Devoted in Death (In Death 41)

“There are two people it can’t fall fast enough for.”

She’d do whatever she could to speed it up, she thought as she moved quickly through the warren of the lab to DeWinter’s level.

Eve found the three doctors, all in lab coats. DeWinter’s was a metallic bronze that nearly matched her hair. She’d gone with ruler-straight, slicked back to leave her arresting face unframed.

Like Mira, she wore boots with scalpel-thin heels, hers in a deep green. Eve saw it matched the body-hugging dress under the lab coat.

DeWinter must have a hundred of them, Eve thought – dresses and lab coats.

Morris had chosen slate-gray over a suit of the same hue, and a single braid coiled up in poppy-red cord. And Mira had the traditional white over a suit as quietly blue as her eyes.

They made an interesting triad, Eve thought, standing around the white bones of the dead.

“Pretty clean,” Eve commented.

“The remains were in advanced decomp,” DeWinter began. “Morris worked with what flesh there was.”

“We ran reconstructions, of course,” he told Eve, before his colleague could recount chapter and verse. “And a number of tests you don’t want to hear about. We’re overruling the previous findings. The victim didn’t die in a fall. There was evidence of torture.”

“A thorough autopsy, a comprehensive one, should never have concluded accidental death.” DeWinter’s tone sharpened, as did the contempt in her eyes. “There are injuries obviously caused by implements, tools – several fingers were crushed – blunt force. A hammer, most probably. If you find the weapon I could match it. I would match it,” she corrected.

“There was also dehydration,” Mira put in. “We estimate the victim went at least thirty-six hours without water prior to death. If, indeed, he had suffered these injuries in a fall, he would have died instantly, not survived for more than a day.”

“Okay, that’s what I needed to hear.” She looked down again, at what remained of Little Mel. Justice would come, she thought. “What about the other one?”

“I’ve just started on tests, in the next room. Dr. Mira and I have already concluded a visual exam, and begun preliminary testing.” He glanced at Mira.

“It’s too soon to give you firm results and conclusions, but we both feel we’ll have a similar story to tell you.”

Thinking it through, Eve circled the table, the remains of Melvin Little, war vet, lost soul. Harmless.

“Here’s how I want to handle this. I’m going to wait until you have solid conclusions, until you put it all down, detail by minute detail, before I notify the feds. Right now, you’re reassessing, testing, examining, and if we even hint where this is going, the feds might be inclined to zip in and take over after they red tape it to death. The red taping may impede us, so we’ll just red tape it first.”

She glanced up, saw Morris with a slight smile, DeWinter with a more pronounced frown. “I’d be fine with them taking it over if it would speed this up, help us find the two people who are going through what this one went through. But it won’t. Objections?”

Mira folded her hands in a gesture that drew Eve’s attention. “The nature of the beast is bureaucracy, so I have to agree adding another agency to this mix would tend to slow down progress. But once conclusions are reached, conclusions that will stand in court, you must.”

“And I will. I won’t hold back. This isn’t about credit, the collar. It’s about making sure when we get these bastards we’ve got everything we need to put them away for the rest of their fucked-up lives. Agreed?”

“I’d like to finish what we’ve started without pausing to fill out countless forms,” Morris said. “Agreed.”

When DeWinter hesitated, frowned down at the bones, Eve tilted her head. “You stole a dog.”

“Damn it, you’ll never let that one go. Agreed, but we follow the rules, point-by-point.”

“Do that. And keep me updated. And remember this. The feds have nobody who can match the three of you. So, the ones we couldn’t save help you. And I’ll do whatever it takes to save the two who still can be. Together, we’ll put these sick assholes away.”

“Meanwhile,” Mira began, “I’ve reviewed your report. I agree it’s possible they escalated to two. That both Campbell and Mulligan are alive. It’s a progression. However, I can’t tell you tha

t’s foregone. The longer we go without finding Campbell’s body, the better the chances. I don’t see them changing pattern and concealing or attempting to conceal the body, if there is one, as there’s no discernable motive to do so.”

“Then I’m banking on both of them being alive, until we know different.”

When she started out, Peabody lengthened her stride to keep up. “What are you going to tell Whitney?”

“Everything. If he tells me to bring in the feds, I bring them in. But I think he’s going to see this part of it my way. They can’t do any more than Mira, Morris and DeWinter on the remains – especially since they already signed off there. On the active hunt, I’ll send the agent in charge everything we have. The truck, the van, the conclusions regarding those we’ve eliminated. I’ll take whatever I can get for Campbell and Mulligan.”

“Okay. I’m all in.”