He gave a series of commands that might as well have been in Venutian to Eve’s ears. A lot of codes and symbols and strange little shapes spilled on-screen, and the computer’s voice responded in a kind of gasping croak.
“See! See!” Eve sprang to lean over McNab’s shoulder. “That’s not right, is it? That’s not good.”
“Well, hmm. Just let me—”
“It’s sabotage, isn’t it?”
“You expecting sabotage?”
“You don’t expect sabotage. That’s why it’s sabotage.”
“There’s a point. I need to look around some. Why don’t you, ah, take a break maybe.”
“You want me to leave my own office?”
He gave her a pained look. “Lieutenant.”
“Okay, okay.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets. “I’ll be in the bull pen.”
She heard his long, relieved sigh as she strode out.
She marched straight to Peabody’s desk.
“Comp woes?” Peabody asked. “McNab stopped by for a second on his way in to you.”
“They sabotaged it.”
“Who are they?”
“If I knew who they were, I’d hunt them down and peel the skin off their bones while they begged for mercy.”
“Uh-huh. Okay, so I got a hold of Deann Vanderlea. Somebody found the puppy.”
“Huh. The dog?”
“Yeah, Mignon. She was nearly on the other side of the park, and a couple joggers found her, checked
her collar ID. They brought her back.”
“Was it injured?”
“No, just scared. Having the pup back will give them a little comfort. Anyway, she and her husband and the vic all used Total Health Fitness and Beauty for workouts and such, by the way. Not the kind of spot we’re looking for as regards the killer’s habits.”
“It was good to check.”
“She doesn’t remember seeing anyone suspicious around the neighborhood. Doesn’t recall noticing a big guy at any point, but she’s going to ask her husband and some of her neighbors. The doorman.”
“We’ll canvass again anyway.”
“Yeah. Father’s out of the picture. Alibied by a couple thousand miles, and he doesn’t fit the physical type we’re after.”
“He’d have been too easy. How about my vehicle?”
“I’ve got a line on that. Give me a little time.”
“Everybody wants time today. Let’s do a search on the health clubs. Manhattan-based to start.”
Eve watched with some irritation as Peabody’s unit responded smoothly to her commands.