In Death 04 - Rapture in Death

it. It could be a long night."
    "Sober-Up?" His face fell into its usual morose lines. "I've been working all night to get drunk. What's this about?"
    "Ten minutes," she repeated and cut him off.
    She took the time to change out of the party dress, and discovered bruises she hadn't been aware of throbbing fresh. She took a quick moment to slap a coat of numbing cream where she could reach and winced her way into a shirt and trousers.
    Still, she was true to her word and walked onto the roof terrace ten minutes later.
    Roarke had been at work here, she noted, and had cleared out lingering guests. If there were any stragglers, he was dealing with them elsewhere, giving her a clear stage.
    Feeney sat alone on a chair beside a decimated buffet spread, glumly eating pate. "You sure know how to put me out of a party mood, Dallas. The wife was so dazzled to get a limo ride home, she forgot she was going to jump me. And Mavis was looking all over for you. I think she was a little hurt you didn't hang around to congratulate her."
    "I'll make it up to her." Her porta-link hummed, signaling an incoming transmission. She read the display, hit print out. "Here's our warrant."
    "Warrant?" He reached for a truffle and popped it in his mouth. "For what?"
    Eve shifted, gestured toward the console. "For that. Ready to work your magic?"
    Feeney swallowed the truffle, looked toward the console. The light some would have called love gleamed in his eyes. "You want me to play with that? Hot damn."
    He was up, almost bounding toward the equipment and running reverent hands over it. She heard him mumbling something about TX-42, high velocity sound trips, and mirror merging capabilities. '"The warrant clears me to override his lock off code?"
    "It does. Feeney, it's serious."
    "You're telling me." He lifted his hands, rubbing fingertips together like an old-world safe cracker about to hit the big time. "This baby is one serious mother. The design's inspired, the payload's off the scale. It's -- "
    "Very likely responsible for four deaths," Eve interrupted. She walked over to join him. "Let me bring you up to date."
    Within twenty minutes, using the portable kit out of his car, Feeney was at work. Eve couldn't understand what he was muttering about, and he didn't take it kindly when she leaned over his shoulder.
    That gave her time to pace, then to call in for a report on Jess's status. She had just finished ordering Peabody to turn duty over to a uniform guard and go home to get some sleep when Roarke came in.
    "I gave your regrets to our guests," he told her and helped himself to another brandy. "I explained that you'd been called to duty suddenly. I had much sympathy on living with a cop."
    "I tried to tell you it was a bad deal."
    He only smiled, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "It placated Mavis. She's hoping you'll get in touch tomorrow."
    "I will. I'll need to explain things. Did she ask about Barrow?"
    "I told her he was... indisposed. Rather abruptly." He didn't touch her. He wanted to, but he wasn't quite ready. "You're hurting, Eve. I can see it."
    "You pinch my nose again, and I'll flatten you. Feeney and I have a lot of work here, and I have to be sharp. I'm not fragile, Roarke." The message was in her eyes, asking him to put it aside. "Get used to it."
    "Not yet." He put down his brandy, slipped his hands into his pockets. "I could help there," he said, inclining his head toward Feeney.
    "It's police business. You're not authorized to touch that unit."
    When he only shifted his eyes back to hers with some of the old humor in them, she let out a huge sigh. "It's up to Feeney," she snapped. "He outranks me, and if he wants your fingers in his pie, it's his deal. I don't want to know about it. I've got reports to put together."
    She started out, irritation in every body line. "Eve." When she stopped and scowled over her shoulder at him, he shook his head. "Nothing." He lifted his shoulders, feeling helpless. "Nothing," he said again.
    "Put it to bed, goddamn it. You're pissing me off." She stalked out, nearly making him smile.
    "I love you, too," he murmured, then wandered toward Feeney. "What have we here?"
    "Brings tears to my eyes, I swear it. It's beautiful, brilliant. I tell you the guy's a genius. Certified. Come here and take a look at this image board. Just look at it."
    Roarke slipped off his jacket, hunkered down, and went to work.
    She never went to bed. For once, Eve buried her prejudice and took her