“I am, so she will. Go,” Eve told Baxter.

“The friendship offered by Ava,” Mira continued as Baxter stepped out, “the support, the bargain struck—if indeed one was—weigh heavily on Ava’s side. The power Ava has over her now is tremendous.”

“I know how to play her.” When Mira said nothing, Eve watched Baxter enter Interview, listened to him speak reassuringly to Suzanne. “I know what it’s like to be knocked around regular, isolated, held down so you believe it’s the only way. And I know how far you’ll go to make it stop.”

“She’s nothing like you, and neither are her circumstances.”

“No. But I know how to play her. Baxter, he feels for her. Decent men tend to feel for women like her.”

“But you don’t.”

“No, I don’t. She could’ve walked. Any time. Packed up, grabbed the kids and walked.” Studying Suzanne through the glass, Eve felt not a single twinge of sympathy. “You said she’d sacrifice for her kids, but what has she given them? What kind of life has she opened them to by letting them see, every day, that she’s so weak she’ll let their father slap her around, come and go as he pleases, spend his money on tricks instead of food. You don’t offset that with sports programs, Dr. Mira. That woman took the life of a stranger, the life of a good man, the man who offered her children hope. She did that rather than walk away.

“So yeah, I guess I do feel for her. I feel disgust. I’ve got no qualms about putting her away. I just want to make damn sure I put Ava Anders away with her.”

“Eve.” Mira put a hand on Eve’s arm as Eve started to step out. “There’s a difference between weak and evil.”

“Yeah, but there’s sure a lot of overlap.”

Eve entered Interview. “Record on. Dallas, Lieutenant Eve, and Baxter, Detective David, in Interview with Custer, Suzanne, in the matter of the murder of Custer, Ned, case number HC-20913, and any and all related events or crimes. Detective, have you read Mrs. Custer her rights?”

“No, Lieutenant.”

“Do so. For the record.”

He sighed. “Yes, sir. It’s a formality, Mrs. Custer. You have the right to remain silent.”

Fear widened Suzanne’s eyes, quickened her breath as Baxter recited the Revised Miranda. Eve took a seat at the table, slumped back. “Do you understand your rights and obligations in this matter?” she demanded.

“Yes, but—”

“Here’s something that strikes me, Suzanne. It just seems so damn handy that you’d be sitting at home trying to tag your cheating shitbag of a husband on his ’link while some unidentified hooker’s slitting his throat. What, were you going to ask him to bring home a jug of soy milk?”

“No. He was late. I just wanted to—”

“He was late a lot, wasn’t he? Did you whine on his voice mail every time he was late?”

“No, but—he promised. He promised he wouldn’t be. I said I’d leave him if he didn’t stop.”

“You were never going to leave him.” Eve allowed some of the disgust to eke into her voice. “You didn’t have the guts for that. And now you don’t have to. Instead he’s gone, and you’ve got that nice life insurance policy, the pension.”

“Come on, Lieutenant, ease off a little.”

She scorched Baxter with a look. “You’ve eased off plenty for both of us. Did you find some sap like the detective here to do it for you, Suzanne? Cozy yourself up to some guy who doesn’t slap you around, feels sorry for you. So he does this—” Eve pulled out a crime scene photo, tossed it onto the table. “So you can be free.”

“No.” Suzanne closed her eyes rather than look at the photo. “I didn’t want another man. I just wanted my husband to be a good man, a good father. My kids deserve a good home, a good father.”

“The money you’ve got coming in now, you can get them out of that rattrap. Where are you taking them, Suzanne?”

“I don’t know. I thought, I think, maybe south, maybe down to Arkansas with my sister. Out of the city. Away. I can’t think about it yet. Somewhere else, for a fresh start. There’s nothing wrong with that.” She looked imploringly at Baxter. “Nothing wrong with wanting a fresh start with my kids.”

“Of course not. It’s been rough on you here. Rough for a long time. It’d be good for the kids to get out of the city, somewhere with a lot of green. Anders has sports programs all over the country.”

She winced at the Anders name, looked away. “If I could get them in a good school, down south somewhere, the schools have teams. They have sports.”

“Are you going to give up the freebies?” Eve demanded. “The free equipment, camps, programs, the mom retreats. It’s been a pretty good deal for you, hasn’t it?” Eve flipped open a file. “You had a few nice vacations here, on the Anderses’ dime, didn’t you?”

“Seminars, and—and support groups.”

Tags: J.D. Robb In Death Mystery
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