In Death 04 - Rapture in Death

angled her head. "You of all people should know better."
    "This isn't about me." Eve set her cup down with a snap. "It isn't about where I came from or what I made myself. It's about four people, that I'm aware of, who weren't given a choice. And someone has to answer for that."
    "One thing," Mira added as Eve rose. "Are you focused on this man because of personal insults to you and those you love, or because of the dead you represent?"
    "Maybe it's both," Eve admitted after a moment.
    She didn't contact Reeanna, not yet. She wanted a little time to let it stew in her mind. And she was delayed by finding Nadine Furst in her office.
    "How'd you get past desk security?" Eve demanded.
    "Oh, I have my ways." Nadine swung her leg, beamed a friendly smile. "And most of the cops around here know you and I have a history."
    "What do you want?"
    "I wouldn't say no to a cup of coffee."
    Grudgingly, Eve turned to the AutoChef, pumped up two cups. "Make it fast, Nadine. Crime is rampant in our city."
    "And that keeps us both in business. What did you get called out on last night, Dallas?"
    "Excuse me?"
    "Come on. I was at the party. Mavis was terrific, by the way. First you and Roarke take off." She sipped delicately. "It didn't take a sharp reporter like me to get an inkling of what that was about." She wiggled her brows, chuckling when Eve simply stared. "But your sex life isn't news -- at least on my beat."
    "We were running out of shrimp patties. We ran down to the kitchen and made some up. It would have been so embarrassing."
    "Yeah, yeah." Nadine waved that away and concentrated on her coffee. Even in the upper echelons of Channel 75 they rarely had access to such potent brew. "Then I notice, being the keen observer that I am, that you sweep Jess Barrow off and out at the end of the set. Never came back. Either of you."
    "We're having a mad, illicit affair," Eve said dryly. "You may want to turn that over to the gossip desk."
    "And I'm boinking a one-armed sex droid."
    "You always were an explorer."
    "Actually, there was this unit once... but I digress. Roarke, in his usual charming fashion, manages to move the lingering guests along, herds the hangers-on into the recreation center -- great hologram deck, by the way -- and gives your regrets. Duty calls?" Nadine angled her head. "Funny. Nothing shows on my cop scanner that would have pulled our ace homicide detective out at that time of night."
    "Not everything goes out on the scanner, Nadine. And I'm just a soldier. I go when and where I'm told."
    "Sell it to someone else. I know how tight you are with Mavis. Nothing but top level would have pulled you away at her big moment." She leaned forward. "Where's Jess Barrow, Dallas? And what the hell has he done?"
    "I don't have anything to give you, Nadine."
    "Come on, Dallas, you know me. I'll hold it down until I get the go-ahead. Who'd he kill?"
    "Switch the channel," Eve advised, then pulled out her communicator when it beeped. "Display only, no audio."
    Quickly, she scanned the transmission from Peabody, manually requested a meeting, including Feeney, in twenty minutes. She set the communicator on the desk, turned back to the AutoChef to see if there were any soy chips available. She needed something to sop up the caffeine.
    "I've got work, Nadine," Eve continued, when she discovered she had nothing but an irradiated egg sandwich in stock. "And nothing to bump up your ratings."
    "You're holding out on me. I know you've got Jess in custody. I've got sources in Holding."
    Annoyed, Eve turned back. Holding was innately ripe with leaks. "I can't help you."
    "Are you charging him?"
    "The charges are not for broadcast at this time."
    "Damn it, Dallas."
    "I'm on the edge here," Eve snapped. "And it could go either way. Don't push me. If and when I'm free to speak to the media on the matter, you'll be the first. You'll have to be satisfied with that."
    "You mean I have to be satisfied with nothing." Nadine rose. "You're got something big, or you wouldn't be so snotty about it. I'm only asking for a -- "
    She broke off as Mavis burst in. "Jesus, Dallas, Jesus. How could you arrest Jess? What are you doing?"
    "Mavis, damn it." She could visualize Nadine's reporter's ears growing longer and sharper. "Sit," she demanded, stabbing a finger at a chair, then at Nadine. "You, out."
    "Have a heart, Dallas." Nadine attached herself to Mavis. "Can't you see how upset she is? Let me get you some coffee, Mavis."
    "I said out, and I mean it."