In Death 31 - Indulgence in Death

on it.”
    “Why my ass?” Eyes slitted, Peabody jabbed a finger in the air. “Because it’s bigger? Because it has more padding? That’s hitting below the belt.”
    “Your ass is below your belt. I’d bet mine, too, if it makes you feel better.”
    “Let’s bet Roarke’s ass, because really, in my opinion, of the three of us his is the best.”
    “Fine. We’ll bet all the asses on it. They’ve killed before. Together most likely, impulse, accident, deliberately—that I don’t know yet. But I’d bet Mira’s shrink’s ass that the kill is what turned this corner for them. That, and getting away with it.”
    “Mira has a really nice ass.”
    “I’m sure she’d be thrilled to know you think so.”
    “Jeez, don’t tell her I said that.” Peabody’s wince included a defensive hunch of shoulders. “I was just following the theme.”
    “Follow this theme,” Eve suggested. “Probability is high, factoring the prevailing theory is correct, that Dudley and/or Moriarity killed, by accident or design, within the last year. I got an eighty-nine-point-nine when I ran that last night. Take it further into the theme, and assume this is also correct, it’s very likely the kill took place when they were together, and they conspired to cover up the crime. With this success, they opted to create a competition so they could revisit the thrill of that experience.”
    “As whacked as it is, it makes more sense than the ‘Hey, let’s go out and kill people’ idea.”
    “They might’ve been traveling, business, vacation. Both of them spend more time bouncing around than pretending to work in New York. I want to track their travel over the past year, then search for missing persons or unsolved murders, unattended or suspicious deaths in the location during that time frame.”
    “It’s possible they killed someone who wouldn’t be missed.”
    “Yeah, but we start with what we can do. I think there will be two.”
    Peabody nodded slowly. “One for each of them. They’d need to start even. Jesus, it just gets sicker.”
    “And the next round’s coming up.”

    R oarke had no particular fondness for golf. He played rarely, and only as an overture and addendum to business. While he appreciated the mathematics and science of the game, he preferred sports that generated more sweat and risk. Still, he found it simple and satisfying to entertain a business partner with a round, especially when he’d arranged it to coincide with Dudley’s and Moriarity’s morning tee time.
    He changed from his suit to khakis and a white golf shirt in one of the private dressing areas, then waiting for his guest in one of the lounge sections, passed the time with golfing highlights on the entertainment screen.
    When he spotted Dudley stepping out of a dressing area, he rose and strolled toward the refreshment bar at an angle designed to have their paths crossing. He paused, nodded casually.
    “Dudley.”
    The man’s eyebrows rose. “Roarke. I didn’t know you were a member.”
    “I don’t get in often. Golf’s not really my game,” he said with a shrug. “But I have a business associate in town who’s mad for it. Do you play here often?”
    “Twice a week routinely. It pays to keep the game sharp.”
    “I suppose it does, and as I haven’t when it comes to golf, I doubt I’ll give Su much of a challenge.”
    “What’s your handicap?”
    “Twelve.”
    Roarke watched Dudley smirk, an expression of derision the man didn’t bother to mask. “That’s why it pays to keep the game sharp.”
    “I suppose so. You?”
    “Oh, I run at eight.”
    “I think that’s what Su hits. I should send him along with you. He’d have a better time of it.”
    Dudley let out a short laugh, then signaled. Roarke turned, gave Moriarity another casual nod as he approached.
    “I didn’t know you played here,” Moriarity said when he joined them.
    “Rarely.”
    “Roarke’s entertaining a business associate with a round, though he claims golf isn’t his game.”
    “It’s the perfect way to mix business and pleasure,” Moriarity commented, “if you possess any skill.”
    “What’s one without the other? David.” Roarke turned again, drawing the lean man with the silver-speckled black skullcap of hair into the group. “David Su, Winston Dudley and Sylvester Moriarity. David and I have some mutual interests in Olympus Resort, among others.”
    “A pleasure.” David offered his hand to both. “Would Winston Dudley