“No. If you want to see him, you might be able to catch him in Midtown.”
“No. No, actually, I’d hoped to catch you alone. Could we sit?”
“Sure.” Eve gestured to a chair, took one of her own.
Pepper rested her hands on the arms of the deep chair, sighed as she scanned the room. “This remains the most incredible home I’ve ever seen. Such wonderful style, but then it would have to be, since it’s Roarke’s.”
“Keeps the rain off.”
Pepper laughed. “It’s been some time since I’ve been here, but I recall a formidable manservant rather than the splashy domestic droid who let me in.”
“Summerset. He’s on vacation. He’ll be back later today.” Unless he’s captured by desperados and held for ransom. Or falls
madly in love with a young nudist and moves to Borneo.
“Summerset. Yes, of course.”
“You’re not here to see him either.”
“No.” Pepper nodded. “My motive for coming is a woman-to-woman thing. I know you saw Leo again yesterday. He was very upset by it, feels hounded, and that you have some sort of personal grudge against him.”
“I don’t have a personal grudge against him. Even if he’s a killer, it wouldn’t be personal. It’s my job to hound people.”
“Maybe it is. But the fact is there is a personal connection here. Through me. Through Roarke. I wanted to address that frankly with you.”
“Go ahead,” Eve invited.
Pepper sat a bit straighter in her chair, folded her hands neatly in her lap. “You’re aware, I’m sure, that Roarke and I had a relationship at one time. I can certainly understand how you might feel uncomfortable or irritated by this. But it was several years ago, before he met you. I’d hate for any annoyance or resentment, however understandable it might be, to influence your attitude toward Leo.”
Eve let the silence hang for a moment. “Let me see if I have this straight. You’re wondering if because you and Roarke rolled around naked a few years ago, I’m personally pissed off, and because I’m pissed off about it, I’m giving the guy you’re currently rolling around naked with a rough time.”
Pepper opened her mouth, shut it again, then delicately cleared her throat before speaking. “In a nutshell.”
“Let me ease your mind on this score, Ms. Franklin. If I were to get personally pissed off about every woman Roarke banged, I’d spend my life in a perpetual state of annoyance. You were one of many.” Eve lifted her left hand, tapped her wedding ring with her thumbnail. “I’m the only. You don’t worry me.”
For a moment, Pepper did nothing but stare. Then she blinked, very slowly. And the corners of her mouth twitched. “That’s very . . . sensible, Lieutenant. And a very clever way to slap me back at the same time.”
“Yeah, I thought so.”
“But, in any case—”
“There is no other case. Roarke and I were grown-ups when we met. What happened before doesn’t mean dick to me. And if I let petty jealousies interfere with or influence my work, I wouldn’t deserve my badge. I deserve my badge.”
“I bet you do,” Pepper replied. “Just as I bet you deserve Roarke, too. He’s the most fascinating man I’ve ever known, just like his house, full of color and style and surprises. But he didn’t love me, and never pretended he did.”
“And Leo does. Love you?”
“Leo? Leo needs me. And that’s enough.”
“I have to say, it sounds to me like you’re selling yourself short.”
“That’s nice of you. But I’m no prize, Lieutenant. I’m selfish and demanding.” She gave a light, amused laugh. “And I like that about me. I expect to be given my own time and space when I require it, and any man in my life must understand that my work is the priority. If he does, and he’s loyal, needing me is enough. Leo’s weak, I know that,” she continued with an elegant little shrug. “Maybe I need a weak man, maybe that’s why I couldn’t hang on to Roarke for more than a few weeks. Leo suits me. And being weak, Lieutenant, is just one more reason he can’t be the man you’re looking for.”
“Then neither of you have anything to worry about. He lied during our initial interview. Someone lies to me, I’m going to wonder why.”
Her face softened in a way that told Eve whatever she said about need being enough, she loved Leo Fortney. “You frightened him. That’s natural, isn’t it, for someone to be frightened when they’re questioned by the police? Especially about a murder.”
“You weren’t.”