Visions In Death

"Some of the guys at the bar tease her, but it's not like that.

She's shy. Lily's shy, but she's comfortable there. They're nice people. We go in sometimes. She never hurt anyone. I have to tell our parents. They live in South Carolina now.

On a houseboat. They… how do I tell them Lily's gone? How do we tell Kiki?" "Don't think about that yet," Steeple said before Eve could speak. He lifted his head, appeared to have regained some composure. "One step at a time, sweetie. Is this like the other woman?" he asked Eve. "I saw it on the news. I saw you. Is this the same?" "We're pursuing that probability." "She was-" Eve saw it in his eyes. Mutilated. But he stopped himself from saying the word, and drew his wife closer. "She was killed uptown." "Yes. Mrs Steeple, did Lily do crafts?" "Crafts? Lily?" A smile trembled onto her lips. "No. She didn't like to play house, as she called it. It was part of the problem between her and Rip. He wanted a homebody, and Lily just wasn't." "You have what look like banderafted pieces in the other room." "Kiki's room, too," Peabody added. "It's a lovely quilt on her bed." "That's my work. When I got pregnant with Drew, our son, I decided well, we decided," she amended, linking her fingers with her husband's, "that I'd try the professional mother route.

I wanted to be able to stay home with the children. Then I realized, pretty quickly, I'd need something to do. I started quilting, then that expanded to needlepoint, macrame. I enjoy it." "Where do you get your supplies?" "What does this have to do with Lily?" "Mrs Steeple, where do you get your craft supplies?"

"A number of places." She named several on Eve's list.

"Did Lily ever go with you, when you shopped for supplies?" "Well, yes. We often shopped together, for a lot of things.

She liked to shop, to spend time with me and the kids. We shopped together at least once a week." "Thank you for your help." "But… Isn't there something else?" Carleen asked when Eve got to her feet. "Isn't there something more we can do?" "There may be. We'll stay in touch, Mrs Steeple. You can reach either Detective Peabody or myself through Central, any time. I'm very sorry for your loss." "I'll show you out. Carleen, you should check on the kids." He walked them to the door, waited until he was sure his wife was out of earshot. "Look, I'm sorry I shot off like that." "No problem." "I want to know. Was she mutilated like that other woman? I don't want Carleen to see her if…" "Yes. I'm sorry." "How?" "I'm not going to give you those details, not at this time.

They're confidential to the investigation." "I want to know when you find him. I want to know. I want-" "I know what you want. But what you need to do is take care of your wife, of your family. You need to leave the rest of it to us." "You didn't know her. You didn't know Lily." "No. But I know her now."

CHAPTER 11

It was after five a.m. when Eve walked into Homicide. The skeleton squad from the graveyard shift was handling the "links, catching up on paperwork. Or sleep. She gestured a come-ahead to Peabody so her partner would follow her into her office.

"I've got to contact Whitney." "Better you than me." "While I do, you tag Celina. Inform her we're sending a couple of plainclothes to bring her in for a statement. I want her here at eight hundred hours. Then find me two cops to take the detail. When you get that set, you should catch a couple hours in the crib." "Don't have to tell me that twice. Go

Let the commander answer and not his wife, let the commander answer and not his wife. In the name of all that's holy, let the commander answer and not his wife.

Then, sucking it up, she sat down and made the call.

She nearly let out a cheer when Whitney's tired face popped on screen.

"I'm sorry to wake you, sir. There's been a homicide in Memorial Park. Single victim, Caucasian female, age twenty-eight.

Sexual homicide with mutilation. The same MO as Maplewood." "Scene secure?" "It is, sir. I've closed the park and have men at every entrance." "Closed it?" "Yes, sir. It's necessary, for the next ten to twenty-four hours." He let out a long, long sigh. "Which means it's necessary for me to wake up the mayor. I want a full report on my desk by eight hundred hours. I'll see you in my office at nine hundred." "Yes, sir." Eve looked at the blank screen. No, she didn't see how she was going to manage sleep.

She input her notes and the record from on scene. Preparing for the long day ahead, she programmed a full pot of coffee, then sat to refine her report.

She read it over, searching for any missed details. Finding none, she ran standard probabilities, included the results. Then she saved it, filed it, and copied her commander, her partner, and Mira.

Rising, she pi

At seven-fifteen, she set her wrist unit, stretched out on the floor and slept, restlessly, for twenty minutes. Primed with another cup of coffee, she took a shower in the facilities off the locker room. Briefly, she considered popping some Stay-Up, but it always made her feel jittery and strange.

If she was going to be heavily caffeinated, she preferred doing it with coffee.

She opted to use a conference room rather than her office for her session with Celina, and since Peabody didn't appear to be up from her nap, scheduled it herself.

Then she called down to the desk sergeant on duty, and requested to be informed when Celina Sanchez checked in.

Rather than tolerate the swill the department offered, she culled another pot of coffee from her office, and carried it to the conference room.

The desk sergeant beeped her just as Peabody came in.

She sniffed the air. "God. Just pour it in a saucer and I'll lap it up." "Get us some bagels or something from vending first," Eve told her. "Charge them to the squad budget." "You're actually thinking about food. I must be dreaming." "Sanchez is on her way up. So get your ass moving." "That's the Dallas I know and love." When the door was shut again, Eve pulled out her personal "link and beeped Roarke's.

He answered quickly.

"Okay, she's…" Eve narrowed her eyes. "Where are you?" "About to continue my little adventure in Daytime Breaking and Entering." "I told you to wait until I contacted you." "Hmm." He smiled and continued to work on Celina's bedside "link. "It appears I've disobeyed, once again. I expect to be roundly punished at the first opportunity." "Damn it-" "Would you like to continue this chat, or let me get on with things?" "Do it." In Celina's bedroom, Roarke smiled to himself. He had a habit of irritating his wife, and was afraid he was just small enough to enjoy it.

He'd watched the cops pull up, go into Celina's building.

Casual shirts and trousers aside, he'd have made them as what they were at two blocks, heading in the opposite direction.

Cops looked like cops, especially to the eye of a criminal.

Even a former criminal.

And though he trusted his cop implicitly, he preferred casing a job personally.

Ten minutes after Celina had come out and driven off with her escort it was always best to make certain the mark didn't turn around and go back for something forgotten he jammed her security cameras with a remote. And strolled across the street.

Under three minutes later he was through the outside locks and alarms, and strolling inside.

A short time later, he'd verified the source of the transmission and was replacing the "link. Celina had made the call exactly as she'd claimed. From her own bedside unit, moments after two a.m.