In Death 18 - Divided in Death

“I only stopped by the lab to check on the progress of their work.”
    “Yeah, and to give his bony ass a pat.”
    “Unfortunately, he was sitting on said bony ass at the time of my visit, so I was unable to complete that part of my mission.”
    “Because, despite all my efforts, the image of that bony ass is starting to form in my fevered mind, tell me about the rest of the mission. How’s it going in there?”
    Peabody wanted to ask why Eve hadn’t been in to see for herself, but from the snags of tension around her and Roarke, she thought she knew.
    “Well, there’s a lot of techno-talk, some pretty creative cursing. I like how Roarke says ‘bugger.’ Tokimoto stays iced, and Reva’s like a woman on a religious quest. McNab’s in heaven, hacking away. But what tipped me was Feeney. There’s this gleam in his eyes. I think they’re getting close.”
    “While they’re making the world safe for democracy, let’s see if we can solve a few murders.”
    “Excuse me, Lieutenant,” she said when her communicator signaled. “I’ll get on that little task as soon as I take this. Detective Peabody,” she announced. “Hey, Lamar, you got something for us?”
    “You got my backstage pass?”
    “My word’s my bond.”
    “Then I got your face. How do you want me to send it?”
    “Laser fax,” Eve ordered from her desk. “And a file to my unit here. I want a hard copy, and I want one on my computer.”
    Peabody relayed, then walked over to retrieve the fax herself. “Lamar’s good. Could probably make a better living doing portraits than detailing bad guys. Not the prettiest petal on the flower,” she added, passing the printout to Eve. “But not as ugly as Sibresky said. The scar just messes up the face.”
    “Yeah, it draws the eye, too, doesn’t it? You’re going to think scar when you see this face. Big, nasty scar, so maybe you don’t look too close, because, gee, that’s rude.”
    “Sibresky doesn’t seem to have had that problem.”
    “I get the feeling Sibresky’s not too big on sensitivity and etiquette. Let’s play a game, Peabody.”
    “Really? Okay.”
    “We’ll start by you going in the kitchen, getting a pot of coffee and . . . something. There’s gotta be something to eat.”
    “You want food?”
    “No, my stomach’s still shaky. You get food.”
    “Hey, so far I like this game.”
    “Don’t come back in until I tell you.”
    “No problem.”
    Eve turned to her computer, rubbed her hands together. “Okay, let’s play.”
    It didn’t take long because the process and the possibility had been brewing in her brain for some time. She used the imaging program, shooting the visuals on the wall screens as she worked the details.
    “Okay, Peabody, you’re up, and bring me coffee.”
    “You should have some of this apple-cranberry cobbler.” She came in with a bowl of it, and a mug for Eve. “It’s really mag.”
    “What do you see?”
    Peabody eased a hip onto the edge of the desk, spooned up cobbler. “The artist’s rendering of the suspect known only as Angelo.”
    “Okay. Computer split screen, keep current image and display image CB-1.”
    Working . . . Images displayed.
    “Now what do you see?”
    “Carter Bissel, split screen with Angelo.” She frowned, and though she understood immediately what direction Eve was taking, she shook her head. “I’ll go with the Angelo person being a disguise. I don’t see Carter Bissel in there. There’s no data on him being an expert on disguise. Buy a wig, slap on a mustache, sure. Even maybe manage the scar. But the line of the jaw’s off—an implant for the bucked teeth would change the shape of the mouth, but not the jaw. He’d need more for that, and even if Kade was working him, or with him for a few months, how’d he get so skilled in disguise?”
    She scooped up more cobbler and continued to study and compare the two images. “And Carter Bissel’s ears are bigger. That’s the tip. Ears are a good giveaway. He could make them bigger for Angelo, but not smaller.”
    “You’ve got a good eye, Peabody. But watch and learn.”

Chapter 18
    Peabody ate cobbler and watched as Eve and the computer added the hair from image one onto the head of image two.
    “You know, you can do it all with one command if you—”
    “I know I can do it all with one command,” Eve said irritably. “It doesn’t make the same damn point that way. Who’s running this game?”
    “You know, getting shot at with a