In Death 22 - Memory in Death

hospital, get you home.”
    “Well, all right, I guess. Since he’s asleep anyway.”
    “Good. I’ll be there in an hour.”
    She headed back to her office to write up an update for her commander. Halfway through, Slader stuck his head in the door.
    “Got him wrapped, Lieutenant.”
    “The brother? You got a confession?”
    “Junkie brother comes home, see, and the other guy’s waiting for him. He’s found out some stuff’s missing from the apartment. His pricey wrist unit, some electronics, that kind of deal. Gonna confront
    his brother, kick him out. Brother comes in late, stoned to the eyeballs.”
    “You got the tox to substantiate?”
    “Yeah. Vic had enough shit in him to fly all the way to Pluto and back. Looks like he pawned the shit
    he took from his brother to buy the stuff. Guy tells him to take a hike, and they get into it. Now our
    guy says the dead brother threw the first punch. Maybe yes, maybe no.”
    Slader shrugged. “But there’re swings on both sides. Asshole brother takes a header down the stairs,
    snaps his neck. Other guy panics, tries to set it up like he’d been in bed and the dead brother just took
    a tumble. We can squeeze him maybe on Man Two, but the PA doesn’t like it. Guy’s willing to cop to Man Three. So that’s how we’re doing it.”
    “Good enough. Make sure the dead guy’s the one who pawned the merchandise. Check that before you sign off on the deal.”
    “Partner’s doing that now. Checks out, we’re clearing it. Stupid bastardthe live brothercould’ve
    saved himself a lot of time and trouble he’d just copped to the fight. People just like lying to cops.”
    Truer words, Eve mused as another thought occurred. Layers. Yeah, she might try peeling one.
    * * *
    In the garage, Mira studied the all-terrain. “This can’t be your city issue.”
    “No. Roarke. Icy roads.” Eve shrugged as she climbed in. “This thing would probably transverse the Arctic Circle, so he’s satisfied I can navigate New York in it.”
    “Well, I feel better in it.” Mira settled in. “I imagine there’s so little he can control regarding your safety, he pushes on the things he can.”
    “Yeah, I get that.”
    “Dennis made noises about me staying home today.” Mira adjusted the softly patterned scarf around her neck. “I ended up having to arrange for a driver to satisfy him. It’s nice to have someone who’ll worry.”
    “You think ?” Eve glanced over as she reversed. “Maybe,” she decided. “Maybe it is. But it’s hard to know you’re always worrying them.”
    “It used to annoy me.”
    “Really?”
    “Charlie, he’d say, why do you take such chances, dealing with people who revel in that kind of
    darkness? If you’re inside them, don’t you see they can get inside you?” She smiled a little, stretching
    out her legs luxuriously in the warmth. “We went around that one, and variations on the theme, quite
    a bit when I took the position with the department.”
    “You had fights? You and Mr. Mira?”
    “We’re married, of course we had fights. Have them. He may seem easygoing, but he’s got a mile-wide stubborn streak in him. I love it.”
    She brushed her hair back as she turned her head to look at Eve. “I imagine we’ve had a few bouts that could compete with the rounds you and Roarke have. But they bought the package, didn’t they? Yours and mine, just as we bought theirs. So we find ways of dealing, of making it work. So you drive this big machine on a nasty day. Which, by the way, is a very sexy ride.”
    Eve had to grin. “It is, isn’t it? So, how soon did the two of you bump heads?”
    “Oh, God, we went at each other over buying our first sofa for our first apartment. You would have thought it was the most vital purchase we’d ever make. We ended up buying nothing for nearly a month because neither of us would give in. Then we settled on something completely different, opened a bottle of wine, and made very enthusiastic love on it.”
    “It’s stress, right? Mostly stress and figuring each other out. People who haven’t been hooked up long, they’re starry-eyed, sure, and spend a lot of time boinking like bunnies, but they snipe at each other
    over little stuff. And you add major stress, and there ends up being some tension.”
    “Generally speaking. Specifically speaking about the Lombards, I’d be surprised if there haven’t been some difficulties over the last several days. But often, most often, people tend to keep