a meeting with an associate. I can’t tell you precisely when I got home as I didn’t make note of it, but I think it was after nine, maybe close to ten. I was tired, and went straight up to bed since Tom was working.”

“So he was home the entire night.”

“Why wouldn’t he be? He was working. I took a pill and went to bed. I told him I was going to, so he’d hardly have left the house because of Jed. Tom’s completely devoted, and somewhat overprotective of Jed. What is this?”

“That’s it for now. Thanks for the time.”

“I think I’m entitled to some sort of-”

“If you still want, we can talk about that article.” Mavis popped to her feet. “I just need a minute first.”

She scooted out of the office with Eve, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “So? Did she kill somebody or what?”

“Doubtful. The worst I figure she’s done is cheat on her husband with whoever called her on her private ‘link.”

“She did? She is? How do you know?”

“Plenty of tells. Look, if you don’t want to deal with her, you can leave with me and Peabody. We’ll get you home.”

“No, it’s chilly. A spread in Outré’s like my fantasy. And it’ll give a boost to my disc sales. Won’t hurt Leonardo’s biz either. It cooks for all of us. We did good, right?”

“We did good.”

“Night or day, day or night. Hey, what do you think about Vignette or Vidal?”

“What are they?”

“My baby. Vignette for a girl, Vidal for a boy. They’re French. We’re experimenting with French names, and I ditched Fifi. I mean, who names a kid Fifi?”

Eve didn’t know who might name a kid Vignette either, but made a noncommittal mouth noise.

“Somebody will call her Viggy,” Peabody said. “Which rhymes with piggy, so she’ll be Piggy Viggy in school.”

Mavis looked horrified. “You think? Deep-six Vignette.” She gave her belly a comforting rub. “Plenty of time to come up with something else. Catch you later.” She swung back into Julietta’s office.

“Impressions, Peabody?” Eve asked as they rode down.

“She looks great, and she’ll come up with something better than Vignette or Vidal.”

“About Julietta Gates, you moron.”

“I know, I just wanted to annoy you. Sir,” she added when Eve looked at her. “Used to running the show, and likes it. Dresses for power even more than style. Ambitious. She’d have to be to have gotten where she is at her age. Strikes me as a little cold-blooded. There’s no zing when she talks about her kid. That was a good catch with the extramarital. Blew right by me. Then when you said it, and I played it back, it was right there. The way her voice changed, the body language.”

“And from the way her face flushed up, I’d say the voice on the other end was letting her know a few games they’d be playing at their one-o’clock today. I’m going to want to confirm the dish on the side, in case we need to push on her later.”

“We going to surveil?”

“No, don’t want to risk her spotting either one of us this close to our little interview. I’ll see if Baxter can handle it. How much does a kid like hers talk?”

“At that age, they rarely shut up. Hardly anybody but immediate family can understand them, but it doesn’t stop them from talking.”

“She met her side piece on Sunday, you can take that to the vault. And she had the kid with her. Wouldn’t he tattle to daddy?”

“She probably told him it was a secret.”

“Huh.” This was foreign territory, so she took Peabody at her word. “Kids keep secrets?”

“No, but she doesn’t strike me as the type who knows her own kid very well. And the boy seems pretty tight with his dad. My best guess is he kept the secret until she was out of hearing, then blabbed. Daddy, me and Mommy and Uncle Side Dish played on the swings, but it’s a secret.”

Eve let it play in her head, and nodded. “And I doubt it’s the first time. Daddy knows what’s going on, and wouldn’t that irritate him? Wouldn’t he be a bit put out? Here he is, staying at home watching the kid, taking care of the house, while she’s running around town-and Europe-with some other guy. Playing with some other guy with his son in tow. Yeah, that’s a real pisser.”

“Mother and whore,” she said as they got back into the vehicle. “We keep coming back to that. No problem for him to get out of the house for either murder, and he might’ve picked up the writing paper-paying cash-on his spring trip toLondon. Hell, the paper could’ve been a gift from a fan for that matter. And he decided it fit the bill. He knows the prototype murders as well as the initial killers.”