In Death 22 - Memory in Death

crack.
    “Are you the police?”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Eve drew out her badge.
    “Somebody said a woman was killed in that room, just a few days ago.”
    “There was an incident. There’s no reason for you to be concerned.”
    “Easy for you to say. Larry! Larry, Itoldyou there was a murder. The cops are right here.” She poked her head back out. “He wants to get his vid cam. Get something we can show the kids tomorrow.”
    Larry, busting with smiles as he pushed the door open, led with the camera. “Hi! You think maybe you could put your hand on your weapon, maybe hold up your badge. Look tough. The kids’re going to
    love it.”
    “Now’s not really a good time, Larry.”
    “It’ll only take a minute. You going in? Great! I can just get a quick shot of the inside. Is there still blood?”
    “What, are you twelve? Put that thing down, go back in your room before I arrest you for being dirt stupid.”
    “Great! Great! Keep going.”
    “Jesus Christ, where do people come from? What dark hole vomits them out into my face? Peabody.”
    “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to go back inside now. This is a police investigation.” She lowered
    her voice as she moved to block his view. “You don’t want to tick her off. Trust me.”
    “Can you say your name? Like this is Officer Smith, ordering you to cease and desist.”
    “It’s detective, and, sir, you will have to cease and desist before”
    Eve simply stepped forward, wrenched the little camera out of his hand.
    “Hey!”
    “If you don’t want me to drop it, and have it somehow end up under my boot, you’re going to go back inside.”
    “Larry, give it a rest.” The woman elbowed him back. “I’ll take it.”
    “I got some good stuff on there,” Larry said as his wife nudged him back inside. “You can’t buy this
    kind of stuff.” The door finally shut after him.
    Eve glanced back. She knew damn well Larry had that damn camera up to the security peep. She broke the seal on room 415, jerked a thumb at Peabody. She kept the door open just enough for her partner
    to squeeze through, then followed. Closed it. Locked it.
    “Asshole.” Eve scanned the room, shook off the incident in the hall. “She comes in Friday, worked up. Got herself a new plan. Following a pattern we’ve established. Doesn’t mind hurting herself or her
    property to pin it on someone else. Complicate their lives. Pay them back. She’s laid in some supplies. We’ll check some of the markets. Harder to pin that down, though. But she’s going to have some supplies. The wine, soup, easy food.”
    “She’s already planning how to take care of herself once she’s hurt. Blockers, then,” Peabody added. “Some soothers.”
    “If she didn’t travel with enough, yeah. We’ll check that, too. Bet she has a drink first. Yeah. A big gulp of wine maybe. Maybe some solid food. Thinking, working it out.”
    Eve walked the room as she imagined it. “Does she call her killer? I don’t know, I don’t know. Why?
    This is her deal. She’s in charge. And she’s hot. She’s plenty steamed.”
    “Have to be gritting down to do that to herself.”
    “She thinks how it’s going to play out. How it’s going to make Roarke scramble. Thinks he can brush
    her off? Well, she’ll show him. Rips the socks apart. Pulls off the tag, balls it up, tosses it and pulls the pair apart. Tosses the spare, floor, dresser. Fills the one with the credits. Checks the weight. Maybe
    takes a blocker first, gets ahead of the pain.”
    Eve strode to the bathroom. “In here. You’d do it in here, in case the pain makes you sick. Don’t want
    to puke on the floor. Who’s going to clean it up?”
    Eve stepped to the sink, looked into the mirror. “Takes a good look. She’s paid good money to keep her face in tune. But that’s all right, that’s okay. There’ll be more. And there’s no way that son of a bitch is going to get away with treating her that way. He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.”
    Eve brought her fist up hard, right below the chin. Fast enough, violently enough to make Peabody jolt behind her.
    “Jeez, I could almost feel it.”
    “Saw stars. Pain grinds right down into the gut. Dizzy, half sick. Gotta do the rest, gotta do it while you’ve still got the courage, and the strength.” She mimed the blows, imagined them. Tipped forward, gripped the sink as if for support.
    “They got her prints off the sink? Where?”
    Peabody pulled out herPCC, called up the