Son of a bitch, Eve thought. Son of a bitching bastard.
Blood-soaked flowered pants, black wings of hair spread on the sidewalk. A girl from Queens with a nice mom.
“He killed Lowry,” she continued, “to cover his ass, but just like killing Mars exposed Knight’s secrets, what he did by taking Lowry’s life? He exposed himself and his cowardly white dick of an ass.”
“‘Dick of an ass’?” Roarke repeated.
“I’m pissed. I need to get through being pissed. Mars didn’t have any problem exploiting lives for profit. She made a goddamn science out of it. But she didn’t kill people. He did Mars, more than likely, because he has some pathological obsession with protecting Annie Knight—and you can bet your non-dick of an Irish ass he harbors a strong loathing for Bicford, because Bicford has access to Knight he doesn’t, has a relationship he doesn’t.
“Lowry he killed because maybe, just maybe, we’d have looked more closely at the log-outs.”
“You didn’t like him right off,” Peabody acknowledged.
“No, I didn’t like him. But I don’t like a lot of people who don’t decide they can kill people. Who don’t decide to slice someone’s artery so they can bleed out on the floor or on the street. And you know what?”
God, she was pissed!
“Sooner or later, there would’ve been somebody else. Somebody he deemed didn’t treat Knight the way she should be treated, somebody who he judged stood in his way for something. He’d have done it again, because now it’s his solution.”
Roarke opted for a lot rather than the second-level street spot available. The walk would give his wife, his thoroughly pissed cop, a little more time to cool off.
“It wasn’t done for gain, for love, for hate, not because he’s just batshit crazy. Not in hot blood, but cold. It was just done.”
She took out her ’link when it signal
ed. “Okay, Reo came through. Both search warrant and arrest warrant. Get us a little backup, Peabody,” she added as she got out of the car. “We’re going to have him taken in while we go through his place. I’m betting he didn’t ditch the weapon, and I know damn well we’re going to find some data on his electronics on his killing method, on both vics.”
“I can tag McNab for that.”
“We’ve got our e-geek right here. Tag McNab and tell him to pack, you’re leaving tonight.”
“I— What?” Peabody nearly bobbled her ’link. “Tonight? Now tonight? But—”
“He’s a coward, he’s an amateur, he’s an asshole.” Eve ground the words out. “Do you think I can’t handle him in the box?”
“Yes, I mean, no. But—”
“Tell McNab to clear it with Feeney. You can have a shuttle for them tonight?” she asked Roarke.
“Anytime.”
As Peabody’s eyes welled up, Eve jabbed a finger at her. “Don’t piss me off a-fucking-gain. I’m just getting through it.”
“Okay, but I just have to…” She shook her fists in the air, bopped her hips, did a quick dance. Then threw her arms around Roarke. “She’ll hurt me if I hug her, too. So this is a double. Thank you, so much.”
“I’ll take the double.” And kissed the top of her head for good measure. “You’re more than welcome.”
“If you’re done now,” Eve said coolly, “maybe you could see about that backup. You know, just so we can have this murdering dick-ass taken in.”
“I’m going to get the best backup in the history of backups.”
She proceeded to do so while Eve studied Hyatt’s building. More than decent, she decided, a faux brownstone of twelve stories. One built to look old, with more than decent security.
She mastered through it.
The lobby stood empty and quiet with secondary security requiring guests to register and residents to use swipes for the elevators or the stairwell.
Fucking swipes, she thought.