Treachery in Death (In Death 32)

“That’s good work,” Roarke commented to Eve. “If the disc was layered and disguised as an override, it was good work on Devin’s part, and on Peabody’s.”

“I’ll pat her on the back later.” She glanced at the time, calculated. “Here’s what I need you to do once I clear it—and clear the squad room.”

“I take it you’ve figured out how to do that.”

“One cop on the slab, another in surgery, and a third being grilled by IAB? That’s a quarter of her squad right there. I’d say Renee and her men have earned a good talking-to.”

She started setting it up while Roarke finished the drive to Central.

“The commander and Mira,” Roarke commented. “What you’d call a command performance. Concern, a bit of stern disapproval, with a touch of group therapy thrown in.”

“She can’t say no. I’ll signal you as soon as I get the word they’re in the conference room. If you need more time or just can’t pull it off, let me know asap.”

“You’ve just earned another boot in the ass for insulting me.”

They rode the elevator out of the garage, then got off to take the glides, as was her habit. Deliberately she crossed over between three and four to the sector where Lilah had fallen.

They’d blocked off the down glide, and would keep it blocked until IAB made its determination. She imagined Webster would draw that out even if the discs showed no culpability by Bix.

“She kept Strong chained to that desk, but today she sends her out in the field? And with Bix. He had orders of execution. If he’d gotten her out of here, she’d be dead instead of in surgery. Strong suspected the squad room was monitored, but she went in anyway.”

“She took a risk. All of you take them every day.”

“I knew it was monitored after my last trip there. I knew Brinker was dirty. But I didn’t get word to her. Not in time. I saw an opportunity to have an inside man, so I took it, pulled her into this.”

“And, it seems, she saw an opportunity and took it. Risk and opportunity, Eve. It’s all part of it.”

“Louise will fix her. Goddamn it, she’ll fix her, because that bitch isn’t taking down another cop.” She strode over, got on the up glide.

Her com signaled, three short. She checked it, scanned the code. “Whitney’s called the meeting.”

“I believe I’ll mosey over, take a closer position while they file out.”

“Your face is pretty familiar around here. Don’t let any of them see you.”

“Insult after insult.” With a shake of his head, he moseyed.

Eve veered off to meet Webster, as she’d arranged.

“I’ve got five,” he told her when she slipped into his office. “We’ve got Bix on simmer. His lieutenant just broke off a heated exchange with my captain. Orders to report from the commander.” Webster tapped his temple in salute. “Slick timing, Dallas.”

“What’s on the discs?”

“He didn’t push her, but was unquestionably in pursuit. They were both shoving, running, knocking people aside. Somebody went down between them, and they fell like dominoes. We’re lucky she’s the only one who took the hard fall. She was off-balance, running flat out, and couldn’t catch herself.”

“How’s he answer it? Why was he pursuing a fellow officer?”

“He says she started shouting and clocked him, then began to run on the glides, endangering others. He pursued out of instinct, and because he feared she would harm herself or others. It’s close enough to what happened, we’d have a hard time pinning it on him without her statement. He doesn’t deviate from the story, not by a single word.”

“I want to see the run.”

“Figured.” He took a disc from his pocket. “If you’re looking to fry him, yeah, you could interpret it as he shoved through the right spot at the right time, calculated the angles, and caused her fall. But it wouldn’t hold up on its own. Renee’s playing the outraged boss, but we get that a lot around here. How can we question her man when it was obviously a terrible accident, and seems to have been precipitated by the injured officer who had been displaying some unstable behavior? As is noted in her evals.”

“Then she has to explain why she was sending an officer she deemed unstable into the field.”

“She’s shorthanded. She lost a man last night. She’s got an answer for everything. They’re shaky if you pick them apart, and you know what we know, but they’re answers.”

“She’s about to run out of answers.” Eve shoved the disc in her pocket. “Don’t let him out of here, Webster. Not for another thirty. I’m going to contact Janburry and Delfino, put them on alert. They may want to take him for a round soon.”