Ceremony In Death

He was always buying her things like that, and they always seemed to find their way to various parts of the house. Conveniently.

"That's not working attire."

"We can do this naked, but you'd certainly lose another fifty." When she snatched the robe out of his hand, he turned and took out another for himself. "This could take some time. We'll want coffee."

As she went to the AutoChef to get coffee, Roarke moved behind the console. The equipment here was first flight, and unregistered. CompuGuard couldn't track it nor block him from hacking into any system. Still, even with those advantages, finding a personal log that may or may not have existed was like separating individual grains of sand from a bucketful.

"Engage," he ordered. "More likely his home unit, wouldn't you think?"

"Anything on his unit at Cop Central would have been transferred, and official units record all logging. If he wanted to keep something to himself, he'd have used a private system."

"Do you have his home address? Never mind," he said before Eve could speak. "I'll get it. Data, Wojinski, Frank… what was his rank?"

"Detective Sergeant, attached to Records."

"Data on screen one, please."

As it began to scroll, Roarke reached for the coffee Eve held out to him, then waved his fingers when his 'link beeped. "Get that, would you?''

It was the careless order of a man used to giving them. Automatically, she bristled, then just as quickly bumped aside the a

"Roarke's residence. Peabody?"

"You didn't answer your communicator."

"No, I…" God knew where it was, she thought. "What's up?"

"It's bad. Dallas, it's bad." Though her voice was steady, her face was dead white, and her eyes too dark. "Alice is dead. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't get to her. She just – "

"Where are you?"

"On Tenth Street, between Broad and Seventh. I called the MTS, but there was nothing – "

"Are you in jeopardy?"

"No, no. I just couldn't stop her. I just watched while – "

"Secure the scene, Officer. Relay to Dispatch. I'm on my way. Call backup as required, and stand. Understood?''

"Yes, sir. Yes."

"Dallas out. Oh, Christ," she murmured when she disengaged.

"I'll take you." He was already up, his hand on her shoulder.

"No, this is my job." And she prayed it wasn't her doing. "I'd appreciate it if you'd stay here and get whatever data you can."

"All right. Eve." He took both of her shoulders now, firmly, before she could turn away. "Look at me. This was not your fault."

She did look at him, and there was grief in her eyes. "I hope to God it wasn't."

– =O=-***-=O=-

There wasn't a crowd. Eve could be grateful for that. It was after two in the morning, and only a few gawkers huddled together behind the barricade. She saw a Rapid Cab tipped drunkenly on the curb and a man sitting beside it, his head in his hands, as an MT spoke with him.

On the rain-slicked street, lit dimly by the glow of a security light with fog billowing like clouds, was Alice. Her body sprawled there, faceup, her arms and legs flung out as if in wild welcome. Blood, her own, had soaked through the filmy material of her dress and turned it to dark, doomed red.

Peabody stood by her, assisting a uniform in the erecting of a privacy screen.

"Officer Peabody." Eve said it softly, waited for Peabody to turn, straighten her shoulders, and cross to her. "Your report?"

"I followed the subject to her residence, as per your orders, Lieutenant. I watched her enter the building, and subsequently observed the light go on in the second window from the east, third floor. On my own initiative, I decided to keep watch for a period of fifteen minutes, to insure the subject remained inside. She did not."

Peabody trailed off, and her gaze shifted to the body. Eve sidestepped, blocked the view. "Look at me when you report, Officer."

"Yes, sir." Peabody snapped back. "Subject exited building approximately ten minutes later. She appeared agitated, continually looked over her shoulder as she walked west at a rapid pace. She appeared to be crying. I maintained the standard distance. That's why I couldn't stop her." Peabody had to suck in air. "I maintained the standard distance."

"Stop it." Eve snapped it out, gave Peabody a quick shake. "Complete your report."

Peabody's eyes went flat and cold as they met Eve's. "Yes, sir. The subject stopped suddenly, took several steps in retreat. She spoke. I was too far away to discern what she said, but it was my impression that she was speaking to someone."

She played it back through her mind, every step, leaning on her training like a crutch. "I closed the distance somewhat, in the event the subject was in jeopardy. I observed no one on the street other than the subject herself. The fog may have been a factor, but there was no one on the sidewalk or the street that I could see."

"She stood there, talking to no one?" Eve asked.

"That's how it appeared, Lieutenant. She became increasingly agitated. She begged to be left alone. Her words were, 'Haven't you done enough, haven't you taken enough? Why won't you leave me in peace.' "

Peabody stared back at the sidewalk, saw it all again. Heard it as well. That hitch of desperation and despair in Alice's voice. "I thought I heard a response, but can't be definite. The subject was speaking too loudly and too rapidly for me to make a clear statement on that. I decided to move closer, to make myself known."

A muscle in her jaw jumped as she continued to stare over Eve's shoulder. "At this time, a Rapid Cab, traveling east, approached. The subject turned and ran into the street, directly into the path of the oncoming vehicle. The driver attempted to stop and evade, but was unable to do so and struck the subject head-on."

She paused just long enough to take another breath. "Road conditions were fair to poor, and played a minor factor. Even with optimum conditions, it would be my opinion the driver would have been unable to avoid the collision."

"Understood. Continue."

"I reached the body within seconds, and though I observed that she was already dead, I called for the medical technicians, then attempted to contact you via your communicator. When this was unsuccessful, I utilized the porta-link in my bag and reached you at home to report the situation. Following your orders, I relayed to Dispatch and requested a uniform, then secured the scene."

It was hell to be too late, Eve knew, and no amount of sympathy could ease that bitter guilt. So she offered none. "Very well, Officer. That's the driver?"

Peabody continued to stare straight ahead, and her voice was hollow. "Yes, Lieutenant."

"Arrange for his vehicle to be taken in for analysis, then consult with the MTS and find out if he's in shape to give a statement."

"Yes, sir." Peabody clutched her hand into a fist at her side. She kept her voice low, but it vibrated with emotion. "You had a drink with her barely an hour ago. And it doesn't mean a damn to you."

Eve took the hit and waited until Peabody turned away before she walked back to Alice. "Yes, it does," she murmured. "And that's the problem."

Opening her field kit, she crouched down to do her job.

– =O=-***-=O=-

It wasn't homicide. Technically, Eve should have turned the matter over to Traffic after Peabody's report and the ensuing statement from the weeping cabbie. But she watched Alice's body being loaded into the morgue wagon and knew she had no intention of doing so.

She took a last look at the scene. The rain had nearly stopped and wouldn't wash away the blood. The few gawkers who had gathered were already breaking up and moving along, tearing the last thin curtains of fog as they shuffled home.

Across at the curb, a city tow unit was already hitching up the damaged cab for transferral to the police compound.