Thankless in Death (In Death 37)

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Piatkus

Little, Brown Book Group

100 Victoria Embankment

London, EC4Y 0DY

www.littlebrown.co.uk

www.hachette.co.uk

EPILOGUE

THERE WAS SOME PAPERWORK TO DEAL WITH, SOME CONTacts to make—procedure was procedure—but Eve figured they pulled up at the house at a reasonable time.

She hadn’t screwed up Thanksgiving.

“Champagne,” Roarke decreed. “For both of you. Exceptional teamwork in Interview.”

“Champagne?” Peabody did a seat dance before climbing out. “Oh boy, oh boy!”

“It’s a good day,” Eve decided. And she could wait for the next to talk to Asshole Joe in the hospital.

She stepped into the house, into a wall of voices, music, into the scents of applewood burning, candles flickering, flowers, and food.

Into, she supposed, family.

They’d spread around the living room, and had broken out musical instruments. Some of them danced—including, she saw with considerable shock, the huge Crack, the sex club owner—with his tattoos and feathers. The Irish white skin of the little girl he had on his hip glowed against his ebony.

Mavis’s little Bella clung to McNab’s hands and stomped her feet in a mimic of the step-dancing going on.

They called it a ceili, she remembered from her visit to the family farm in Clare. And she supposed they’d brought a little Irish to an American holiday.

It fit just fine.

Before she could evade—or even think to—one of them (uncle—no cousin) whizzed by, snatching her, swinging her into the whirl of it.

She managed a “No, uh-uh,” but he just plucked her off her feet, spun her in circles.

She laughed, then staggered a bit when he dropped her back down, and the music ended with riotous applause.

The noise didn’t end. A million questions and comments burst out, and made her think of a media conference.

“Easy now,” Sinead ordered. “You’re all smothering the lot of them. Ian tells us you got your man,” she added. “And all’s well with the world.”

“For now.”

“Now is good and fine enough. We’ve been entertaining ourselves as you see, until you were home again.”

“Don’t let that stop you.” She took the glass of champagne Roarke handed her. “That was quick.”

“It was already out and open.”