In Death 30 - Fantasy in Death

his, as bold and bright as his red dreads. “This is going to be harder on you if you try to pick a fight with me. I don’t mind a fight, but you’re going to end up losing, and potentially being hauled down to Central for interfering with a legal search.”
    She left him stewing to walk through the loft. Lots of space, she thought again, lots of comfort. No frills, but still subtly female. Plenty of toys, game systems.
    At first glance the office appeared to belong to a disorganized teenager, but Eve saw the method under the clutter. She’d bet a month’s pay Cill could put her hands on exactly what she wanted. On the far side of the office from the workstation was a screen and several game systems.
    She could work on something, then try it out right here. Do her testing, her tweaking.
    No guest room, she noted. Not much on company.
    In the single bedroom, the sheets on the unmade bed were a tangle, projecting restless nights.
    “She just bought the suit and shoes she had on.” Peabody turned from the closet. “The bags are in here, with the receipt. Just yesterday. It’s kind of sad. She doesn’t have another black suit, or much black at all in here. So I guess she felt she needed to get something appropriate.”
    “Good-sized closet for a woman who didn’t own a black suit until yesterday.”
    “A lot of costumes—con-wear—and work clothes if you’re in e. Couple of formal things, a couple cocktail type things. But mostly it’s work and play.”
    With a nod, Eve slid open a bedside drawer. She found what she thought of as basic female self-serve sex tools, a scatter of unused memo cubes, and an e-diary.
    “She kept a journal.”
    “That’s private.” Benny stood in the doorway, fury vibrating off his skin. “If she wrote something in there, it’s private.”
    “There’s nothing private now. I don’t care about her personal thoughts, unless they pertain to the investigation. And you’re making me think I might find something here that does.”
    “That’s off. That’s so off. You don’t know her. She’s never hurt anyone in her life.”
    “Then she doesn’t have to worry. Detective, log this in, and see that it’s transported with the other electronics to Central.”
    “Yes, sir.” Peabody took the diary, slipped out.
    “You want to take me on, Benny?” Eve said quietly. “You’ve got the training, so it might be an interesting fight. Before you’re charged with assaulting a police officer, with obstruction of justice, with interfering with a legal search. Do you want to spend Bart’s memorial in a cage?”
    “I’m never going to forget this. Never.” He spun around, walked away.
    “Bet you won’t,” Eve murmured.
    She left the bedroom, crossed the length of the loft to Cill’s holoroom. To satisfy herself, she tried the log. Was denied.
    She went in search of McNab. “I want the data from the holo-log as soon as you can get it. I want to know when she last used it, and what she used it for.”
    “No problem. This place.” He let out a low whistle. “These people know how to live.”
    “Yeah. Until they don’t. Peabody,” she called out. “With me.”
    She opted to walk, and though Benny’s building was only a half a block away, chose to cover the three blocks to Var’s.
    “Who’s on this one?”
    “I put Carmichael, Foster, Callendar on this one. It’s supposed to storm tonight. Do you think it’s going to storm?”
    “How do I know? Do I look like a forecaster?”
    “I’ve got these great shoes to wear to Nadine’s party, but if it rains and we get stuck getting a cab or have to walk to the subway, they’ll get screwed.” Peabody searched the sky for answers. “If it storms I need to wear these pretty mag boots, but they’re not new. Plus the shoes are so totally uptown.”
    “Peabody? Your footwear is of absolutely no interest to me, and at the moment the source of mild annoyance.”
    “Since it’s only mild, let me continue. I sprang for a new outfit, too. It seemed like a good excuse for one. Nadine’s book, fancy deal. And the Icove case was ours. I’m in the book and all that. I want to look complete. What are you wearing?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t care.”
    “You have to.” To bring the point home, Peabody stabbed Eve’s arm with her finger. “You’re like the star of the book.”
    “I am not the star of the book.” The idea was horrifying. “The case is the star of the book.”
    “Who was in charge of the