Devoted in Death (In Death 41)

“Can I take a look at her room?”

“Oh, sure. Look anywhere, at anything. Can you put out a – what is it – an APB or something? Maybe she had an accident. I called the hospitals and clinics, the emergency centers. Everything I could think of, but —”

“Get me a recent photo of her,” she told Kari, to give her something to do. “We’re going to look for her.”

“You’re going to look for her.” Kari grabbed Eve’s hand. “You promise?”

“I’m looking for her now, getting information from you, seeing where she lived, seeing her things. We’ll double-check at the hospitals.” And the morgue, Eve thought.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. Her room’s this way. I’ve got lots of pictures. I’ll get one for you.”

“I’d like to have your ’link.”

“Mine, why?”

“I’m going to have someone in EDD – Electronics – try to narrow down the location. Where she was when she texted you.”

“You can do that?” Kari pulled it out of her pocket. “Here, whatever you need.”

Eve used her own to contact McNab.

“Yo, Dallas.” His pretty face came on screen – the flash of silver links curving along his ear nearly blinded her. “Snow day!”

“I need a location off a text. Can you do that without the actual ’link in your hand?”

“I’m the magic man. Tag me on it, or connect it to yours, and give me a couple mo’s. She-Body,” he called out. “Got a task for your LT going. Don’t suit up yet. We were about to put on the snow gear, head out,” he told Eve.

“I’ll tag you on the civilian’s ’link.”

“Use this code,” he said, while the screen showed his movement around the apartment to the second bedroom they used as a mutual office.

She used the code he gave her, heard the signal on his end.

“Okay, what model are you using?”

“How the hell do I know?”

“Never mind, wait, let me…” She saw his comp now, and the codes flashing over his screen. “There it is, okay. Order Function/Control/Interface.”

She did as he instructed, felt the ’link vibrate lightly in her hand.

“Texts coming up. Which ones are you after?”

“That one.” She could just see Jayla’s name on McNab’s screen. “The last one from Jayla Campbell.”

“??‘Wine and whine,’ nice one. Couple more mo’s on this. Did you know the ’link’s deactivated?”

“How?”

“I can dig into that if you want, but it’s nonresponsive. This text was sent near Carmine and Sixth. Somewhere in a two-block area.”

Peabody’s face pushed onto the screen. “What’s up? Do you have something hot?”

“I’ve got something. I’m currently on Bond, checking out a possible missing person. You head over to Carmine, talk to the people who gave a party last night.” She reeled off the address. “Subject’s name is Jayla Campbell. Get what you can. Save me time and tag Uniform Carmichael, have him check medicals for Campbell. I’ll get back to you.”

“You are looking for her,” Kari said from behind her. “You think something really bad happened to her.”

“Whatever’s happened, I’m looking for her.”