In Death 20 - Survivor in Death

firm mouth, and eyes of bold and brilliant blue.
    “He’s Roarke,” Eve answered. “He’s just a guy.”
    A lie, of course. Roarke wasn’t just anything. But he was hers.
    “Lieutenant.” Ireland cruised out of his voice as he came down the steps and walked toward them. “Detective.” He crouched. Eve noted that as he looked into Nixie’s eyes he didn’t smile.
    He saw a pretty, pale little girl, with dried blood in her sunlight blonde hair, and bruises of fatigue and grief under eyes of quiet blue.
    “You’d be Nixie. I’m Roarke. I’m sorry to meet you under such terrible circumstances.”
    “They killed everybody.”
    “Yes, I know. Lieutenant Dallas and Detective Peabody will find who did this horrible thing, and see that they’re punished for it.”
    “How do you know?”
    “It’s what they do, what they do better than anyone. Will you come inside now?”
    Nixie tugged on Eve’s hand, kept tugging until Eve rolled her eyes and bent down. “What?”
    “Why does he talk like that?”
    “He’s not from around here, originally.”
    “I was born across the sea, in Ireland.” Now he did smile, just a little. “I’ve never quite shaken the accent.”
    Roarke gestured them inside the spacious foyer, where Summerset stood, with the fat cat sprawled at his feet. “Nixie, this is Summerset,” Roarke said. “He runs the house. He’ll be looking after you, for the most part.”
    “I don’t know him.” And eyeing Summerset, Nixie cringed back against Eve.
    “I do.” It was a big cup of bile to swallow, but Eve gulped it down. “He’s okay.”
    “Welcome, Miss Nixie.” Like Roarke, his face was sober. Eve had to give them both credit for not plastering on those big, scary smiles adults often wore around vulnerable kids. “Would you like me to show you where you’ll sleep?”
    “I don’t know.”
    He reached down, picked up the cat. “Perhaps you’d like some refreshment first. Galahad would keep you company.”
    “We had a cat. He was old and he died. We’re going to get a kitten next. . .”
    “Galahad would be pleased to have a new friend.” Summerset sat the cat down again, waiting while Nixie loosened her grip on Eve’s hand and moved closer. When the cat bumped his head against her leg, a ghost of a smile trembled on her lips. She sat on the floor, buried her face in his fur.
    “Appreciate this,” Eve said to Roarke under her breath. “I know it’s a major.”
    “It’s not.” There was blood on her as well. And the faint scent of death. “We’ll talk of it later.”
    “I need to go. I’m sorry to dump this on you.”
    “I’ll be working here most of the morning. Summerset and I will deal well enough.”
    “Full security.”
    “Without question.”
    “I’ll get back as soon as I can, work out of here as much as possible. Right now, we need to go notify the parents of the minor female vie. Peabody, you have the Dysons’ address?”
    “They’re not home.” Nixie spoke with her voice muffled against Galahad’s fur.
    “Nothing wrong with your hearing,” Eve commented, and walked across the foyer. “Where are they?”
    “They went to a big hotel, for their anniversary. That’s why we could have a sleepover on a school night, me and Linnie. Now you have to tell them she’s dead instead of me.”
    “Not instead of. If you’d been in the room, you’d both be dead. Where does that get you?”
    “Lieutenant.” The irritated shock in Summerset’s voice had her doing no more than lifting a hand to jab a finger at him for silence.
    “She’s not dead because you’re not. This is going to be hard on the Dysons, just like it is on you. But you know who’s to blame for what happened.”
    Nixie looked up now, and those quiet blue eyes hardened like glass. “The men with the knives.”
    “Yeah. Do you know what hotel?”
    “The Palace, because it’s the best. Mr. Dyson said.”
    “Okay.” It was the best, Eve thought, because it was one of Roarke’s. She shot him a look, got a nod.
    “I’ll clear the way.”
    “Thanks. I’ve got to go,” she said to Nixie. “You’re going to hang with Summerset.”
    “The men with knives could come looking for me.”
    “I don’t think so, but if they do, they can’t get in. There’s a gate, and it’s secure, and the house is secure. And Summerset? I know he looks like a bony, ugly old man, but he’s tough, and you’re safe with him. This is the deal if you’re staying here,” she added as she