“And no sparkly-eye crap either,” Eve added and yanked open the door to look for Louise.
“You can look pretty sparkly-eyed after really good pizza, too,” Peabody muttered, then decided not to press her luck when Eve snarled.
“Dallas.” Louise double-timed it down the corridor. She wasn’t wearing a power suit this morning, but the worn jeans and roomy shirt she usually donned for the clinic. “I’m so glad you are here. I didn’t want to go into all this over a ’link.”
“Sit down.” Because Louise was pale despite her rush through Central’s labyrinth, Eve took her arm and pulled her to a chair. “Take a breath, then tell me what you’ve got.”
“Last night. I had a date last night. Drinks at The Royal Bar.”
“Roarke’s place? In The Palace Hotel?”
“Yes. I saw them. Dallas, I saw them sitting in a booth near our table. I spoke with her in the ladies’ lounge.”
“Slow down. Peabody, some water here.”
“I wasn’t paying attention,” Louise continued. “If I had been I’d have seen . . . I can see her face right now as she sat in front of the mirror. It wasn’t just champagne. I’m a doctor, goddamn it, I should have seen she was drugged. I can see it now.”
“We see all kinds of things after. Here.” She shoved the water into Louise’s hands. “Drink, then suck it in, Louise. Suck it in and tell me everything you remember.”
“Sorry.” She sipped once. “When I saw the media report this morning, I recognized her. Realized.” She drank again. “I called and checked on her condition on the way over. There’s been no improvement. None. Her chances decrease every hour.”
“Last night. Concentrate on last night. You’re having drinks in the bar.”
“Yes.” She drew in a breath. Steadied. “Champagne, caviar. It was lovely. We were talking. I wasn’t paying much attention to anything but him. But I did notice, sort of absently, the couple in the booth. They had champagne and caviar, too. I think, I’m nearly sure, they were already seated when we got there. They were sitting very close together. Very intimate. They were a very attractive couple.”
“Okay, what next?”
“We danced. I forgot about them. But I went into the lounge, sat down to freshen up, and to get my balance. It was a very intense first date for me. While I was there, she came out of the stalls. She was throwing off all kinds of sexual sparks. Told me to congratulate her, that she was going to get very lucky. I was amused, and half wishing I could be that confident. They were leaving when I came out. They were leaving, and I never gave it a thought.”
She sighed. “Her color was too high, her eyes were glassy. I can see it now.”
“What do you remember about him?”
“Polished, attractive. They looked right together, and he looked natural in that sort of setting. I wish I’d noticed more. Maybe Charles did.”
Eve felt the jolt in her belly, saw it in the quick jerk of her aide’s shoulders. “Charles?”
“Yes. Charles Monroe. I tried to reach him this morning, but he has his ’link on message mode only.”
“Okay.” Oh boy. “I may need to talk to you again.”
“You can reach me at the clinic all day.” She got to her feet. “I wish I was more help.”
“Everything helps.”
Eve said nothing about it as she drove. She intended to say nothing about it ever in this lifetime. But Peabody’s absolute silence broke her down.
“You okay about this?”
“I’m thinking about it. It wasn’t a job.”
“What?”
“They had this vibe going yesterday. It was a date, not a job. I’m okay with it,” she decided. “I mean, we’re just friends. It was just kind of a shock, that’s all.”
She glanced over, at the entrance to Charles’s building, when Eve pulled to the curb. Apparently, she’d better be all right with it.
He was heading to the elevator as they stepped off. “Dallas. I was just coming in to see you. I just saw—”