Indulgence in Death (In Death 31)

Whitney tapped the index finger of his big hand on the screen, then shifted his eyes, dark, intense, to her.

“How were you injured?” he asked her.

“It’s just a scratch.”

“I asked how.”

“Sir. Some mope on the tenth level, east, lying in wait for his ex, who’d come in to SVU after he beat and raped her. He’d copped a plastic knife from the Eatery, sharpened it up. I got in the way. A Detective Manson has him in custody.”

“That’s not a proper dressing.”

“I’ll get one. I was on my way to give you my report, so—”

Again, he held up a finger, turned to his com to tag his admin. “Send a medic in here for the lieutenant. She has an injury, left forearm. Knife wound.”

“Sir, I really don’t need—”

“Report.”

“Sir.” Damn it.

She reviewed the facts, the steps taken, the various avenues of investigation addressed.

“You’ve yet to find any connection between the victims.”

“No, sir, we’ve found nothing that intersects them other than the killer.”

“And you believe both victims were killed by the same individual.”

“Detective Peabody and I have just completed first interviews with Winston Dudley and Sylvester Moriarity. I believe the result of those interviews opened another avenue of investigation. I consulted with Doctor Mira on the—”

She broke off at the knock on the door.

“Come,” Whitney ordered.

Eve eyed the medic with instinctive distrust. “Commander, if I could conclude before—”

“Sit down. You can give me the rest while he works on you.”

“Carver, sir,” the medic said cheerfully. “Let’s have a look-see.”

She didn’t care for the idea of a medic named Carver, but under direct orders sat.

“Good field dressing,” Carver told her as he removed it. “Nasty little slice. We’ll fix it up.”

Several sarcastic remarks came to mind, and she swallowed them as Carver began to clean the wound she’d already damn well cleaned in the bathroom.

“There’s a connection between Dudley and Moriarity,” she began. “They’re friends, of the same social strata, and both head large corporations that came down to them through birth. Each has a—shit.”

She jerked a little, and aimed a hard glare at Carver as he replaced the pressure syringe in his kit.

“Always a little sting, but it’s better than an infection.”

“Each,” Eve said through her teeth, “has a strong alibi for the night his employee’s ID was used to lure the victim. And each has no alibi for the alternate night and time.”

“You think they’re working together? For what reason?”

“Motive may come to light as we shift angles, take a closer look at the vics with the alternate company, company head, both personally and professionally. Or it may be exactly what it appears to be on the surface. Thrill kills.”