Imitation in Death

“That’s right.” It was the compassion in his voice, on his face that had Eve stifling her impatience.

“And you didn’t give up,” Laurence said. “You’ve made me look real good around here.”

“Give me one more minute,” Eve pleaded with him. “Just one more minute, Marley, and we’ll be all done.”

“You’re the police?” Marlene turned her head on the pillow and looked impossibly young, impossibly frail. “I’m sorry. I’m getting mixed up.”

“I’m the police.” Eve drew out photos of her suspects. “When you look at these pictures, remember he can’t touch you now. You got away, you didn’t give up, and he can’t touch you.”

She showed them to Marlene one at a time, watching her eyes for that shock of recognition. She saw it, and the fear that rode with it.

“Him. Oh God, him! Mom. Mommy.”

“LieutenantDallas, that’s enough.”

She elbowed the doctor back. “Marley. Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” She turned her face into her mother’s breast. “That’s his face. Those are his eyes. He smiled at me.”

“It’s all right. He’s gone.”

“I want you out. Now.”

“I’m going.”

“Wait.” Marlene groped for Eve’s hand again, and turned her bruised and exhausted face away from her mother. “He was going to kill me, wasn’t he?”

“He didn’t. You beat him. And you stopped him.” She leaned over the bed, spoke very deliberately as Marlene’s eyes fluttered closed again. “You’re the one who stopped him, Marley. You remember that. Don’t ever forget that.”

She stepped back while the doctor checked the vitals, the monitors. Then she turned and left the room.

“Got that son of a bitch,” she said to Roarke and kept walking toward the elevator. “I need to go to Central, put this together. I still want you to check the travel dates. I want this ice-cold and locked. I’ll have my warrant within two hours if I have to strangle a judge to get it.”

“Lieutenant! Lieutenant, wait.” Sela rushed down the corridor. “You’re going after him now.”

“Yes, ma’am, I am.”

“Did you mean what you said, that she’d stopped him?”

“I did.”

She pressed her fingers to her lids. “That’s going to get her through. I know my girl, and that’ll get her through this. They didn’t think she’d ever wake up. I knew she would.”

“You sure as hell did.”

Sela laughed, then clamped a hand over her lips to hold back a sob. “Dr. Laurence, I know he was rude to you, but he’s been very kind to us, and worked very hard for Marley.”

“I was rude right back. We’re all just looking out for her.”

“I just wanted to say that I’ve thought of Dr. Laurence as her guardian angel, and you as her avenging one. I won’t ever forget you.” She rose on her toes, gave Eve a quick peck on the cheek, then hurried away.

“Avenging angel.” Embarrassed, Eve hunched her shoulders as she stepped into the elevator. “Jesus.” Then she straightened, gri

– -«»--«»--«»--

It was a tricky business, both politically and personally. Peabody was going to be pissed, and undoubtedly sulky, that she hadn’t been called in. She’d just have to suck it up, Eve thought, as she prepared to make her pitch to Commander Whitney.

He was, she imagined, none too pleased himself to have been called back into Central. When she stepped into his office and noted the tuxedo covering his big frame, she fought back a wince.

“Sir, I’m sorry to have interrupted your evening.”

“I assume your reasons for doing so will be strong enough to placate my wife.” As Eve wasn’t quite as successful in holding back the wince this time, Whitney nodded. “You don’t know the half of it. You’d better have Niles Renquist cold, Lieutenant, because before I deal with my wife, I’ve got the ambassador, the U.N., and the British government in line.”

“Marlene Cox has positively identified Niles Renquist as her assailant. I have a statement from Sophia DiCarlo, employed as au pair in the Renquist household, which conflicts with his and Mrs. Renquist’s claim that he was home during the time of one of the murders. He is in possession of the stationery used for the notes left at the murder scenes, and he fits the profile. At this time Captain Feeney and expert civilian consultant Roarke are doing a search and scan on travel. I believe we will confirm that the subject was in London, Paris, Boston, and New L.A. at the time of previous murders, which match the methods of this case. Under ordinary circumstances, this would be enough for a search warrant and a warrant to bring the subject in for questioning on suspicion.”

“But these aren’t ordinary circumstances.”

“No, sir. The subject’s diplomatic status and the political arena add a sensitivity and a level of bureaucracy. I request that you speak directly with the judge and the necessary parties to expedite the warrants. He will kill again, Commander, and soon.”

“You want my head in the noose, Lieutenant?” He cocked his head. “You have the statement of a woman in severe physical and emotional distress. A woman with head trauma. You have a statement from a household employee, who in your report claims to have been sexually abused by the subject. Those are both shaky. Owning or purchasing the brand of paper used in the notes isn’t enough, and you know it, or Renquist would have been in a cage before this. And there are others who fit the profile. All of this will be argued by Renquist’s representatives and attorneys, and the British government. You need to lock this down.”

“If I get into his house, into his office, I’ll lock it down. It’s him, Commander. I know it’s him.”

He sat in silence, wide fingers tapping on the surface of the desk. “If you’ve got any doubt, if there’s any room for doubt, it would be best to hold off on taking these steps. We can surveil, watch his every move until there is no doubt, and the case is a noose around his neck.”

Good luck watching his every move if he gets back inside the U.N.,Eve thought, but tried to put it more diplomatically. “Renquist may already be in the wind. Without the search, he stays in control. He’s the only one who knows the identity and whereabouts of his next target. If he beats me to her, she may not be as lucky asMarleneCox.”

“Once the calls are made and the ball starts rolling, it could flatten both of us. I can survive it. I’ve had more years wearing a badge than you’ve had breathing. I can live with retirement. The ramifications of this should you be wrong will damage your career, perhaps irrevocably. Understand that.”

“Understood, sir.”

“You’re a solid cop,Dallas, perhaps the best under my command. Is it worth pushing this forward now? Is it worth possible reassignment, losing your status in Homicide, and your credibility?”

She thought of the dream, of the dead and the victims yet to come. There’s always another, her father had said. And damn him, he was right. “Yes, sir. If I weighed status more heavily than the job, I shouldn’t be here. I’m not wrong, but if I were, I’d take the hit.”

“I’ll make the calls. Get me a goddamn cup of coffee.”

She blinked at the order, looked vaguely around his office. The little twinge of resentment she felt as she walked to his AutoChef told her maybe status wasn’t so far down on her list after all.

“How do you want it, sir?”

“Coffee regular. Get me Judge Womack,” he said into the ‘link. Then barked out a “Come” at the knock on his door.

Feeney hustled in, a grim smile on his face. Roarke strolled in behind him, gri

“I don’t serve civilians.”

“Serve and protect, Lieutenant,” he reminded her. “Protect and serve.”

“Bite me,” she mumbled under her breath and carried the coffee to Whitney’s desk.

“We got ‘em,” Feeney said.

“Hold that call. What have you got?”