In Death 11 - Judgment in Death

think there was a hard surface or a right angle left in the place.
    And while she was vaguely concerned that staying there for any length of time might bring on a stroke, it was a frame that suited the picture of her oldest friend perfectly.
    The effect was something like a storm-edged sunrise. On Venus.
    "I'm so glad you came by." Mavis dragged Eve into the psychedelia, then turned a stylish circle. "What do you think?"
    "Of what, exactly?"
    "Of the new gear?"
    Tiny, slim, and bright as a fairy wand, Mavis turned again, showing off a short-skirted... you couldn't call it a dress, Eve decided. A costume, she supposed, of crossed diagonal stripes that ran from deep purple to neon pink and back again. The bodice scooped low, just tucking the nipples under and left Mavis's shoulders -- adorned now with twin pansy tattoos -- bare.
    Sleeves -- they had to be sleeves because as far as Eve knew, gloves had hands -- skimmed down her arms. Needle-heeled boots, in the same dizzy stripes, rode up her legs to just under crotch level.
    "It's -- " She had no idea. "Amazing."
    "Yeah, isn't it? TTT. Too totally terrific. Trina's going to do my hair to match. Leonardo's a complete genius. Leonardo, Dallas is here. He's making a batch of screamers," she told Eve. "You came by at the exact moment. I hate drinking alone, and you know how Leonardo can't."
    She kept up the chatter, pulling Eve toward the pink couch. She wasn't giving her friend a chance to escape until she knew what was going on.
    "Here he is." Her voice went to coo, her eyes went gooey. "Thanks, honey love."
    Leonardo, a giant of a man with long, glossy braids, gold eyes, and the smooth copper skin of a mixed-race heritage, swirled into the room. He moved with uncanny grace for a man topping six-five and wearing a hooded ankle duster of Atlantic blue. He beamed at Mavis, and the ruby studs beside his mouth and just under his left eyebrow winked flirtatiously.
    He cooed right back at her. "You're welcome, turtledove. Hello, Dallas. I put together a little snack, in case you haven't had dinner."
    "Isn't he TTT?"
    "You bet," Eve said as Mavis cuddled up against him. Even in the boots, she didn't make it to his breastbone. "You didn't have to go to any trouble, Leonardo."
    "None at all." He set down a tray loaded with food and drink. "It's nice you came by so Mavis won't spend the evening alone. I have some appointments."
    Mavis sent him an adoring look. Their plans had been to have a rare quiet evening together. When she'd told him Eve was coming by and something was wrong, he'd agreed without a murmur to her request that he make himself scarce.
    He was, Mavis thought with a sigh, perfect.
    "I can't stay long," Eve began, but Leonardo was already scooping Mavis up in his long arms, kissing her in a deep and intimate way that had Eve wincing and looking away.
    "Enjoy yourself, my dove."
    He sent Eve a quick, flashing smile and managed to glide out of the apartment without running into anything.
    "He didn't have any appointments."
    Mavis started to protest, then grinned, shrugged, and plopped down to pour the first round of screamers. "I told him we wanted a little girl time. He was ultra-cool with it. So..." She passed Eve a glass the size of a small birdbath, filled to the rim with emerald green liquid. "You wanna get a buzz on, then tell me about it, or just dive in?"
    Eve opened her mouth, then closed it and pursed her lips. It had been a hell of a long time since she'd downed a batch of screamers with Mavis. "Maybe I can get a buzz on while I tell you."
    "Solid." Mavis tapped her glass against Eve's and knocked back the first of what promised to be many.
    "So..." Mavis was on her third screamer, and most of the soy chips, whey-cheese dip, and corn doodles Leonardo had arranged were long consumed. "Let me sort of put this in a box. You went to square off with some bad guy who used to have business with Roarke, without telling Roarke you were going."
    "It's police business. It's my job."
    "Okay, okay, I'm just scoping it down. Then the bad guy sent second-string bad guys after you."
    "I handled it."
    Mavis glanced over with a gimlet look in her eye. "You want my take or just your own?"
    "I'm shutting up," Eve muttered and poured another screamer.
    "When you got back home, there were flowers from the bad guy and a smarmy card." Because Eve's mouth opened again, Mavis held up a purple-tipped finger. "You figured he did it to rile you up and to get Roarke's goat, so you had