Eve looked down at her plate as she cut into the steak again. ‘What do you think of him?’
‘I think he’s desperately, almost pathetically in love with our Mavis. And since I have some experience with that emotion, I have sympathy for his situation.’
‘We can’t verify his movements on the night of the murder.’ She picked up her wine. ‘He had motive, he had means, and very likely opportunity. There’s no physical evidence linking him to the crime, but the crime took place in his apartment, and the weapon was his.’
‘So you see him killing Pandora, then setting the scene so that Mavis takes the blame?’
‘No.’ She set her wine down again. ‘It would just be easier if I could.’ Eve tapped her fingers on the table, then picked up her glass again. ‘Do you know Jerry Fitzgerald?’
‘Yes. We’re acquainted.’ He waited a beat. ‘No, I’ve never slept with her.’
‘I didn’t ask.’
‘Just simplifying.’
She shrugged and took another sip. ‘My impressions are smart, ambitious, clever, and tough.’
‘Your impressions are usually accurate. I wouldn’t argue with them.’
‘I don’t know a lot about the modeling game, but I’ve been doing some research. At Fitzgerald’s level, it’s pretty high stakes. Money, prestige, media. Having top bill on a show that’s being anticipated as much as Leonardo’s is worth big credits, full-blown coverage. She’ll step right into Pandora’s shoes on it now.’
‘If his designs click, it could be worth a considerable amount to be the top endorser,’ Roarke agreed. ‘But it’s still speculative.’
‘She’s involved with Justin Young, and she admitted that Pandora was trying to lure him back.’
Roarke considered. ‘Difficult for me to imagine Jerry Fitzgerald going into a murderous rage over a man.’
‘She’d more likely have one over a stylist,’ Eve admitted, ‘but there’s more.’
Briefly, she told him of the connection between Boomer’s data and death and the new blend found in Pandora’s system. ‘We can’t find her cache. Someone else went after it, and knew where to look.’
‘Jerry’s come out publicly against illegals. Of course, that’s publicly,’ Roarke added. ‘And you’re dealing with profit here, not partying.’
‘That’s my theory. A new blend like this, quickly addictive, potent, has the potential for a great deal of profit. The fact that it’s eventually lethal won’t stop its distribution or its use.’
She pushed her half-eaten steak aside, a gesture that had Roarke frowning. When she didn’t eat, she was worried. ‘It seems to me like you have a lead you can get your teeth into, Eve. A lead that steers far wide of Mavis.’
‘Yeah.’ Restless, she rose. ‘A lead that doesn’t point to anyone else. Fitzgerald and Young alibi each other. The security discs confirm their whereabouts at the time of death. Unless, of course, one or both of them got around security. Redford doesn’t have an alibi, or doesn’t have one without big holes, but I can’t tie him. Yet.’
That she wanted to seemed very clear to Roarke. ‘What were your impressions?’
‘Callous, ruthless, self-interested.’
‘You didn’t like him.’
‘No, I didn’t. He was slick, smug, confident he could handle some city cop without straining his brain cells. And he volunteered information, just like Young and Fitzgerald did. I don’t trust volunteers.’
The way the mind of a cop worked was a marvel, he mused. ‘You’d trust him more if you’d had to pry information out of him.’
‘Sure.’ It was one of the basic rules, for her. ‘He was anxious to feed me Pandora’s drug use. So was Fitzgerald. And all three of them were almost happy to tell me they didn’t like her.’
‘I don’t suppose you’d consider they were simply being honest.’
‘When people are that open, especially to a cop, there’s usually another layer underneath. I’m going to do some more digging on them.’ She circled back, sat again. ‘Then there’s the Illegals cop I’m butting heads with.’
‘Casto.’
‘Yeah. He wants the cases, took it well enough when he lost the stab, but it’s not going to be share and share alike with him. He wants a captaincy.’