In Death 30 - Fantasy in Death

case?”
    “I’m going to show you my current footwear, Peabody, up close when my boot connects with your nose.”
    “It’s usually my ass, so that’s a nice change.” She stopped, tipped down her shaded glasses to study Var’s building. “Post-Urban. One of those temps that became permanent. It’s in good shape, though. Good security again. He’s on the top two floors, roof access. I bet it’s a nice view from up on the roof.”
    Inside, they rode up to ten.
    “I bet you guys are taking a limo tonight,” Peabody said with some envy.
    “I don’t know. I don’t care.”
    “Easy not to care when you have a limo just by snapping your fingers.”
    Eve sighed. She supposed it was. “Look, if I get you and McNab a limo will you stop whining, and say nothing more about your damn shoes or anything else about the damn party?”
    Peabody let out a very uncoplike squeal and grabbed Eve in a hug before Eve could evade it. “Yes! Yes! Wow. Thanks, Dallas. Serious thanks. I can wear my new . . . I can stop having any concerns about the weather.”
    Eve shoved her back, struggled to realign her dignity as they stepped out.
    Var didn’t command the entire floor, but took the west side of it.
    He went for more muted tones, she concluded. More masculine, and a style she found more restful than that of his other two partners. In furniture, he’d gone sleek leaning toward avant-garde, curved shapes, sharp angles.
    Order, she mused, a certain style and clean to the point of shining. Unlike Cill he avoided clutter, but he shared her predilection for mega-e in comps, systems, screens, toys. A display held a collection of weapons—props, she noted, toys again. No reals.
    She studied the contents of his fridge—all liquids. Wines, beers, soft and power drinks. He relied on the AutoChef for food and had that well-stocked. Like Bart’s, she mused, heavy on the pizza, burgers, tacos, sweets. Steaks, she noted, potato sides, big on fried.
    Guy food.
    “His place is neater than hers,” Peabody observed. “Seems more organized, and more stylish.”
    “She has her own organizational style, but yes, tidier.”
    She moved onto his office, where Callendar was already at work on the comps. She said, “Yo.”
    “Nice setup.”
    “Nice? Baby, it’s rocket. Like total command center. From the main comp, he can control all the systems, the screens, even the ones in other rooms. He can multitask, no problem, but he adds to those capabilities with the aux. Workstation’s equipped with built-in smart screen. Oh, he gets hungry? He can command the AutoChef here or in any of the rooms. Have one of the droids serve it up.”
    “How many droids?”
    “He’s got three, no human replicas, straight mechanical. I haven’t gotten there yet, but my guess is cleaning, serving, security, that kind of deal.”
    “Get me everything there is to get.”
    Callendar wiggled her shoulders. “Good thing I’d be happy staying here all day.”
    Eve stepped out.
    “You can see why they’re friends.” Peabody gestured toward the bedroom closet. “Lots of costumes, lots of work gear. He’s got better clothes than the woman, but basically it’s the same deal. And like hers, and the vic’s for that matter, this room like the rest of them is set up for lots of play. Not bedroom type play, game play. Not bedroom game play, but—”
    “I get it, Peabody.”
    The bed, a roomy platform with a padded headboard, was neatly made with a good all-weather duvet and a few plumped pillows.
    “No sex toys,” she announced. “Memo cubes, unused, a couple of handheld games, over-the-counter sleep aid.”
    “Bathroom kicks ass,” Peabody called out. “Bubble tub, multi-jet steam shower, sauna deck, music, screen and VR systems built in, drying tube, the works.”
    “Check for meds and illegals.”
    She toured the rest, the second bedroom outfitted for games, a small, well-outfitted home gym, and as she’d expected, a holo-room.
    She gave Callendar the same instructions as she had McNab, called Peabody, then headed out to check the last space.
    “Baxter, Trueheart, and Feeney,” Peabody told her before she asked. “Feeney wanted in.”
    “He just wants to play with the toys. Impressions so far?”
    “They live and work as they please, and they live their work. She’s busy, likes to have several things going at once, so she’s got clutter because she doesn’t necessarily finish one thing before going to the next. She does a little cooking