Golden in Death (In Death 50)

She walked to his adjoining office, where he sat at his command center studying something that might have been written in Greek (nerd qualified, in her opinion).

“Done, are you?” He glanced over. “As I found nothing helpful, I didn’t interrupt.”

“What did you find that’s unhelpful?”

“They’re comfortable—very—as Charles and Louise assumed. The victim’s practice did quite well, and his spouse draws a fine salary with solid benefits. They’ve invested wisely, have a smart estate plan in place. It looks to me as if they planned to retire in about ten years. They enjoyed traveling, and traveled well, and lived within their means. They give a fair and generous portion of their income to charities of their choosing—and I have to say I feel they chose well.

“No hidden accounts, for either,” he continued, “no nefarious gambling debts or strange purchases. They have trusts set up, as I said, for their children, grandchildren, some generous but not outlandish bequests for people who work for or with them, and have for some time. They’ve left a particular piece of art to Charles and Louise. Other specifics—like a set of cuff links, an antique shaving kit, and such—to people I assume are close friends and would appreciate the memento.”

One hip cocked, Eve leaned on the doorjamb. “I didn’t ask you to look at his will.”

“Ah well, once I started, I wanted to do a thorough job. I think I would have liked Dr. Abner.”

“You wouldn’t be alone. I’m calling it for the night. You?”

“With you, as always, Lieutenant. I’m just dabbling here—not case related.”

“It doesn’t look related to anything human,” she said as he disengaged the comp.

&nb

sp; “It is, and isn’t.” He rose. “A Mars Colony thing.”

“Mars.” She shook her head as they walked out. “You really are trying to corner the universe.”

“And wouldn’t that be fun? We could spend a weekend on Mars.”

“Not in this lifetime or any other. Italy worked fine.”

He slid an arm around her. “It did, yes, and very well.”

“Your hotel thing there. It’s going to be pretty great. The way it looks old, like it hasn’t changed in a thousand years, but it’s going to have everything.”

“That’s the plan. Still cool enough for a fire at night,” he said as they walked into the bedroom, and ordered it on.

The cat already stretched his bulk across the bed as if he owned it. Eve calculated he’d soon stalk away in disgust.

She sat, pulled off her boots. “You remember how I kept my word on the shuttle to Italy? Banged you like a drum?”

“I have a very good memory.”

“Yeah, you do.”

She rose, unhooked her weapon harness, peeled it off. “I think it’s time for a repeat performance.”

He’d paused in the act of taking off his shirt, smiled slowly. “Do you, now?”

“I do. Despite ugly death, or maybe due to same, I realized today you need to appreciate what you’ve got when you’ve got it. More, you should grab on to it.”

She hooked a hand in his waistband, yanked him to her. “I’m grabbing.”

She took his mouth, dived deep, added a quick little bite at the end. And smiled. “Being an investigator who recognizes evidence, I don’t have to ask if you’re up for it.”

With a pivot, her foot moving behind his to shift the balance, she had him on his back on the bed.

The cat, as predicted, leaped off the bed and stalked away.

“Nice move.”