Imitation in Death

“You know a lot of people who fit that box.”

His lip twitched. “I do. Yes, I do.”

“ElliotP.Hawthorne?”

“Yes, I’ve had dealings with him. Seventies, sharp, lives for golf. Apparently dotes on his third, considerably younger wife, and travels quite a lot now that he’s retired. I like him quite a bit. Is that helpful at all?”

“Anybody you don’t know?”

“Not worth mentioning.”

– -«»--«»--«»--

The evening at home with Roarke had helped clear her mind,Eve decided as she rode up in the jammed elevator to the Homicide Division. Not only did she feel rested, well-fed, and tuned up, but his informal rundown of some of the names on her list gave her a different insight. It was more personal and certainly more informative than the dry facts from a standard ID run.

She could shuffle his data around in her head as she questioned each party, and angle those questions around the more personal information. But first, she needed to check for any updates on lab and ME reports, round upPeabody, and face the media music.

She elbowed her way out of the elevator and turned toward her sector.

And all but ran intoNadineFurst.

The on-air reporter had a new short and sleek hairdo. What was it,Eve thought, with new hair on everybody? It was blonder, swingier, and swept back from Nadine’s perfect, angular face.

She was wearing a short, fitted jacket over slim, fitted pants, both in power red, which toldEve she was camera-ready.

And she carried a huge white bakery box that smelled gloriously of fat and sugar.

“Doughnuts.” There was no mistaking that scent, andEve homed in on it like a hound on a fox. “You’ve got doughnuts in there.” She tapped a finger to the box. “That’s how you get through the bullpen, avoid the civilian and media lounges, and end up in my office. You bribe my men.”

Nadinefluttered her lashes. “And your point is?”

“My point is, how come I never get a damn doughnut?”

“Because generally I time it better, dump my offering in the bullpen, sometimes it’s brownies, and while every cop in Homicide descends like a pack of coyotes, I settle down in your office and wait for your arrival.”

Evewaited a beat. “Bring the doughnuts, leave the camera.”

“I need my camera,”Nadine said, gesturing to the woman beside her.

“I need a su

To ensure obedience, and to prevent her men from rioting, she snatched the bakery box herself before striding into the bullpen.

Several heads lifted, noses sniffed the air. “Don’t even think about it,”Eve ordered and kept right on walking through choruses of protests and complaints.

“There are three dozen in there,”Nadine told her as she followedEve into her office. “You can’t possibly eat them all.”

“I could, just to teach those greedy hogs a lesson. However, this is a lesson in discipline and authority.” She opened the box, sighed deep as she perused her choices, all glossy, all hers. “I’ll let them think I’m keeping them all, and have my fill, then have them weeping with gratitude when I take out the leftovers to share.”

She plucked one out, brought up coffee on the AutoChef, then bit in. “Cream filled. Yum.” Chewing, she checked her wrist unit, then counted back from ten as she crossed to the door.Peabody rushed to the doorway asEve hit one.

“ Dallas! Hey! I was just-”

Taking another enormous bite,Eve closed the door in her aide’s sorrowful face.

“That was really cold,”Nadine commented and did what she could to swallow the laugh.

“Yeah, but fun.”

“Now that we’ve had our fun, I need an update on the Wooton murder, and a one-on-one. It would’ve been easier to set this up if you’d bothered to return any of my calls.”

Evesat on the corner of the desk. “Can’t do it,Nadine.”

“I need to verify if there was, as rumored, some sort of communication left at the crime scene, and the contents therein. Also what progress has or has not been made since-”

“Nadine, I can’t.”

Undaunted,Nadine helped herself to coffee, sat in Eve’s battered visitor’s chair, crossed her legs. “The public has a right to know, and I, as media representative, have a responsibility to-”

“Save it. We can go through the dance, but you’ve brought me these nice doughnuts and I don’t want to waste your time.” GivingNadine a moment to stew,Eve licked sugar off her thumb. “I’m going to issue a press release, give a statement, and you’ll have it along with the other media reps within the hour. But I can’t give you a head start, or agree to a one-on-one. I need to pull back a little-”

Nadinewas finished stewing and ready to cut to the core. “What makes this case different? If there’s to be some sort of media shutdown-”

“Stop. Shift out of reporter mode for one goddamn minute. You’re a friend of mine. I like you, and beyond that I think you do a good job, a responsible one.”

“Great, fine, and right back at you, but-”

“I’m not shutting you out. The fact is, I’m treating you as I would any other media rep.”

Except,Eve thought, for the doughnut gorging and private chat. “My tendency to show favoritism toward you is one of the reasons you were pulled into theStevenson case last month.”

“That was-”

“Nadine.” It was the quiet patience in Eve’s tone-something rarely heard-that hadNadine subsiding again. “There were complaints. And there’s speculation of the sort that could bring us both grief if I don’t throttle back on the cop/reporter relationship a bit. So I can’t feed you this time. I need the rumbles to quiet down before I start to be known as Furst’s pet, or you as mine. Enough reporters get together and start crying foul and favoritism, it’s not going to be good for either of us.”

Nadinehissed through her teeth. She’d heard the complaints, and the speculation, and had already weathered some resentment among her own rank and file. “You’re right, and that’s a pisser. Doesn’t mean I won’t hound you,Dallas.”

“Goes without saying.”

The battle light shone in her eyes again, and matched the sharp little smile. “Or bribe your men.”

“I like brownies, especially the ones with those chunks of chocolate in them.”

Nadineset the coffee down, got up. “Listen, if you need to leak something, give Quinton Post a try. He’s young yet, but he’s good, and the work matters to him as much, maybe even a little more, than the ratings. That won’t last,” she added cheerfully. “But you might as well get him while he’s fresh.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

– -«»--«»--«»--

Alone,Eve refined her official statement, then ran it through cha

All movement stopped. Silence fell.

“ Peabody,” she said into the breathless hush, “with me.”

She’d barely hit the doorway when the riot of rushing feet and clamor of voices erupted behind her.

Cops and doughnuts, she thought. A well-honored tradition that almost brought a sentimental tear to the eye.

“I bet there were jelly-filled. I bet there were,” Peabody muttered as they muscled onto an elevator.

“Some of them had those little colored sprinkle things on top. Like edible confetti.”

Peabody ’s square and sturdy jaw wobbled with emotion. “All I had time for this morning was reconstituted banana slices on a stale bagel.”

“You’re breaking my heart.” At garage level,Eve strolled off the elevator. “ Carmichael ’s first stop. We’re catching him between his morning aqua therapy and daily skin treatment.”

“You could’ve saved me one. One little doughnut.”

“I could have,”Eve agreed as they climbed in her vehicle. “I could have done that. In fact…” She rummaged around in her pocket, pulled out an evidence bag. Inside was a jelly doughnut. “I believe I did.”