Rapture in Death

"You swim like a fish."

Instinct had Eve reaching for her side arm only to encounter her own naked ribs. Quickly, she blinked the water out of her eyes and focused on Reea

"It's a cliche." She walked to the edge of the pool. "But accurate." She set her shoes aside, sat, and slid her legs into the water. "Do you mind?"

"Help yourself." Eve didn't consider herself fanatically modest, but she dipped a little lower. She hated being caught naked. "Were you looking for Roarke?"

"No, actually, I've just left him. He and William are still at it upstairs in his office. I was just leaving for a salon appointment." She tugged at her gorgeous, glossy red curls. "I've got to do something about this mop. Summerset mentioned you were down here, so I thought I'd just drop in on you."

Summerset. Eve smiled grimly. He'd spotted her after all. "I had a couple of hours personal time. Thought I'd take advantage of it."

"And what a lovely spot to take it. Roarke's got such amazing class, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, you could say so."

"I really just wanted to stop for a moment to tell you how much I enjoyed last evening. I barely got to speak to you – such a crowd. And then you were called away."

"Cops are lousy socializers," Eve commented and wondered how to get out and to her robe without feeling like an idiot.

Reea

"Nobody died, if that's what you mean." Then Eve made herself smile. She was lousy at socializing, and she told herself to make a better effort. "Actually, I got a break in the case I've been working on. We took a suspect into custody."

"That's good." Reea

"I'm not really free to say one way or the other at this time."

Reea

"I can probably do that. If and when." She bent a little. The woman was an expert, after all, and could be of some help. "As it happens, the suspect is being evaluated by Dr. Mira right about now. Do you ever do behavioral and personality evaluations?"

"I have, certainly. From a different angle than Mira. You'd have to say we're two sides of one coin. Our final diagnosis would often be the same, but we'd use a different process and a different viewpoint."

"I might need two viewpoints before this one's over," Eve mused, measuring Reea

"As it happens, I do." She continued to swing her legs lazily, but her eyes were alert, interested. "Level Four, Class B."

"That just skims by. If it comes up, how would you feel about working for the city as a temporary consultant? I can guarantee long hours, lousy conditions, and low pay."

"Who could resist that kind of offer?" Reea

"I might just give you a call." Deciding it was more foolish to huddle in the water than to climb casually out, Eve stood.

"You know where to reach me – Dear God, Eve, what happened to you?" Instantly, Reea

"Hazards of the job." She managed to snag one of the body towels stacked near the edge and started to wind it around her when Reea

"Let me have a look at you. You haven't been treated." Her fingers probed at Eve's hip.

"Hey, do you mind?"

"I certainly do." Impatient, Reea

"Ice bandage. It's better."

"Then I'd hate to have seen it when it wasn't. Why haven't you been to a health center, or at least an MT stop?"

"Because I hate them. And I haven't had time."

"Well, you've got time now. I want you to lie down on that massage table. I'll get my emergency kit out of the car and deal with this."

"Look, I appreciate it." She had to raise her voice as Reea

"You'll be lucky if you didn't chip a bone in that hip." With this dark promise, Reea

"Oh, thanks, I feel heaps better now." Resigned, Eve toweled off, put on her robe, then reluctantly went to the padded table beneath an arbor of wildly blooming wisteria. She'd no more than settled when Reea

The woman could move, Eve mused. "I thought you had a salon date."

"I called, switched times. Lie back, we'll deal with that knee first."

"You charge extra for house calls?"

Reea

"This one's free. We can consider it practice. I haven't worked on a human in nearly two years."

"That inspires confidence." Eve closed her eyes as Reea

"Hmm. Well, it's not broken, so that's something. Badly wrenched and inflamed. Why?" She dug into her case again. "Roarke's part of the reason. He made William and me an offer impossible to refuse. The money was seductive, and Roarke knows which buttons to push."

Eve hissed as something stingingly cold was pressed to her knee. "You're telling me."

"He was aware I had a long, personal interest in behavioral patterns and effects of stimulation. The opportunity to create new technology, working with virtually unlimited funds, was too tempting to miss. Vanity couldn't resist the chance to be a part of something new, and with Roarke behind it, undoubtedly successful."

Closing her eyes had been a mistake, Eve realized. She was starting to float. The throbbing in her hip slowed. She felt Reea

"He never seems to miss."

"No. Not since I've known him."

"I've got a meeting in a couple hours," Eve said thickly.

"Rest first." Reea

"Sure. Baby it."

"Did you get all this last night, rounding up your suspect?"

"No, before. He didn't give me any trouble. Little bastard." Her brows knit, digging a line between them. "Can't nail him though. Just can't nail it down."

"I'm sure you will." Reea

"Lost her."

"Yes, I know." Efficiently, Reea

"She was smiling."

"Yes, I could see that."

"She wanted to die."

"Did she?"

"She said it was beautiful. The ultimate experience."