In Death 13 - Seduction in Death

counted.
    Still, she wished they'd thought to plant something with fragrance. She wanted the stench of hospital out of her system.
    She wasn't sure where to tag Roarke. She tried his personal line first, was switched to voice mail so she disconnected. She put the next through to his midtown offices and hit on his admin.
    "I need to locate him."
    "Of course, Lieutenant. He's on a holo-transmission, if you wouldn't mind waiting a moment. How are you?"
    Right, Eve thought. Courtesy and conversation, a duo she often neglected. "Fine, thanks. How are you, Caro?"
    "Very well. Delighted the boss is back, though it seems we're busier yet when he's in the cockpit. I'll just beep in and let him know you're on the line."
    Waiting, Eve tipped her face back to the sun. It was always cold in hospitals, she thought. The kind of cold that crept into her bones.
    "Lieutenant." She focused her attention on Roarke's voice, on his face on-screen. "What's wrong?" he queried.
    "Nothing. Need a favor."
    "Eve. What's wrong?"
    "Nothing. Really. Moniqua Cline regained consciousness. I just finished questioning her. She's going to tough this out, but it's hard on her."
    "And on you."
    "I know some of what's going through her head. I know some of what she's going to feel in the middle of the night." She shook it off. "That's not why I called, and you're in the middle of a transmission."
    "It can wait. A benefit of being in charge. What can I do for you?"
    "Question. Is it possible for you to monitor a standard account, monitor any e-mail, block same?"
    "Private citizens who attempt any of the above are in violation of e-privacy laws and subject to fines and/or imprisonment."
    "Which means you can."
    "Oh. I assumed the question was rhetorical." He smiled at her. "Who do you want me to monitor?"
    "Stefanie Finch. She's a potential target. At the moment she's in the air somewhere between the U.S. and England on shuttle runs. When she lands, I want to tell her who and what she's been playing with in hopes I can enlist her help to reel these guys in. But I don't know how she'll react, and she's going to have too much time to fiddle around before I have her under control. I can't chance her going off on a rip and tipping her cyber-pal."
    "So you want to block all her transmissions and cyber-activities?"
    "That's the ticket. I don't want anything she sends getting through until I'm sure of her cooperation and I have a warrant to put a filter on her transmissions. The warrant's not going to cover us until she's back in New York."
    "You know how it excites me whenever you ask me to slip through one of the loops in the law."
    "Remind me later why I married a pervert."
    "I'll be happy to." His smile spread because color had come back into her face.
    "How soon can you have it done?"
    "I have some things to finish up here. Best to do this little task at home on the unregistered. Give me two hours. Oh, Lieutenant? I don't suppose this bit of business goes into my report as expert consultant, civilian."
    "Kiss ass."
    "As long as it's yours, darling."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
    When Eve finally ran Theodore McNamara to ground, she was shown into his office by a bird of a woman who chirped about the doctor's demanding schedule and the need to keep the audience brief.
    "The doctor really has no time for an extra appointment today. As you know, Dr. McNamara has just returned from a very important consult session on Tarus II."
    "He's about to have a very important consult session on Planet Earth," Eve returned. For her own amusement, Eve lengthened her stride so the woman was forced to trot to keep up as they navigated the short breezeway that connected McNamara's office to the main building at J. Forrester. Outside the glass a medi-copter banked left for landing on the heliport of the adjoining hospital facilities.
    She saw a half dozen medical personnel waiting for the transport, and imagined the noise was horrendous. But inside the breezeway the air was silent, cool, and faintly floral.
    It appeared Dr. McNamara had disconnected himself from the petty pains and troubles of those his facility served.
    The breezeway opened into the office area done in stark white. Walls, rugs, consoles, chairs, even the uniforms of the drones who went silently about their business were unrelieved white.
    It was, Eve thought, like walking inside an eggshell.
    They passed through a set of glass doors that whisked open silently at their approach, and moved down yet another corridor. At the