He smiled at her. “Lieutenant, I’m Silas Pratt.”
Her heart pumped a little harder as he squeezed her hand. She felt the probe of his gaze, and yes, of his power, like heat along her brain. “Have a seat, Dr. Pratt,” she said and removed her hand from his.
“Can you tell me if you have any leads? Other than Jack. No one who knows him will believe Jack did this to our Ava.”
“You’ve only known him a couple of weeks.”
“That’s true. Peter recruited him, but I like to think I’m a good judge of character. What they’re saying was done to Ava, well, it’s monstrous, isn’t it? And to someone so young, so vibrant.”
Now he did sit, and passed a hand over those potent eyes. “I thought of her almost as a daughter.”
“You don’t have children. According to your official data.”
“No. But it was easy to feel a paternal kind of affection for Ava.”
“I don’t want to intrude any longer than necessary.” And she wanted out, Eve admitted. There was a heat in the room now, a kind of singeing of the air. “When did you leave yesterday?”
“About quarter to five. Ava was getting ready to leave, I remember. Leah was shooing her out. She and Jack—well, you know about all that.”
“Yes. Did you approve of that? One of your doctors dating your office manager.”
He looked surprised by the question, even bemused. “They were both adults—and frankly, they seemed besotted with each other from the first minute.”
“Where did you go when you left?”
“Home to change. My wife and I had a small dinner party last evening. A few friends.”
“I apologize, but it’s routine. I’ll need the names and contact numbers.”
“Of course.” He smiled at her. “No apology necessary.” And he gave her six names. She thanked him, dismissed him. Then added those names to her list of suspects.
Eight
Roarke arranged lunch for himself and Isis in the owner’s suite of the hotel, and passed the forty minutes eating food that didn’t interest him while making polite small talk with a witch.
“When’s the last time you slept?” Isis asked him.
“I suppose it’s been about thirty-two hours now. She’ll push herself until she drops, you see. Eve.”
“And you relax and recreate?”
“More often than she. But no, in this case, in this particular case, I suppose we’ll both push. Her time’s up, so if you’ve finished, I’ll take you to 606.”
“First.” She rose, stepped to him, and placed her hand on his head. “No, relax, just for a moment. Clear your mind. You can trust me.”
A warm flow, he thought. Not the quick burst of energy that came from popping a booster, but more of a slow, steady build of stamina.
“Better?”
“Thank you, yes.”
“It won’t last long, but between that and the little you ate, it should get you through. What you need is some rest.” She picked up her bag. “I’m ready.”
He led her to the elevator.
“You said there’s a private elevator that opens into the suite, as well as the doors to the hallways.”
“That’s right.”