Leverage in Death (In Death 47)

She walked back to the couch, sat with that same stiff-bodied care. “Lieutenant, please, please tell me what happened. Please tell me what they made him do.”

“Are you aware of the meeting this morning?”

“The merger with Econo. It’s the biggest campaign Paul’s worked on in years. It’s taken months for the deal to get approved and pushed forward. He and his team have been working on the marketing for the expansion. I don’t understand.”

“This morning your husband went into the meeting wearing a suicide vest.”

“Oh God, oh God. How many? How many?”

“Eleven dead, nine injured at this time.”

She set the tea down, covered her face with her hands. Sobbed. “They made him a killer. They made my Paul a killer. Why? Why would they do this? Why would they force him to do this?”

“Did he have any enemies?”

“No, no, no.”

“How did he feel about this merger?”

“He—he wasn’t sold on it initially. Quantum’s luxury travel, high end, all the amenities, and Econo’s cut rate. But Derrick—Derrick Pearson—wanted the expansion, liked the idea of adding levels, and more hubs. Econo has hubs everywhere. Paul got on board, looked at his end of it as a challenge. He’s a company man, Lieutenant. His loyalty is always to Derrick and to Quantum.”

Her eyes widened. “Derrick. Is Derrick all right?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh my God, Derrick was practically a father to Paul.”

She reached out for Eve, gripped Eve’s arm with a hand that shook. “I swear to you, I swear on my life Paul loved Derrick. Loved, respected, admired him. There isn’t a violent bone in Paul’s body. Oh God, God, God, Rozilyn, Derrick’s wife. They’ve been married for nearly forty years. What will she do? What will she do?”

“Have you noticed anyone in the neighborhood who doesn’t belong? Did Paul mention anyone who made him uncomfortable?”

“No. Just no. He’s been working long hours these past few weeks especially. On this campaign. He’s been tired and distracted, but excited. It was coming together, and today was the day. Friday, when he finally came to bed, he snuggled in with me, promised as soon as this deal went through, the three of us were going to take a long weekend anywhere I wanted to go. He fell asleep with a smile on his face. And then, then they were here.

“They were here,” she repeated. “And nothing will ever be the same again.”

“Your security. Who has your codes?”

“Paul, Melody, and I, of course. Iris. Iris Kelly, our parent’s helper. She’s been with us for nine years. We hired her while I was pregnant. She’s like family.”

“I’ll need her contact information.”

“Yes, but Iris would never have given away our codes, would never have had a part in this. Oh God, I have to tell her what happened. Tell her about Paul.”

“She doesn’t work on Mondays?” Eve asked. “On weekends?”

“Not unless we need her. With Melly in school full time, and since Iris got married last year, she generally comes in on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Lieutenant, I trust her with my child, and that’s trusting her with my life.”

“No one else has the codes?”

“No, just—Oh, I’m sorry. My mother, my stepfather. They have them. Paul’s parents live in Sedona, so . . . Oh God, oh God, Paul’s parents. I have to—”

“We’ll do the notification. How often do you change the security codes?”

“I guess maybe once a year or so. We never had any trouble here. We never had anything bad happen until . . . Paul. When can I see Paul?”

What there is to see, Eve thought, you just don’t need to see. “I’ll give you the information on contacting the medical examiner. Ms. Greenspan, I’m going to have one of the officers go upstairs with you. You can contact your mother. You should pack what you and your daughter need. We’ll have you taken to New Rochelle. I need a contact number for you.”

“What will you do?”