Kindred In Death

“A charmer.”

“Apparently. He wasn’t raped, kicked around, smothered, or strangled. He took a header out a window while trying to avoid arrest. Still, not far out of the way.”

“A lot of it’s eliminating, isn’t it? Legwork, ’link work, details.” Obviously content, Mira settled back. “What an interesting vehicle. It looks so ordinary from the outside, but it has more hardware than my office inside. And it’s very comfortable-smooth, too,” she added as Eve wove through traffic.

“It moves like a turbo, and verticals like a jet-copter. Armored and blast proof. It was… sort of a favor-slash-present from Roarke.”

“A present so you wouldn’t have to continually knock heads with Requisitions. I heard about the last wreck.”

Before she could stop herself, Eve hunched her shoulders. “It wasn’t my fault.”

“No, but… And the favor so you’d be able to accept it, and he’d be able to feel you were as safe as possible.”

“I guess bull’s-eyes like that are why you have all the initials after your name.”

“That, and I like to think knowing you and Roarke fairly well. It’s an excellent favor-slash-present. Tell me, since we have a little time, is everyone ready for the wedding? We’re looking forward to it.”

“I guess, probably.” The word wedding had a little ember of guilt and unease burning in Eve’s gut. “I’m supposed to tag Louise-people tell me-and offer to do matron-of-honor stuff. I don’t know what that is. We did the shower thing, and the dress I’m supposed to wear’s being delivered today. What else is there?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“Shit.”

“I’d advise to contact Louise when you have a few free moments, and ask her if she needs anything. Very likely she won’t need anything but to talk or vent for a bit. She’s an efficient sort who knows what she wants and has certainly arranged it. But there are invariably little glitches and headaches at the last minute. All you really need to do is listen.”

Eve cut her gaze, full of cautious hope, toward Mira. “Really?”

“I’d give that an eighty-eight-point-three probability.”

Eve mulled it, relieved. “That’s decent.”

“I went by their new home last week, to take a look at Charles’s office. He’s nervous and excited, and has set up a very good area there. Of course I got a tour of the whole house. It’s coming along beautifully, I think. Urban, classic, eclectic-very them. They’re going to make a nice life there.”

“It’s good. They’re good. It’s all good. I just want to get through this wedding thing.”

“Don’t tell me you’re nervous.”

“No. Well, yeah.” Nervous about being nervous had Eve shifting in her seat. “What if the case is ru

“You can only do what you can do, Eve. Louise understands emergencies, priorities, the demands of a vocation. She’s a doctor.”

Eve frowned over it a moment. “That’s right. She’s a doctor. If she’s got her hands in somebody’s body cavity, she’s not going to pull them out and walk off to put on a fancy dress. She’d finish first.”

“I certainly hope so.”

“Okay. That’s better. It’s okay.”

“What are you wearing?”

“A yellow thing.”

Mira smiled. “Eyes straight, don’t look at me, and tell me what I’m wearing.”

“Did you forget?”

“Indulge me.”

“A suit, knee-length skirt, three-button jacket-off-white. Kind of vanilla. Square, silver buttons, lacy top. Shoes, light pink, cut-out toes, ankle-breaker heels about the width of a needle. Multicolored stone earrings, dangle style, silver, and a silver three-strand neck chain with some little stones set at various points. Humongo pink handbag, and fairly iced pink-framed sunshades-both of which match the paint on your toenails. Wedding band, fancy silver wrist unit with sparkly bracelet.

“How do you remember to stick on all that,” Eve wondered, “the sparkly things?”

“It’s called vanity,” Mira told her. “I enjoy mine. And it’s so interesting you can only recall your dress for the wedding being a yellow thing, and can describe what I’m wearing down to the width of my heels. Which, yes, are miserably uncomfortable, but so pretty.”

Mira turned her ankles to admire them. “And now that I’ve seen your closet firsthand, I don’t know how you resist decking yourself out in all those beautiful clothes every day.”

“Maybe I’m like the vehicle,” Eve decided. “Keep it ordinary on the outside, so nobody notices all the hardware inside.”

“Very good.” Mira laughed. “Very good.”

“It’s what he does,” Eve murmured.

“And we’ve circled back.”

“Keep it ordinary, every day, unobtrusive on the outside. Nobody sees what’s inside. Nobody sees a monster. When he goes to get a slice or buy shoes, nobody notices him. Or, if he wants them to, they see a nice kid, good-looking young guy. Not spectacular, that they’d remember. Just good-looking, polite, barely stirs the air. We’ve got two wits who saw him with Deena, and that’s all they gave me, nearly all. We’ll do better because Yancy’s good at digging out the details, but they didn’t think about him, didn’t check him out especially. Wouldn’t have noted him at all, most likely, except he was with her. They knew her, so they noticed him.”

She snagged a second-level spot a half block from Risso’s work address, then glanced at Mira’s heels. “It’s a short hike. Can you handle that?”

“I’m a professional.”

Halfway down, Eve cursed, sighed, then vaulted over the safety rail to the sidewalk. “Be right back,” she called out as Mira gaped at her.

She’d seen the snatch, and really the mark deserved it. Bopping along, gawking at storefronts with his back pocket bulging. Or it had been until the street thief plucked out the wallet with the classic bump and grab.

The thief continued on, unhurried, with the wallet already inside the right front pocket of his pants, under the bulk of his baggy hoodie.

Eve sprinted a quarter block to close the distance, then dropped down to a brisk New Yorker’s pace. She tapped the thief on the shoulder. “Sorry, can you help me?”

He gave her a round-eyed i

“Well, I’ve got other stuff to do, really pressed for time, so you could help me out and just hand me the wallet you just lifted. It’s in here.” She slapped her hand on his pocket. “Oh, and any other property you’ve lifted today, too. Then we can both be about our business.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about. Piss it.” She felt him gather to run, grabbed his shoulder.

“You could really make this quick and simple for both of us. I don’t want to take time to-Hey!”

He ducked, pivoted, squirmed like a snake shedding skin, and left her holding an empty hoodie.

He had a squat torso on squat legs. It really wasn’t even a challenge. Despite the fact she had to dodge pedestrians when the thief was content to shove, bull, and burst through them, she caught him before the end of the block.

“Help, help!” He barked it out when she pushed him face-first into the nearest building. “Police!”

“Come on, you moron, you know I’m the police.” She cuffed his hands behind his back, kneed his legs apart to make him spread them. “If you make me chase you again, you’re going to be eating sidewalk.”

She patted him down, found no weapons and six wallets.

“Any one of these yours, asshole?”

“I found those.” Darting eyes replaced wide eyes. “I was going to find a cop and turn them in. Sweartagod.”

“Uh-huh. I saw you find this one in that guy’s back pocket. I’m sure he’s going to be really grateful.”