Born In Death

“I wonder what your state of mind would’ve been if you’d been locked in a room, examined by a medical droid without your consent. You can cram your statement and the rest of this bullshit. You can cram it, sister, because when Stuben and company goes down, your ass is very likely going to be hanging naked in the wind.”

“If this interview can’t be conducted with some measure of decorum – ”

“Screw decorum and you with it. You don’t like it, there’s the door.” She shifted to Chase. “EDD is even now mining the medical droid’s memory banks. I don’t have to waste my time on that, because you’re going down for it, Win, you and Mommy. Oh, by the way, did you tell your representatives you were sleeping with Mommy when we took you down?”

“Shut up.”

“Lieutenant, please.” The female lawyer held up a hand, but Eve had seen the blink of shock. “Impugning Ms. Bullock’s and Mr. Chase’s reputations is unacceptable.”

“Here, again in the uncivilized U.S., so is incest. Twenty-five to life for the abduction and held-against-will of Tandy Willowby. And if we find you raped her while she was held – ”

“I never touched that filthy slut!”

“Oh?” Eve flipped through one of the files. “Right, right, you don’t play that game, because it’s all about Mommy.”

“Maybe he likes – what do you call them – Nancy boys,” Baxter suggested. “Yeah, I bet this one likes to stick it to little boys when he’s not doing it with Mom.”

“You revolt me. We’ll bury both of you before this is done.”

“No, he wouldn’t play with boys,” Eve said. “Mommy wouldn’t like it. Didn’t rape Tandy either, did you, Win? Never got it up for anyone but your mother. Can’t get the wood on for anyone but her, can you?”

At Eve’s words, Chase shoved out of the chair, lunged toward her. It took both the lawyers and Baxter to hold him back.

“Lieutenant, this is simply unacceptable. I won’t have my client spoken to in this way.”

“Write a complaint.” She rose, circled around, leaned over the back of Chase’s shoulder. He was breathing hard, and she could feel the heat pumping off of him. “You didn’t rape Natalie either. Another filthy slut? Not like your mother, who’s important and understands you, your needs. You and your mother have so many secrets. Isn’t that what she told you when she touched you when you were a boy? A secret, just between the two of you. As long as you’re a good boy, do what your mother says, everything’s fine.

“Then that bitch Copperfield started poking around where she had no business, and she was going to try to take you down. She had the nerve to question your business. Did your mother tell you to do it, Win? I think so. You do what your mother tells you, or there’s no sack time with her. Did she tell you to use Randall Sloan’s car? Found your hair in it.”

“My client and Mr. Randall Sloan were acquainted. He might have ridden in that car at any time.”

“Driven it,” Eve corrected. “Hair was on the driver’s seat. Your hair. Your DNA, just like your DNA was on Bick Byson’s knuckles. Popped you before you could use your stu

“This interview is terminated,” the brunette began.

“I’d enjoy watching yours,” Chase said softly.

“You going to let the girl lawyer say what you do? Just like Mommy. Do this, Win, do that. Good dog.”

“Nobody tells me what to do. Shut up!” he shouted at his lawyer. “Stupid git. I’ve had enough of this. Enough of being questioned by this person, of being placated by you. I’ve done no more than what needed to be done. It was Randall Sloan who hired some thug to kill those people. He confessed before he hanged himself.”

“How do you know? Were you there?”

“You told us yourself.”

“No, I didn’t. I said Randall Sloan was found hanging, period. He didn’t self-terminate. You killed him, and staged it. Because you’re a spineless coward. You killed Sophia Belego, Rome, and Emily Jones, Middlesex, England. Pregnant women must be an offense to your eye.”

“’Cause he can’t get it up except with Mommy Dearest,” Baxter said.

“It has nothing to do with sex! They signed a contract!” He slammed his fist on the table. “They signed a legal document, and we gave our word to properly screened parents. They had no right!”

“Yeah, carting a fetus around for nine months doesn’t give you any rights to it. You snatched Sophia Belego, didn’t you? Took that kid, got rid of the incubator. Didn’t work so well with Emily Jones. Lost the product on that one. How many others, Chase?”

“We provide a service!” he shouted over his lawyers’ warnings. “We give our time, our expertise, our name to help these women in trouble, through their own doing, their own weaknesses, and give a gift to worthy couples.”

“For a nice, fat fee.”

“They’re paid, aren’t they? Given a chance to better themselves while the child is properly raised. How dare you question me?”

He literally shook off the lawyer to his left, and backhanded the one on his right. “I don’t need to justify my actions.” He surged to his feet.

The brunette wiped at her bloody lip and tried to stand. “This interview is – ”

“Shut up! Didn’t I tell you to shut the hell up?”

“Natalie Copperfield,” Eve said flatly. “Bick Byson, Randall Sloan.”

“Sneaking around, sticking their noses into our business. Sloan’s fault for being sloppy. Lazy, incompetent.”

“So you had to kill them. All of them. It was a matter of pride,” Eve continued calmly. “Of business.”

“The Bullock Foundation needed to be protected. It’s bigger than any of those pathetic people. My mother is the heart of the foundation and has taken it beyond what it was. It was blackmail against us, all of them. What I did was self-defense, to preserve an important charitable institution.”

With a handkerchief still pressed to her bleeding lip, the brunette lifted a hand. “We need to consult with our client.”

“You’re fired.” Chase bared his teeth as he swung around violently enough to have both lawyers scrambling back. “Do you think I need you? Idiots. Panderers. Get out. I’ve had enough of both of you. Out of my sight.”

“Mr. Chase – ”

“Now! I can and will speak for myself,” he said as the lawyers emptied out of the room.

Now, Eve thought, we’ll do this thing. She kept her face blank, her voice even. “Mr. Chase, for the record, you have dismissed your representatives?”

He curled his lip at Eve. “I speak for myself.”

“You’re waiving your right to counsel at this time?”

“How many times do I have to say it, you ignorant twit.”

“That’s probably enough. Let the record show Mr. Chase has dismissed his representatives and has agreed to continue this interview without the benefit of legal counsel.”

She paused, put a concerned, respectful look on her face. “Blackmail, you said? That puts a different face on it. Why don’t you tell us how this started? You were informed by Randall Sloan that Natalie Copperfield was asking questions,” Eve began.

And he gave them every last detail.