“If they are, they’d better come out and play real soon. Unless they’re sniveling cowards on top of murdering bastards and perverted peepers. I’m having these dissected. We’re shutting down this floor until I do. So they’d better take a good look while they still have the chance.”
She called for the elevator, stepped in. “Peabody, I don’t like Carter Bissel in the wind. I want him found.”
“I’ll give the locals a goose.”
“Do that. In person.”
“Huh?”
“Go down, talk to the local PSD, interview the partner, and everyone who knew him. Get us a line on the brother. There’s a reason Felicity went to see him. I want the reason.”
“To Jamaica?” Peabody’s voice rose three registers. “I’m going to Jamaica?”
“One of us has to stay here, work this from here. You can get this done in forty-eight, max. I don’t want you skipping naked through the surf.”
“Can I skip through the surf with appropriate swimwear for maybe one hour?”
It took considerable effort for Eve to keep her lips from twitching. “I don’t want to hear about it. Especially since I’m sending McNab with you.”
“Oh my God. I’m having the best dream.”
Okay, maybe she couldn’t quite stop it from twitching. “You can leave as soon as Feeney clears him. This isn’t an island holiday.”
“Absolutely not. But I could probably have one drink out of a coconut shell—in the line, Lieutenant, since I’ll be interviewing the owner of a tiki bar.”
“They’ll watch you.” Peabody’s grin faded as Eve spoke. “Whoever’s responsible for this will know when you get on the transport, when you get off. They’ll know your hotel, what you have for dinner, what you have in that coconut shell. Believe that, and stay ready.”
“You’re sending McNab with me so he can watch my back.”
“So you can watch each other’s backs. I don’t anticipate anyone will move on you, but I didn’t anticipate anyone would move on Chloe McCoy either.”
“No one could have, Dallas.”
“You can always anticipate,” Eve stated as she stepped off into the lobby, and turned to seal off the elevator. “If I had, she wouldn’t be dead.”
She sent Peabody off to pack and went solo to the morgue. Morris was just suiting up in his protective gear when she walked in.
He had a nice golden tan, and a trio of colorful balls dangling from a temple braid. It reminded her that he’d just returned from vacation.
“Good to see you back in the trenches,” she said.
“My return would hardly be complete without a visit from my favorite murder cop. You’ve sent me three bodies in as many days. That’s a haul, even for you.”
“Let’s talk about the new one.”
“Haven’t gotten to her yet. Even I have human limitations. You’ve sent her in priority one. Since it’s you, I assume this poor young thing actually is priority one. Suspicious death.” He looked down at Chloe. “Then, I’m always suspicious of death. Called in as a probable ST?”
“Yeah, but I’m not buying.”
“No sign of force.” He fixed on his goggles, bent low. Eve waited until he’d run his eyes and his gauge over the body, studied readouts and images on his screen. “No punctures, no insults. The note written in her hand?”
“It was, to the best of my knowledge.”
“And she was alone, in her apartment. In her bed?”
“On the bed. The security discs show no one other than residents entering the building. There’s no security floor to floor.”
“Well, I’ll open her up and we’ll see what we see. Do you want to tell me what you’re looking for?”