“I’ll need more money. To smooth the path.”
“Anything. Anything you need.” Kevin buried his face in his hands. “I can’t stay in this place. I don’t know how I’ll make it through even one night.”
“You need to stay calm. Let me get you some water.” He rose, crossed over to the water cooler in the corner. And as he filled a cup, added the contents of the vial he wore on a chain under his shirt.
“Your confession,” Lucias added as he brought the cup back, “clearly states that Lucias Dunwood was to blame. It was his game, and one he was winning.”
“I feel terrible about that. What else could I do? The things Dallas said would happen to me.” He gulped at the water. “And it’s not my fault. Anyone can see it’s not my fault. I’d never have gone so far without Lucias egging me on.”
“He’s smarter than you. Stronger.”
“No. No, he’s not. He’s just . . . Lucias. He’s competitive. Inventive. I can’t help it if it came down to him or me. Anyway . . .” Kevin worked up a weak smile. “I guess, at this point, I won the game.”
“Do you think so? You couldn’t be more wrong.”
“I don’t know what you . . .” His vision swam, went gray at the edges. “I don’t feel very well.”
“You’ll pass out first,” Lucias said softly. “Just slide under. You’ll be dead before they get you to the infirmary. You should’ve been loyal, Kev.”
“Lucias?” Panicked, he tried to rise, but his legs buckled. “Help me. Somebody help me.”
“It’s much too late.” Lucias got to his feet, slid the chain from around his neck and looped it around Kevin’s. Tucked it neatly under the jumpsuit.
“You can’t mean to do this.” Kevin gripped Lucias’s arm weakly. “Lucias, you can’t mean to kill me.”
“I have killed you. But painlessly, Kev, for old times’ sake. They’ll think self-termination at first. It’ll take them a while to figure out your visitor wasn’t Blackburn. And since I’m at home with Mother, it couldn’t have been me. One consolation,” he added as Kevin crumbled to the floor, “you won’t go to prison.”
He reached over, closed the briefcase, brushed at his suit jacket. “Our game’s over,” he mumbled. “I win.” He hit the panic button under the table, then crouched down, began tapping Kevin’s cheeks with his hand.
“He passed out,” he told the guard. “Went into a rant about not being able to stand the thought of prison, then collapsed. He needs medical attention.”
And while his dying friend was being carried to medical, Lucias Dunwood walked briskly out of Cop Central.
Whitney and Roarke were sharing after-dinner coffee and cigars when Eve walked in. She actually heard Whitney laugh—not the low rumbling chuckle she’d occasionally heard out of him—but a big, rollicking belly laugh that stopped her in her tracks.
He was still grinning from it when she managed to unstick her feet and continue into the dining room.
“I don’t know how the pair of you stay so fit with the menu to choose from in this place.”
Amusement slid slyly over Roarke’s face as he lifted his cup. “We . . . work out a lot. Isn’t that right, darling?”
“Yeah, exercise is the key to good health. I’m glad you enjoyed your meal, sir. Feeney’s on the electronics. I’ve arranged for surveillance on Dunwood’s townhouse and his mother’s home. Peabody’s standing by to run any new data as it comes in. I goosed CSU, and they report they found blood on the living room floor and rug that matches McNamara’s type. O Neg. Dunwood’s also O Neg, but with some pressure on the tech on duty at the lab I had him run the full DNA. Early indications are it’s McNamara’s, sir. We’ll confirm that before morning.”
Whitney puffed on the cigar, a small luxury his wife denied him. “Do you ever wind down, Dallas?” At her blank look, he shook his head. “Sit down. Have some coffee. Everything’s being done that can be done. We can’t move until the PA reports in.”
“She won’t argue if it’s an order,” Roarke pointed out.
“I hate to, in her own house. Please.” Whitney pointed to a chair. “Roarke tells me you’re off to Mexico for two weeks. Have you
put in for the time?”
“No, sir.” Restless and reluctant, she sat. “I’ll take care of it in the morning.”
“Consider it taken care of. You’re an exceptional cop, Lieutenant. Exceptional cops burn out faster than mediocre ones. A good marriage helps. I can attest to that. Children,” he added, then laughed at her expression of sheer horror. “When the time comes. Friendships. Family. In other words, a life. Outside the job. Without it, you can forget why you do what you do. Why it matters that every time you close a case and put one down, there’s one less.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I think since I’ve sat here eating your food, smoking your man’s very excellent cigar, you could call me Jack.”