“Don’t use my name! Got me?” The voice was garbled, panty, and would never be mistaken for Roarke’s.
“I got you.”
“Somebody did him. Old Juicy. Did him bad, man, left him swimming in puke.”
“Who’s Juicy?”
“Juicy’d never pop heavy, man. They did him. The ones he was scared of. Fucker’s dead.”
“You’re stoned, you asshole. Don’t waste my time.”
“Got stoned for Juicy. You gotta get him, Dallas, see? It ain’t right. Stuffed him in the fucking tub. I ain’t just doing weasel for you, Dallas. It’s for Juicy.”
The record would show her scowl, replay the warning in her voice. “Give me where, but if I don’t find a body, I’m hunting you down and kicking your ass.”
“You find him.” The voice mumbled out an address. “Poor old Juicy. You get me my twenty, right? I get my twenty.”
“If I find a body, you get your twenty. If I don’t, better find a hole.” She clicked off, then walked to the door connecting her office with Roarke’s. “How did you do that?”
“Oh, just a little voice-exchange program I’ve been working on. I used a blend of two actors in a couple of drug vids.” He grinned, showing her he’d enjoyed himself. “Interesting, isn’t it?”
“Hmm. You’re up, Peabody,” Eve said, and moved to step two.
“It seems kind of silly when I’m standing right here.”
“By the numbers.”
After the brief exchange Eve tossed her ’link to McNab. “Do your geek thing, then get down to Central—business as usual.”
“I can give you a lift partway, Ian,” Roarke said from the doorway.
“Iced. Give me a shake first.”
“I’ll go with you,” Peabody told him, “get the ’links when you’ve done your magic. Meet you downstairs, Dallas. Thanks for everything, Roarke. Totally everything.”
“Don’t take him all the way,” Eve began when Peabody followed McNab out of the room.
“It’s not my first time being sneaky.” Roarke stepped to her to trace a finger down the dent in her chin. “I could beat you in a sneaky face-off.”
“Probably.”
“His respect for his predecessor weighs on your commander.”
“Yeah, I got that. But he doesn’t like the daughter. Didn’t even before this. Sometimes that apple and the tree thing? Sometimes it does. Fall far.”
Understanding she thought of herself and perhaps him as well, as much as Renee Oberman, he cupped
her face, touched his lips to hers. “Sometimes the apple makes the deliberate choice to fall as far as possible. For good or ill, Eve.”
“And sometimes it was rotten before it fell. And that’s enough about fruit. I have to go find a dead junkie.”
“Happily, this time I don’t.” He kissed her again. “Mind the live ones.”
“Maybe I’ll try your prime move.” And she walked out sort of hoping she could.
Once they were in her vehicle Eve ran it through again with Peabody. “We’re going by the book. Sealed up, record on. Following a tip. We’ll clear the first level before we move up. We don’t know the vic by anything but Juicy until we ID him. Keep your recorder off me when I remove the eyes Roarke put over the bathroom doorway.”
“Got it.”