In Death 20 - Survivor in Death

night to help your family. But there are things you can do now.” Mira glanced at Eve, signalling her.
    “Listen, Nixie,” Eve said, “this is rough, but the more you can tell me, the more I know. This is my recorder.” She set it on the table, sat across from Mira and the child. “I’m going to ask you some questions. Dallas, Lieutenant Eve, in interview with Swisher, Nixie, minor female, with Mira, Dr. Charlotte, in attendance. Okay, Nixie?”
    “Okay.”
    “Do you know about what time it was that you got out of bed?”
    “It was more than two o’clock. Like ten after, about. I had my Jelly-Roll on.”
    “Wrist unit,” Mira translated.
    “What did you do when you got up? Exactly.”
    “I went downstairs--really quiet. I thought, for a minute, since Linnie didn’t want to wake up, I’d get Coyle. But maybe he’d tell, and I liked being up by myself. I went to the kitchen and got an Orange Fizzy out of the friggie, even though I’m not supposed to. And I went to sit down and drink it in the breakfast area.”
    “What happened then?”
    “I saw the shadow come in, but it didn’t see me. I got down on the bench. It went into Inga’s room.”
    “What did the shadow look like?”
    “It looked like a man, I guess. It was dark.”
    “Was he tall or short?”
    “As tall as the lieutenant?” Mira prompted and gestured for Eve to stand up.
    “Taller, probably. I don’t know.”
    “What was he wearing?”
    “Dark stuff.”
    “What about his hair?” Eve tugged her own. “Short, long?”
    On a short sigh, Nixie nuzzled the cat. “It must’ve been short, ‘cause I couldn’t really see it. It was... it was... covered. Like.” She made a gesture, as if pulling something over her head. “It covered him up. His whole face, and his eyes, they were all black and shiny.”
    Protective gear, Eve surmised. Night goggles. “Did you hear him say anything?”
    “No. He killed her, with the knife. He killed her, and there was blood. And he didn’t say anything.”
    “Where were you?”
    “On the floor, at the door. I wanted to look inside and see . . .”
    “It was dark. How could you see?”
    Her eyebrows came together a moment. “From the window. The streetlight through the window. He had a light.”
    “Like a flashlight?”
    “No, a little dot, a little green light. It was blinking. On his hand. On his . . . here.” She closed her fingers around her wrist.
    “Okay, what happened then?”
    “I got against the wall. I think. I was so scared. He killed Inga, and he had a knife, and I was so scared.”
    “You don’t have to be scared now,” Mira said. “You’re safe now.”
    “He didn’t see me, like I wasn’t there. Like hide-and-seek, but he didn’t look for me. I got the ‘link and I called. Dad says if you see somebody getting hurt, you call Emergency and the police will come and help. You gotta call, you gotta be a good neighbor. My dad--” She broke off, bowed her head as tears dripped.
    “He would be very proud of you.” Mira reached for her own bag, took a tissue from it. “Very proud that you did just what he taught you, even when you were scared.”
    “I wanted to tell him, to tell him and Mom. I wanted Mom. But they were dead.”
    “You saw the man again, and someone else,” Eve prompted, “when you went upstairs. You went up the back way.”
    “The man who killed Inga was going into Coyle’s room.”
    “How do you know? Nixie, how do you know it was the man from Inga’s room who went into Coyle’s?”
    “Because . . .” She looked up again, blinking against the tears. “The light. The green light. The other didn’t have one.”
    “Okay. What else was different?”
    “The one who killed Inga was bigger.”
    “Taller?”
    “A little bit, but bigger.” She flexed her arms, indicating muscle.
    “Did they talk to each other?”
    “They didn’t say anything. They didn’t make any noise. I couldn’t hear anything. I wanted Mom.”
    Her eyes went dull again, and a tremor shook her voice. “I knew what they were going to do and I wanted Mom and Dad, but... And there was blood, and it got on me. I hid in the bathroom, and I didn’t come out. I heard people come in, but I didn’t come out. You came.”
    “Okay. Do you remember, before any of this happened, if your parents said anything about being concerned, about anybody who was mad at them, or if they’d seen somebody hanging around who shouldn’t be?”
    “Dad said Dave said he was going to