In Death 26 - Strangers in Death

going to toss her out, stop the programs, cancel the scholarships, destroy everything she’d put in motion unless she gave in. It was making her sick.”
    “You had to feel awfully sorry for her,” Peabody prompted. “And upset at the idea he’d take all that away from her. And your boys, too.”
    “I did. God. I didn’t know what to think. I could hardly believe it. He seemed like such a nice man. But she broke down, just broke down, went to pieces. She said she’d found out he was abusing some of the kids, the girls, and she couldn’t do anything about it. No one would believe her, and how he had to be stopped.”
    “When was this?” Eve demanded.
    “Last summer. Like July. Kids were in camp, and I was doing a little work for her on a Sunday at her house.”
    “Just the two of you, right? Nobody else there.”
    “Yeah, yeah. And what set her off was she was talking to one of the women’s shelters about one of the mothers who had kids in the program, about getting her job training and stuff, and when she finished, she just fell to pieces.”
    “Convenient.”
    Bebe’s head snapped up at Eve’s comment. “It wasn’t like that. It’s just, she was so upset, and it all came pouring out. He was away, her husband. He went away a lot. There was so much on her, you know? And now he’s saying if she doesn’t fall in line, she’s out on her ass, and all those kids…my kids. I said something about there had to be a way to stop him, to protect herself, to protect the kids. She said, the only way to stop him, a man with his kind of power, his kind of sickness, was if he was dead. How it was horrible to say, but she wished he was dead, and sometimes after he went at her, she’d lie there and think of how it could be done. How he could have an accident, if she had someone she could trust and depend on to help her. How if he had an accident, the kids would all be safe. My kids would be safe.”
    “What kind of accident did she suggest?”
    “She didn’t. She didn’t because I cut her off. I cut her off because there was something in her eyes that made me think she wasn’t just imagining it. I know something about that, something about that look.”
    As if exhausted, Bebe covered her face with her hands. “She wanted it. God, she wanted him dead, and she wanted me to help her. So I cut her off and started on about how she should talk to someone, like they were always telling us in the seminars. How she should make the break, and move on. He wouldn’t really cut the programs because it would make him look bad. Stuff like that, and I got out. I got out as soon as I could, even though she backed off, told me I was right. She’d just had a bad moment, and she made me promise I wouldn’t talk about what she’d said with anyone. It wouldn’t be good for the programs.”
    Bebe heaved out a long breath. “She didn’t get in touch after that to ask me to volunteer. I figured she was embarrassed. And when I went to the retreat, the last one I went to at the end of August, she avoided me. When I pinned her about it, because, I guess, I thought we were friends—sort of friends—she was really cold. Ice cold. Told me she was a very busy woman, with a lot of responsibilities, how I should remember all she’d done for my boys, and be grateful for that. How I should take care of them, and myself, concentrate on that so…so the scholarships didn’t go away.”
    “Did you notice her being friendly with anyone in particular at that retreat?”
    “I stayed away from her. Like you said, my father used me. My brothers. Then I put myself in the position so the johns could use me, and the dealers. I stopped letting myself be used and I met Luca.”
    Resentment, and some of the spit came back in her eyes. “I got it, okay? I got it. After that, she was using me. I didn’t blame her so much, considering, but I wasn’t going to put myself in that spot again. So I stayed away.”
    “Smart move.”
    “Is that enough? Is that want you wanted?”
    “It ain’t bad.”
    “You’re going to push for them to open Luca’s case? You’re going to do that?”
    “I did it this morning,” Eve told her. “The two cops you made who had lunch in the place you work are supposed to be good, and they’re picking it up. They’ll be in touch with you after they review the file.”
    “You…why did you do that when I didn’t give you anything for it?”
    “Because your husband deserved better than he got. Because it