In Death 03 - Immortal in Death

a handful of people connected to NYPSD."
    "And those who did wouldn't have known how seriously and personally you take a partnership." He cocked his head. "Under most circumstances, I'd say his death would have been chalked off to a soured drug deal, a revenge hit by one of his associates, and left at that."
    "True enough, but Jerry didn't move quick enough. We found the stuff at Boomer's, started to work on that angle. At the same time, I get a first-hand look at Pandora at work. You know the story there, and you've heard the rundown on the circumstances on the night of her death. Pinning Mavis with the crime was a stroke of luck, good and bad. It gave Jerry time, presented her with a convenient scapegoat."
    "A scapegoat who just happened to be near and dear to the primary's heart."
    "That's the bad luck. How many times am I going to walk into a case and know the most likely suspect is absolutely innocent? Despite all the evidence, despite everything? It's just not going to happen."
    "I don't know. It did with me a few months ago."
    "I didn't know, I felt. After awhile, I knew." She jammed her hands in her pockets, ripped them out again. "With Mavis I knew, from the get go, I knew. So I approached the entire case from a different angle. Now I see three potential suspects, all, as it turns out, with motive, with opportunity, and with means. One of those suspects, I begin to believe, is addicted to the very drug that started the ball rolling. Just when you think it's safe to start assuming, a dealer on the East End is taken out. Same MO. Why? That's a sticking point, Roarke, one I can't clean up. They didn't need Cockroach. The odds of Boomer trusting him with any data on this are so long they reach through the stratosphere. But he's taken out, and there are traces of the drug in his system."
    "A ploy." Roarke took out a cigarette and lighted it. "A distraction."
    For the first time in hours, she grinned. "That's what I like, about you. Your criminal mind. Toss in a red herring to confuse the issue. Leave the cops straining to find a logical connection with Cockroach. In the meantime, Redford's manufacturing a variety of Immortality on his own, he's given it to Jerry. Along with a hefty fee. But he got that back by bleeding her for every bottle of it from then on. A smart businessman, he's gone to the trouble, taken the risk of procuring a specimen from the Eden Colony."
    "Two," Roarke said and had the pleasure of seeing that intense face go blank.
    "Two what?"
    "He ordered two. I swung by Eden on my way back on planet, had a talk with Engrave's daughter. I asked if she could find the time to do some cross-checking. Redford ordered his first specimen nine months ago, using another name and a forged license. But the ID numbers are the same. He had it shipped to a florist on Vegas II, one with a dubious reputation for dealing in contraband flora." He paused to tap his ash into a marble bowl. "I'd say it was sent from there to a lab, where the nectar was distilled."
    "Why the hell didn't you tell me before?"
    "I'm telling you now. It was just confirmed five minutes ago. You can probably contact security on Vegas II and have the florist questioned."
    She was swearing as she pounded to her 'link, gave orders for just that.
    "Even if they crack him, it'll take weeks to cut through the bureaucracy and have him transported on planet so I can have a go at him." But she rubbed her hands together, anticipating it. "You might have mentioned you were doing this."
    "If it came to nothing, you wouldn't be disappointed. Instead, you have to be grateful." His eyes sobered. "Eve, this doesn't change the situation overmuch."
    "It means Redford was working on his own longer than he wanted us to know about. It means -- " She broke off and dropped into a chair. "I know she could have done it, Roarke. On her own. She could slip out of Young's apartment without detection. She could have left him sleeping, come back, cleaned up. Every fucking time. Or he could have known. He'd go to the wall for her, and he's an actor. He'd toss Redford to the wolves in a heartbeat, but not if it implicated Jerry."
    She lowered her head to her hands a moment, fingers rubbing hard over her brow. "I know she could have done it. I know she could have seen a window of opportunity and gotten into the drug hold. She might have decided to end it her way, it suits her personality. But it just doesn't feel right."
    "You can't blame yourself for her death," Roarke said