Visions In Death

Which is why she's the black sheep. Her family disapproves of and is embarrassed by her work. As I said, very conservative.

Why did she come to see you? Celina specializes in private consult, and party work."

"She claims she witnessed a murder." "My God. Is she all right?" "She wasn't there. She had a vision." "Oh. That must've been horrible for her." "So you buy it. Just like…" Eve snapped her fingers.

"If Celina came to see you, told you she'd seen a murder, she saw one." Thoughtfully, Louise sipped at her water. "She doesn't hide her gift, but she keeps it all very professional, and well, you could say surface." "Define surface," Eve prompted.

"She enjoys what she does what she has, and she's geared it toward entertaining more than counseling, let's say. She keeps it light. I've never known her to get involved with anything like this. Who was killed?" "A woman was raped, strangled, and mutilated in Central Park last night." "I heard about that." Louise sat behind a glossy and feminine desk. "There weren't a lot of details. Your case?" "Yeah. Celina had a lot of the details that weren't released.

You're vouching for her?" "I am. Yes, I'd believe her, no question. Can she help?" "Yet to be determined. What do you know about her, on a personal front?" Louise lifted the water bottle again, and took her time drinking. "I don't like dishing about my friends, Dallas." "I'm a cop. I don't dish." Louise blew out a breath. "Well, as I said, she's from a wealthy, conservative family who doesn't approve of her. It takes considerable strength of character to buck your family." She toasted herself, drank. "Her father's side is aristocratic Mexico, though he moved to Wisconsin for several years for some business or other. They live in Mexico now, and Celina bolted for New York, made it her place while we were still in college. As much, I'd say, because she wanted the city as because this particular city was several thousand miles from her family, yet on the same continent." She shrugged, considered. "I'd say she's a straightforward, goal-oriented type. She studied parapsychology in college, and related subjects. She wanted to know everything she could about her gift. For a sensitive, she's a logical, somewhat linear woman. She's loyal. It takes loyalty to keep friends for a decade or so. Ethical. I've never known her to intrude, psychically, or to use her talent to exploit. Did she know the woman who was killed?" "Not, she said, in this particular life." "Hmm. I remember having discussions with her about co

They broke it off a while ago. Around a year ago." She shrugged. Too bad. I liked him." "Name?" "Lucas Grande. Reasonably successful. He's had a number of songs published and produced, and works regularly as a session musician. He scores vids, too." "Why'd they split?" That feels like dish. How does this relate?" "Everything relates until I know it doesn't relate." "Basically, things cooled off between them. They just weren't happy together anymore, so they went their separate ways." "It was mutual?" "I've never heard Celina trash him any more than a woman does when she splits with a guy. I don't see her all that often not enough time but from what I could see, she handled it well enough. They loved each other, then they didn't. They moved on." "Did she ever mention Elisa Maplewood to you?" "That's the woman who was killed? No. I never heard the name before this morning on the news." "Luther or Dea

You must be really proud," Peabody said as they got back into the car.

"Huh?" "Place like that." She looked back toward Dochas. "What Roarke's done here." "Yeah. He puts his money where a lot of people can't even bother to put their mouths." As Eve started to pull out, Peabody laid a hand on her arm. "What?" "We're partners now, right?" "As you never fail to remind me." "We're friends." Dubious, Eve tapped her fingers on the wheel. "Is this going to get sloppy?" "People have private stuff. They're entitled. But friends and partners are entitled to unload on friends and partners.

You didn't want to go in there." It shouldn't show, Eve thought. It wasn't allowed to show.

"I went in there." "Because you're aces at doing things you don't want.

Things other people would walk away from. I'm just saying that if something gets over you, you can unload. That's all.

And it wouldn't go beyond me." "You see me doing anything that interferes with the job?" "No. I only-" "Some people have personal stuff that can't be cleared up with a nice little heart-to-heart and ice-cream sundaes." She whipped away from the curb, cut off a cab, and punched it through a yellow. "That's why it's personal." "Okay." "And if you're going to sulk because I'm not crying on your shoulder, you can just suck it up." She swerved down a side street without a thought to destination. "That's what cops do. They suck it up, do the job, and don't go around looking for somebody to pat their head and say, "There, there." I don't need you to play the understanding friend so I can dump my guts all over the floor for your perusal. So just… shit, shit, fuck." She yanked the wheel, double-parked, and ignoring the furious blasts of horns, slapped on the On Duty light.

"Out of line. Out of orbit. Way out. None of that was called for. None of it."

"Forget it." "I'm tired," she said, staring out the windshield. "Beyond protein booster tired. And I'm edgy. And I just can't get into all the whys of it. I just can't." "It's okay. Dallas, I'm not sulking. I'm not pushing." "No, you're not." Hadn't been, Eve admitted. "And you're not taking a punch at me, even when I deserve it." "You'd hit me back, and you hit harder." With a short laugh, Eve rubbed her hands over her face, then made herself shift in the seat, meet Peabody's gaze.

"You're my partner, and you're my friend. You're good in both areas. I've got… the shrinks would call them issues.

I have to deal with them. If you observe something in my behavior that affects an investigation, I expect you to call me on it. Otherwise, I've got to ask you, as my partner and my friend, to leave it alone." "Okay." "Okay. Let's get moving before there's a riot, and they drag us out of the car and stomp us to death on the street." "I'm for that." She drove the next block in silence. "I'm going to drop you off at home," Eve said. "We need sleep." "Does that mean you're going home to work on the case alone?" "No." Eve smiled a little. "I'm going to take my meeting with Mira, then go home and crash for a while. I'll work some tonight. If you want to do the same, you could push at the ribbons some more. And verify Abel Maplewood's whereabouts on the night of." "Can do. What are we going to do about Sanchez?" "I'm going to sleep on it."

Since her head was messed up, Eve figured it was a really good time to see a shrink. Or a really bad time. Either way, it wasn't smart to miss or cancel an appointment with Mira.

Mira would take it fine, but her admin would punish you.

So instead of lying facedown on some flat surface, catching some much needed sleep, she was sitting in one of Mira's cozy scoop chairs, accepting a cup of tea she didn't want.

Mira had a soft, pretty face surrounded by soft, pretty hair the color of natural mink. She enjoyed attractive, monochromatic suits. Today's was the green shade of good pistachio ice cream. She wore a trio of beaded necklaces with it, in a darker shade of green.