In Death 08 - Conspiracy in Death

it was exactly as she'd imagined. He was drinking coffee in the sitting area, scanning the financial data on the computer, while Nadine Furst gave Channel 75's take on the news of the day on the screen just over his shoulder.
    When she moved by him to the closet, his eyes followed her. And he smiled. "You look rested, Lieutenant."
    "I feel pretty good. I need to get a jump on the day, though."
    "I thought we already did."
    That made her toss a grin over her shoulder. "I should've said on the workday."
    "I should be able to help you in that area as well." He watched her shrug on a plain white shirt, button it briskly. "Last weather update calls for high in the mid-teens. You won't be warm enough in that."
    "I'll be inside mostly." She only rolled her eyes when he rose, crossed over, and selected a navy pullover in thin, warm wool. Handed it to her. "You're a nag, Roarke."
    "What choice do I have?" When she dragged the sweater over her head, he shook his own and adjusted the collar of her shirt himself. "I'll order up breakfast."
    "I'll catch something at Central," she began.
    "I think you'll want to take time to have it here so we can discuss a couple of matters. You mentioned NewLife products last night."
    "Yeah." She remembered only vaguely. She'd been tired and still a little shaken by the dream. "It's an angle I'll be looking into later. They're artificial replacements made from this longevity stuff discovered at the Nordick Clinic, but there may be a connection with the organ thefts I'm dealing with."
    "If there is, we're both going to be very unhappy about it. I bought out NewLife about five years ago."
    She stared. "Shit, Roarke."
    "Yes, I thought you'd feel that way about it. Though I did tell you one of my companies manufactures artificial organs."
    "And it just had to be NewLife."
    "Apparently. Why don't we sit down? You can tell me how you worked your way around to NewLife, and I'll do what I can to get you all the data you need."
    She told herself it was useless to be irritated, as she dragged both hands through her hair. It was certainly unfair to want to snarl at Roarke. So she snatched trousers out of the closet and jammed her legs in.
    "Okay, I'm going to try to look at this as a good thing. I won't get any runaround or a bunch of company bullshit when I need information. But damn it." She yanked the trousers over her hips and snarled at him anyway. "Do you have to own everything?"
    He considered a moment. "Yes," he said and smiled beautifully. "But that's really a different matter. Now I want some breakfast."
    He ordered them both a plate of high-protein waffles, some fresh seasonal fruit, and more coffee. When he settled back into his chair, Eve was still standing. Still scowling.
    "Why do you have to own everything?"
    "Because, darling Eve, I can. Drink your coffee. You won't be so cross once you do."
    "I'm not cross. What a stupid word that is, anyway." But she sat, picked up her cup. "It's a big business, artificial organs?"
    "Yes, NewLife also manufactures limbs as well. It's all quite profitable. Do you want financial statements?"
    "I might," she murmured. "Do you have doctors on the payroll, as consultants?"
    "I believe so, though it's more of an engineering sort of thing." He moved his shoulders. "We have an ongoing R and D department, but the basic products were refined years before I took over the company. How does NewLife fit in with your investigation?"
    "The process for mass-producing artificial organs was developed at the Nordick Center, in Chicago. They have connections to Drake. I have bodies in both cities. I've got another in Paris, and I need to see if there's another health center that connects to these two. NewLife was the product Westley Friend endorsed specifically."
    "I don't have the information on Paris, but I can get it. Very quickly."
    "Did you know Dr. Westley Friend?"
    "Only slightly. He was on the board at NewLife during the takeover, but I never had cause to deal with him otherwise. Do you suspect him?"
    "Hard to, since he self-terminated last fall."
    "Ah."
    "Yeah, ah. From what I can gather from the data I sifted through, he headed the team that developed the process for mass-producing organs. And at the time that was implemented, the research on reconstructing human organs was cut. Maybe someone decided to start it up again, in his own way."
    "Hardly seems cost effective. Organ growing is time consuming and quite expensive. Reconstruction, from the little I know, is