In Death 21 - Origin in Death

information. I can separate them again, go at them individually. With the confession on record, I can get a warrant to have them tested, find out which, if any, is pregnant. If so, that one would be the most vulnerable. Peabody could soft-pedal with them, one on one. She's good at it. Next hit is to push on locations for the labs specifically used for the project, where they've put whatever data they've already taken, and who, if anyone, is on Deena's termination list. They're not done. They haven't accomplished everything they were after, and they're oriented to succeed."
    She glanced at Mira for confirmation.
    "I agree. At this point they're giving you what they want you to have. They want your help in shutting this down, and your sympathy. They want you to know why they did what they did, and why they're willing to sacrifice themselves for it. You won't break them."
    Eve lifted her eyebrows. "Want to put money on it?"
    "It has nothing to do with your interview skills. They are the same person. Their life experiences are so minutely different it barely registers. They were created to be the same, then trained and given a routine that ensured they would be the same."
    "One hand held the knife."
    "You're being literal," Mira said impatiently. "In a very real sense, that one hand belonged to all of them."
    "They can all be charged," Tibble pointed out. "Conspiracy to murder. First degree."
    "Never get to trial." Reo shut her 'link. "My boss and I are in agreement on this. With what we just heard in there, what we know, we'd never get this to stick. Any defense would whoop our asses long before we got to a murder trail. Frankly, I'd like to defend them myself. Not only a slam dunk, but I'd be rich and famous by the end of it."
    "So they walk?" Eve demanded.
    "You try to charge them, the media's going to chew it bloody. Human rights groups are going to get in on it, and in five short minutes, we'll have the newly formed Clone Rights organizations. You get them to lead you to Deena, that's chummy, Dallas. I'd like to hear her story. And maybe, if there's only one of her, we manage to cut some deal. But with these?"
    She gestured toward the glass, and the three women at the table. "You've got enforced imprisonment, brainwashing, diminished capacity, child endangerment. And if I were going to bat for them, pure old self-defense. I'd make it work, too. There's no way to win this."
    "Three people are dead."
    "Three people," Reo reminded her, "who conspired to break international laws, and who broke said laws for decades. Who, if you're getting the truth in there, created life, then terminated those lives if they didn't meet certain standards. Who created that which killed them. They're smart."
    She walked closer to the glass. "Did you hear what they said? 'We were imprinted to be, do, feel,' and so on. That's a strong, impenetrable line of defense. Because they were created and engineered and imprinted. They acted as they'd been programmed to react. They defended their children against what many will see as a nightmare.'
    "Get what you can out of them," Tibble ordered. "Get Deena Flavia, get locations. Get details."
    "And then?" Eve asked.
    "House arrest. We'll keep them under wraps until we get this closed down. They wear bracelets. Guards-droids-twenty-four/seven. We're going to have to pass this up, Jack."
    "Yes, sir, we are."
    "Get details," Tibble repeated. "We're going to verify every one of them, cross every T. Twenty-four hours, max, and we're passing this ball. Let's make sure it doesn't bounce up and smash into our faces."
    "I've got to head in, start strategizing what we do when and if we do it." Reo picked up her briefcase. "You get anything I can use, I need to know. Day or night."
    "I'll show you all out." Roarke stepped to the door.
    "I need to speak with the lieutenant." Mira stayed where she was. "Privately, if you don't mind."
    "Peabody, go in. Give them each a bathroom break, offer them food, drink. Then pick one. Take her out and start working her. Soft sell."
    When she was alone with Mira, Eve walked to the large coffeepot Roarke must have put on a table. She poured a cup.
    "I'm not going to apologize for my comments and reactions of earlier today," Mira began.
    "Fine. Me, neither. If that's it-"
    "Sometimes you seem so hard it's difficult to believe anything gets through. I know that's not true, and still. .. If Wilfred and his son did the things they-she-claims, it's reprehensible."
    "Look through the