Imitation in Death

“Thanks. Oh man, oh boy, thanks!” She started to run for the door when it flew open. McNab caught her-and Eve had to give him credit for keeping his feet-in mid-air.

Rolling her eyes for form, she walked back into the bedroom.

“I’ll load him up,” Feeney told her. “Let the girl have time to do her victory dance.”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

“You’ll be sorry.” Renquist’s eyes were still streaming, but the fury was in them again, lighting the tears. “Very sorry.”

She stepped up, into his face, let the silence hang until she saw fear eat away at the anger. “I knew it was you, the first time I saw you. I saw what you were. Do you know what you are, Niles? Pitiful and weak, a coward who hid behind other cowards because he didn’t even have the balls to be himself when he killed i

She turned away when he began to weep again. “Give me a lift, Sailor,” she said to Roarke.

“It would be my pleasure.” He took her hand when they reached the door, and tightened his grip when she hissed and tried to shake him off.

“Too late to worry about such things now. You winked at me during an operation.”

“I certainly did nothing of the kind.” She folded her lips, primly. “Maybe I had something in my eye.”

“Let’s have a look.” He backed her up against the wall of the hallway, and laughed when she swore at him. “No, I don’t see a thing, except those big, gorgeous cop’s eyes.” He kissed her between them. “Peabody’s not the only one who did good today.”

“I did the job. That’s good enough for me.”

– -«»--«»--«»--

Two days later, she read Mira’s preliminary psych report on Niles Renquist. Then she leaned back, stared at the ceiling. It was an interesting ploy, she mused. If his defense team was good enough, he might just pull it off.

She looked to the vase of flowers on her desk-sent that morning by Marlene Cox, via her mother. Instead of embarrassing her as they might have done, they pleased her.

Whatever the ploy, justice would be served. Niles Renquist would never see freedom again. And she had a decent shot at nailing his wife as accessory after the fact.

At least the PA had agreed to press for it, and that would have to be enough.

If she succeeded there, she was orphaning a young girl, deliberately seeing to it that a five-year-old child was without mother or father. Rising, she walked to the window. But some children were better off, weren’t they, without a certain type of parent?

How the hell did she know. She dragged a hand through her hair, scrubbed them both over her face. She could only do the job and hope when the dust settled, it was right.

It felt right.

She heard her knob turn, then the knock. She’d locked it, pointedly, and now checked the time. Rolling her shoulders, she picked up her cap, set it in place.

When she opened the door she saw the rare jolt of shock on Roarke’s face, then the interest, then the gleam that had color rising up on her neck.

“What are you staring at?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” He stepped in before she could step out, then closed the door behind him.

“We’ve got to go. The ceremony starts in fifteen.”

“And it’s a five-minute walk. Turn around once.”

“I will not.” Another few seconds, she figured, and that damn flush would hit her cheeks. Mortifying her. “You’ve seen a cop in uniform before.”

“I’ve never seen my cop in uniform before. I didn’t know you had one.”

“Of course I’ve got one. We’ve all got one. I just never wear it. But this is… important, that’s all.”

“You look…” He traced one of her shiny brass buttons. “… amazing. Very sexy.”

“Oh, get out.”

“Seriously.” He leaned back to take it in. That long, lanky form did wonders, he thought, for the spit and polish, the crisp formal blues.

Medals, earned in the line of duty, glinted against the stiff jacket. She’d shined her black cop shoes-which he now imagined she’d kept buried in her locker-to mirror gleams. She wore her weapon at her hip, and her cap squared off on her short hair.

“Lieutenant,” he said with a purr in his voice. “You’ve got to wear that home.”

“Why?”

He gri

“You’re a sick, sick man.”

“We’ll play cops and robbers.”

“Out of my way, pervert.”

“One thing.” He had fast hands, and had dipped one down her starched collar before she could move. And pulled out, to his delight, the chain that carried the diamond he’d once given her. “That’s perfect, then,” he murmured, and tucked it away again.

“We’re not holding hands. I’m absolutely firm on that.”

“Actually, I was pla

She laughed, but pulled him out with her. “Update on Renquist if you’re interested.”

“I am.”

“He’s trying for insanity-not unexpected. But he’s giving it a good shot. Using multiple personality disorder. One minute he’s Jack the Ripper, next he’s Son of Sam or John Wayne Gacy. Trips from that to DeSalvo or back to Jack.”

“Do you think it’s genuine?”

“Not for a minute, and Mira doesn’t buy it. He could pull it off though. His defense will hire plenty of shrinks that go along, and he’s good at the game. It may keep him from a cement cage and put him in a padded cell, on the mentally defective floor.”

“How would you feel about that?”

“I want the cage, but you don’t always get what you want. I’m going by the hospital after shift so I can tell Marlene Cox and her family what may happen.”

“I think they’ll be fine with it. They’re not soldiers, Eve,” he said when she looked at him. “They only want him put away, and you’ve done that. It’s payment enough for them, if not for you.”

“It has to be enough for me because it’s over. And there’ll be another to take his place. Knowing that drags some cops under.”

“Not my cop.”

“No.” What the hell, she took his hand anyway as they walked into the meeting room for the ceremony. “It pushes me over. You just find a seat, wherever. I have to be up on the stupid stage.”

He lifted her hand to his lips. “Congratulations, Lieutenant, on a job well done.”

She glanced over, as he did, to where Peabody stood with McNab in the front of the room. “She did it herself,” was all Eve said.

It pleased her to see that Commander Whitney had made time to officiate. She stepped onto the stage with him, took the hand he offered.

“Congratulations, Lieutenant, on your aide’s promotion.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“We’re going to start right away. We have twenty-seven promotions this session out of Central. Sixteen detective third grades, eight second grades, and three detective sergeants.” He smiled a little. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you in uniform since you made lieutenant.”

“No, sir.”

She stepped back with the other trainers, stood next to Feeney.

“One of my boys made second grade,” he told her. “Thought we’d have a celebration drink across the street after shift. Suit you?”

“Yeah, but the civilian’s going to want in. He’s soft on Peabody.”

“Fair enough. Here we go. Jack’ll give his standard speech. Thank God it’s him and not that putz Leroy who stands in for him when he can’t make it. Leroy’s got the trots of the tongue. Can’t stop it ru

In her assigned seat, Peabody sat with her spine straight and her stomach doing cartwheels. She was terrified she’d burst into tears, as she had when she’d called home to tell her parents. It would be mortifying to cry now, but everything was so welled up, flooding her throat, that she was afraid when she opened her mouth to speak, it would all pour out.

Her ears were buzzing, so now she was afraid she wouldn’t hear her name called and would just sit there like an idiot. She concentrated on Eve, and how she stood cool and perfect at parade rest in her uniform.