In Death 22 - Memory in Death

help.”
    “I’ll try to get clear here, give you a hand myself.”
    “I don’t know what I’d have done without you the last few days.” Those big blue eyes went predictably damp. “It’ll take me a little while to get dressed and everything.”
    “No rush. I’ve got things I’ve got to get out of the way first. I’ll just have the uniforms bring you down when you’re ready. How’s that?”
    “Okay.”
    At the knock on her door, Eve sighed. “Gotta go. It’s crazed around here this morning.”
    “I can’t even imagine it. I’ll be down as soon as I can.”
    “Yeah, you will,” Eve muttered when she cut transmission. “Come on in. Reo.” She nodded at the curvy blondAPA. “My Christmas was great, yours was, too. Blah, blah, blah, let’s get down to it.”
    “Nice sweater, blah, blah, blah. Everything you’ve got is circumstantial and speculative. We can’t charge, much less prosecute.”
    “I’ll get more. I need the warrants first.”
    “I can wrangle the search. Items missing from victim’s room, victim’s daughter-in-law’s prints, as well
    as the blood and the prints in the room next door. Getting the match on the mouth is good, it’ll give it
    a nice push, but it’s still in that speculative area. A pair of lips aren’t solid ID.”
    “I’ll get more,” Eve repeated. “I’m getting more. Get me the search and seizure. I’ve got her coming
    in for Interview. I know how to work her.”
    “You’re going to need a confession to lock this up.”
    Eve smiled. “I’m going to get one.”
    “Sounds like something I’ll want to watch. I’ll get the search warrant. Bring her in.”
    When it was done, she rounded up Baxter and Trueheart. “She’s on her way in. Go in, find me what I need. When you’re back here with it, give me a beep on my communicator. When I’m ready, I’ll send Peabody out for it.”
    “She seemed so normal,” Trueheart commented. “Nice, too.”
    “Bet she thinks she is. But that’s for Mira,” who was someone else Eve wanted to bring in.
    She called Mira’s office, plowed her way through the admin. “I need you in Observation, Interview
    Room A.”
    “Now?”
    “In twenty. I’m bringing Zana Lombard in. I believe she’s actually Marnie Ralston, who assumed a new identity in order to get inside the Lombard household. I’m sending you my report now. I’ve got the PA’s office moving with me. I need you on this.”
    “I’ll do what I can to shuffle things around.”
    That would have to do, Eve decided. She made a few more contacts, then sat back, cleared her mind.
    “Dallas?” Peabody stepped to the office door. “They’re bringing her up.”
    “Okay. It’s showtime.”
    * * *
    She went out, met Zana and her escorts in the busy corridor outside her division.
    Dressed for it, Eve thought. If she wasn’t mistakenand she was getting good at bull’s-eyeing wardrobeZana was wearing a light blue cashmere crew neck, with floral embroidery on the cuffs.
    And that matched the description of one of Trudy’s purchases.
    Ballsy, Eve decided. Smug.
    “I really appreciate you coming down. Things are wonky with the holidays.”
    “After everything you’ve done for me and Bobby, it’s the least I can do. I talked to him right before
    I left, told him you were going to try to help me bring him back to the hotel from the hospital.”
    “We’ll try to make that happen. Listen, I’m going to use one of the rooms to finish this up. It’ll be more comfortable than my office. You want something? Really bad coffee, vending drink?”
    Zana looked around the busy corridors like a tourist at a street fair. “Oh, I wouldn’t mind a fizzy, any flavor but lemon.”
    “Peabody? Would you take care of that? I’m going to take Zana into A.”
    “Sure, no problem.”
    Eve shifted the file folder as she walked. “Paperwork’s a killer,” she said casually. “And mostly a pain in the ass, but we want to have all the t’s crossed on this, so you and Bobby can get back home.”
    “We are getting anxious. Work’s really piled up, and Bobby wants to get back to it. Plus, I guess we’re just not big-city types.”
    She walked into the room after Eve opened the door, then hesitated. “Oh, is this an interview room,
    like you see on the cop shows onscreen ? “
    “Yeah. Most efficient way to go through the statements. You okay with that?”
    “Oh, I guess. Actually, it’s kind of exciting. I’ve never been in a police station