“Did you ever see the victim before, in here, around the area?”
“No.”
“Who did she meet here?”
“No one.”
Eve drummed her fingers on the cloudy surface of the bar. “Okay, let’s just make this simple. You tell me what time she came in, what she did, when she left, and how she left.”
“I am not required to maintain surveillance on the customers.”
“Right.” Slowly, Eve rubbed a finger on the bar. When she lifted it, she pursed her lips at the smear of gunk staining the tip. “I’m Homicide, but I’m not required to overlook health violations. You know, I think if I called the Sensor Bugs in here, and they did a sweep, why they’d be shocked. So shocked they’d delete the liquor license.”
As threats went, she didn’t think it was particularly clever, but it was logical.
The droid took a moment to access the probabilities. “The woman came in at oh sixteen. She didn’t drink. She left at one twelve. Alone.”
“Did she speak to anyone?”
“She said nothing.”
“Was she looking for someone?”
“I didn’t ask.”
Eve lifted a brow. “You observed her. Did it appear she was looking for someone?”
“It appeared, but she found no one.”
“But she stayed nearly an hour. What did she do?”
“Stood, looked, frowned. Checked her watch often. Left.”
“Did anyone follow her outside?”
“No.”
Absently, Eve scrubbed her soiled finger on her jeans. “Did she have an umbrella?”
The droid looked as surprised by the question as droids were capable of looking. “Yes, a purple one, the same color as her suit.”
“Did she leave with it?”
“Yes; it was raining.”
Eve nodded, then worked her way through the bar, questioning unhappy customers.
All she really wanted when she returned to Cop Central was a long shower. An hour in the Five Moons had left what felt like a thin layer of muck on her skin. Even her teeth, she thought, running her tongue over them.
But the report came first. She swung into her office, then stopped, studying the wiry-haired man sitting at her desk plucking candied almonds from a bag.
“Nice work if you can get it.”
Feeney crossed the feet he’d propped on the edge of her desk. “Good to see you, Dallas. You’re a busy lady.”
“Some of us cops actually work for a living. Others just play computer games all day.”
“You should’ve taken my advice and worked on your comp skills.”