In Death 29 - Kindred in Death

the noses of two cops. He did exactly what he’d come to do, and had the extra benefit of watching us act like morons. What the fuck happened?”
    “I don’t know.” He took her elbow to steer her through the Fifth Avenue throng. “I saw you go down, but by the time I was able to get through that mass of panic, you were gone. I came after you when Trueheart said you’d gone in pursuit.”
    “A lot of good it did me. He was lost before I hit the sidewalk.”
    As she approached the building, arrowing through the people congregating on the sidewalk, Peabody came down the main stairs.
    “Gone,” Eve said.
    “Damn it.” Peabody hissed out a breath, then winced at Eve’s face. “I thought I took a knock,” she said, tapping ginger fingers to the bruise on her cheek. “You took harder.”
    “Let’s go clean this mess up. What do you know?” Eve demanded as they went back in.
    “The best I can get is some hair-trigger tackled some kid, and another cop helped him wrestle the kid to the ground and restrain him. Panic ensued. We’ve got all parties in one of the private parlors upstairs. Baxter’s riding herd there. Whitney’s with the MacMasterses, and is to be advised when you’re back on site. We had to call in MTs. People got bruised and bloodied. We’ve got a really big mess, Dallas.”
    “Clean up what you can on the periphery, and inform Whitney I’m talking to the officers and the civilian involved. My communicator’s toast.”
    “Why don’t I speak to whoever manages this place,” Roarke suggested. “Smooth over what I can.”
    “Couldn’t hurt. But I’m going to speak to him later. Son of a bitch.” Eve squared her shoulders and went up to the second level.
    The scent of lilies and roses was stronger now, probably because so many of them lay trampled. She skirted around broken glass, puddles of water, to where Trueheart stood outside a door.
    “We got the word on the suspect, Lieutenant. Sorry. Ah, Baxter has the two officers involved here, and the kid. We brought in an MT to look at the kid. He’s got some bruises.”
    “Perfect. Just perfect.”
    She stepped inside, closed the door at her back.
    A male of about eighteen sat in a blinding-white chair while a grizzled MT checked his pupils.
    “I’m okay,” the boy said. “Mostly just got the shit and the wind knocked out of me. I’m okay.”
    “I get called to take a look atcha, I take a look atcha.”
    The MT ran a wand over the bruise on the boy’s jaw.
    Eve spared a glance toward the two cops slumped on a sofa of the same blinding white, flicked one to Baxter who rolled his eyes heavenward.
    Yeah, she thought, call on that higher power. We’re going to need it.
    “I’m Lieutenant Dallas,” she told the boy.
    “Ah, yeah, hi. I’m Zach. Can I just get out of here now? I need to find Kelly. I came with Kelly. She went to school with the dead girl. I just came with Kelly because she was freaked about seeing the dead girl.”
    “What’s Kelly’s full name?”
    “Kelly Nims. Everything went whacked in there, and I don’t know if she’s okay.”
    “Detective Baxter, have someone find Ms. Nims.”
    “Yes, sir, right away.”
    “Thanks. I’ll feel better once I know she’s frosted. We’re tight, and like I said, she was already freaked.”
    He bore a surface resemblance to Pauley, she noted. The basic build, coloring, the shaggy hair. She noted the ball cap in his lap.
    “Zach, I’d like to apologize for the unfortunate occurrences, and any inconvenience you’ve experienced. And also to assure you, I’ll look into this thoroughly and personally.”
    “I was just standing there, then it’s like I got hit by a maxibus and I’m chewing carpet, and everybody’s yelling and running. I think somebody stepped on me. These guys, they put cuffs on me, and I could hear Kelly screaming. But the air’s knocked out of me, you know? I couldn’t do anything. It was weird, but . . .” He smiled a little. “Kind of iced, too. They said stuff about my rights and all. Am I supposed to call a lawyer?”
    She hoped to hell he didn’t. Any lawyer worth a single billable hour would snatch him for a client and sue the department up the ass and out again.
    “You’re not in any trouble, Zach. It was a mistake, a very regrettable one. Again, I hope you’ll accept my personal apology.”
    “Sure. No big really.”
    Baxter slipped back in. “Kelly’s fine, Zach. She’s waiting for you right outside.”
    “Straight. So,