In Death 04 - Rapture in Death

bought into it."
    "It doesn't matter. We'll smooth out the rest later. I'm pressed here, Mavis. I don't have much time to wrap this up."
    "You think he killed people?"
    "I have to find out." She looked over at the knock on her door. Peabody stepped in, hesitated.
    "Sorry, Lieutenant. Should I wait outside?"
    "No, I'm going." Mavis sniffled, rose, sent Eve a watery smile. "Sorry about the flood and everything."
    "We'll mop it up. I'll talk to you when I can. Don't worry about this."
    Mavis nodded, and her lowered lashes concealed the quick flare in her eyes. She intended to do more than worry.
    "Everything all right here, Lieutenant?" Peabody asked when Mavis left them alone.
    "Actually, Peabody, everything's fucked." Eve sat, tried to drill holes in her temples with her fingers to release the pressure. "Mira doesn't think our boy has the personality profile for murder. I've insulted her because I'm going for another consultant. Nadine Furst is sniffing too close to the center, and I've just broken Mavis's heart and shattered her ego.
    Peabody waited a beat. "Well, other than that, how are things?"
    "Cute." But it did prod a reluctant smile. "Damn, give me a nice clear murder any day over this physiological crap."
    "Those were the good old days, all right." Peabody shifted to make room as Feeney stepped in. "Well, the gang's all here."
    "Let's get to work. Status?" Eve asked Feeney.
    "Sweepers found more discs at the suspect's studio. So far, no matches on victims. He kept a log of his work." Uncomfortable, Feeney shifted. Jess had been very explicit in his speculations on results, including the sexual nudge he'd given Eve and Roarke. "He names names, times, ah, suggestions. There's no mention of any of the four dead. I've been through his communications system. No transmissions to or from any of the victims."
    "Well, that's dandy."
    Feeney shifted his feet again, and his color fluctuated into a blush. "I've sealed the work log for your eyes only."
    Her brows knit. "Why?"
    "He, ah, talks about you a lot. On a personal level." He focused his eyes an inch over Eve's head. "Again, he's very explicit in his speculations."
    "Yeah, he made it clear he was overly interested in my head."
    "He isn't just interested in that part of your anatomy." Feeney puffed out his cheeks, blew the air out. "He considered it would be an entertaining experiment to attempt to ah..."
    "What?"
    "Influence your behavior toward him... in a sexual manner."
    Eve let out a snort. It wasn't just the words, but Feeney's stiffly formal delivery. "He figured he could use his toy to get me into the sack? Great. We can lay another charge on him. Intent to sexually molest."
    "Did he say anything about me?" Peabody wanted to know and received a glare from Eve.
    "That's sick, Officer."
    "Just wondering."
    "We're adding to his cage time," Eve continued, "but we're not pinning him on the big one. And Mira's profile is going to work against us."
    "Lieutenant." Peabody sucked in her breath and took the chance. "Have you considered that she's right? That's he's not responsible?"
    "Yeah, I have. And that scares the hell out of me. If she's right, there's someone else out there with a brain toy, and we're not even close. So we all better hope we've got our man safely locked away."
    "Speaking of our man," Feeney broke in. "You better know he's lawyered himself."
    "I figured he would. Anybody we know?"
    "Leanore Bastwick."
    "Well, hell. Small world."
    "She wants to make points off of you, Dallas." Feeney took out his bag of nuts, offered them to Peabody. "She's raring to go. Wants to set up a media conference. Word is she took him on pro bono, just for the shot at you, and the media coverage this will get once it hits."
    "She can take her shot. We can block the press conference for twenty-four hours. We'd better solidify before then."
    "I pulled a thread loose," Peabody told her. "It might unravel more with some tugging. Mathias did indeed attend MIT for two semesters. Unfortunately, his term there was three years after Jess did his at-home degree, but Jess used his alumni status to access data from their files. He also taught an E-class elective on musicology, which the university uploaded into their library curriculum. Mathias took the course during his last semester."
    Eve felt a quick power surge. "That's something to tug on. Good work. It connects, finally. And maybe we've been looking in the wrong place. Pearly was the first known victim. What if he's the one