Divided in Death

“Nothing’s all right. Nothing’s going to be all right again.”

No secondary device detected. Single electronic device, operable, subdermal, section two. Request command to mark location.

“Do so,” Roarke ordered.

There was a quick hum, a flash. Reva slapped a hand at the back of her neck, as though she’d been stung by a bee.

Eval and scan complete.

“Save and display all data. Release seal, end program.”

The lights in the tube winked off, and the door opened.

“Inside me? Under my skin.” She held her hand cupped over the back of her neck. “How could I not know? I swear to God, I swear I didn’t know.”

“I never thought you did. Sit down now.”

“An internal. It would require a procedure. I haven’t had a procedure. It can’t be there.”

“It is there.” Roarke drew her to a chair, stepped back when Caro sat beside her, took her hand. “Planted there without your knowledge, without your acquiescence.”

“I’d have had to have been unconscious. I haven’t been unconscious.”

“You’ve been asleep, haven’t you?” Eve broke in. “Somebody’s asleep, it’s not hard to give them a little bump with a pressure syringe and take them under. Or to slip something into food or drink so they’d sleep through an implant.”

“I sleep at home, in my own damn bed. The only person who’d be able to pull off something like that would’ve been… Blair,” she finished on a shaky breath. “But that’s crazy. He didn’t know anything about internals or subdermal devices.”

She saw the look Roarke and Eve exchanged. “What is this? What the hell is this?”

“I didn’t tell her, Lieutenant.” Roarke inclined his head. “It wasn’t my place to.”

Eve stepped up to Reva. “You’re going to have to toughen up, because this is going to be a punch in the face.”

She told Reva the way she’d want to be told. Straight, clean, without emotion. She watched her sag, lose color, saw the tears swim into her eyes. But they didn’t fall, and the color came back.

“He… they marked me, as a source for information.” Her voice was hoarse. “To spy, through me, on Securecomp, and possibly other areas of Roarke Industries through my mother. Also…” She paused, cleared her throat and spoke in stronger tones. “It makes sense to assume they were using my co

She took the glass of water Peabody brought over without glancing up. “I have, in my supervisory position at Securecomp, numerous discussions every day with techs, giving directives, receiving status reports. It’s my habit to log my own reports verbally. It helps me to see the progress, or any necessity for a new direction. They’d know everything about my projects, and any I assisted on since they put this thing in me. They were sucking me dry, the two of them. Every day. Every day.”

She looked up at Roarke. “I betrayed you after all.”

“You did not.” Caro’s tone was harsh and impatient. “You were betrayed, and that’s a difficult thing. But feeling sorry for yourself isn’t productive. No one’s blaming you, and blaming yourself at this point is an indulgence you can’t afford.”

“I’m entitled to a little brooding time when I’ve been technologically raped, for God’s sake.”

“Brood later. How do we remove it?” Caro asked Roarke, then shifted her gaze to Eve. “Or do we?”

“I thought about leaving it in. It’s an option, but I’d rather have it out. I’d rather, if anyone’s still listening, that they know we’re onto them. It could bring them to the surface faster.”

“They killed Blair and Felicity, and set me up. Why?”

“The setup? I’d say because you were convenient. As to the hit, I don’t know yet. Maybe it was HSO, maybe it was the other side. Either way, they knew how to get in, how to corrupt data, and how to get you where they wanted you to take the fall. All that took some time and some pla

“We can have the device removed here. I have someone in-house with medical training,” Roarke explained.

“Get it out.” Reva rubbed a hand at the nape of her neck. “I want a look at it.”

“Set it up,” Eve told Roarke. “Reva, you can’t discuss any of this on the outside. Not even with your lawyers. Not yet. But I want you to contact someone in the SS, or on Foster’s staff, whoever you think best. I want them to set up a meet for me with someone in the HSO with enough grease to know about Bissel and Kade. I don’t have time to waste on some office drone. I want someone with juice.”

“I’ll reach out.”

“Good. I’m going to leave the electronics to the people who know what the hell to do about them.” She said this, looking at Roarke. “And I’m going to go do some cop work, if you’ll open this place up again.”

“Computer, end lockdown. Resume normal operations.”

Acknowledged.

“I’ll be a few moments,” Roarke told Reva and Caro, then left them alone to walk out with Eve.

“Peabody, go see how the EDD boys are doing. I’ll catch up with you.”

“Sure.”

Eve turned into her own office ahead of Roarke, slipped her hands in her pockets. “I thought you’d told her about the HSO angle, about the conclusions on Bissel and Kade.”

“I’m aware of that, and aware that you’d have reason to assume it.”

“The assumption factored in to the speed with which I crawled up your ass.”

“Understood.”

“I’m still irritable and a

“Well, so am I, so you’ve company.”

“I might still want to have a go at you later.”

“I’ll pencil you in.”

She stepped up to him, and keeping her hands in her pockets, planted a hard kiss on his mouth. “See you,” she said, and strolled out.

Since she didn’t understand what EDD was doing in Roarke’s home lab, she dragged Peabody away, and gave her the task of locating and contacting Carter Bissel while she begged a brief consult with Dr. Mira.

“Your assistant’s starting to hate me,” Eve commented.

“No, she’s just very inflexible about schedules.” Mira programmed her habitual tea and gestured toward her blue scoop chairs.

She’d gone for red today. Not really red, Eve thought. There was probably a name for the color that looked like faded autumn leaves. She wore a trio of necklaces that were little gold balls strung together like pearls, and matched them with minute gold earrings.

The shoes, some sort of textured heels, were the exact color of the dress. Eve could never figure out how women managed that sort of synchronicity-or really, why they bothered.

But it looked good on Mira. Everything did. Her sable hair with its su

However Mira dressed or groomed herself, Eve decided she’d always look perfect, and nothing like the standard image of a top profiler and police psychiatrist.

“I assume this has something to do with Reva Ewing’s Truth Test this afternoon, as you requested I handle the test personally.”

“It does. This conversation, any conversation with Ewing, and the results of the test are highest classification. My eyes, yours, and Commander Whitney’s only.”

Mira sipped her tea, pursed her lips. “And what warrants that classification?”

“Global espionage,” Eve said, and told her the rest.

“You believe her.” Mira rose for another cup of tea. “That she was duped, and is i

“I do. I expect you to confirm that.”

“And if the results contradict her, and your beliefs?”