Remember When

Customers who ask for them specifically when they're planning a trip."
    "She'd have a customer list."
    "Absolutely. There's probably some legal thing I'm supposed to do before I agree to give that to you, but I'm not going to waste my time or yours. I have all my employees' passcodes. I'll give it to you. You can copy anything you feel might help off her work unit."
    "I appreciate your cooperation."
    "She was a delightful woman. She made me laugh, and she did a good job for me. I never knew her to hurt anyone. I'll do whatever I can to help you find who did this to her. She was one of my girls, you know. She was one of mine."
    It took an hour to copy the files, search through and document the contents of the workstation and interview the other employees.
    Every one of Andrea's coworkers had gone out with her to clubs, bars, parties, with dates, without dates. There was a great deal of weeping but little new to be learned.
    Eve could barely wait to get away from the scent of grief and lipdye.
    "Start doing a standard run on the names on her customer base. I'm going to check in with Samantha Gannon and verbally smack this asshole ME around."
    "Morris?"
    "No, Morris is tanning his fine self on some tropical beach. We caught Duluc. She's slower than a one-legged snail. I'm going to warm up with her, then, if there's time, drop-kick Dickhead," she added, referring to the chief lab tech.
    "Boy, that should round out the morning. Then maybe we can have lunch."
    "We're dealing with the cleaning service before the morgue and lab. Didn't you have breakfast a couple hours ago?"
    "Yeah, but if I start nagging you about lunch now, you'll cave before I get faint from hunger."
    "Detectives eat less often than aides."
    "I never heard that. You're just saying that to scare me." She trotted on her increasingly uncomfortable shoes after Eve. "Right?"

20
    Maid in New York was a pared-down, storefront operation that put all its focus and frills into the services. This was explained to Eve with some snippiness by the personnel manager, who reigned in an office even smaller and stingier than Eve's at Central.
    "We keep the overhead to a minimum," Ms. Tesky of the sensible bun and shoes informed Eve.
    "Our clients aren't interested in our offices-and rarely come here in any case-but are concerned about their own offices and homes."
    "I can see why," Eve observed, and Tesky's nostrils pinched. It was sort of interesting to watch.
    "Our employees are the product, and all are strictly and comprehensively interviewed, tested, screened, trained and must meet the highest of standards in personal appearance, demeanor and skill. Our clients are also screened, to ensure our employees' safety."
    "I just bet they are."
    "We provide residential and business housekeeping services, in teams, pairs or individually. We use human and droid personnel. We service all of greater New York and New Jersey and will, upon request, arrange for maids to travel with a client who requires or desires approved out-of-town, out-of-country and even off-planet services."
    "Right." She wondered how many of the maids were also licensed companions, but it didn't really apply. "I'm interested in the employee or employees who handled Samantha Gannon's residence."
    "I see. Do you have a warrant? I consider our personnel and client files confidential."
    "I bet you do. I could get a warrant. A little time, a little trouble, but I could get a warrant. But because you made me take that time and that trouble when I'm investigating a murder-a really nasty, messy murder, by the way, that's going to take a whole slew of your mighty maids to tidy up-I'm going to wonder why you slowed me down. I'm going to ask myself, Hey, I wonder what Ms. Testy-"
    "Tes-ky."
    "Right. What she has to hide. I have a suspicious mind, that's why I got to be a lieutenant. So when I get that warrant, and I start wondering those things, I'm going to dig, and I'm going to keep digging, getting my suspicious little finger smears all over your nice tidy files. We'll just have to give INS a heads up so they can breeze in here and make another big mess, making sure you didn't miss any illegals in all that testing and screening."
    The nostrils pinched again, even as a thin breath hooted up them. "Your implication is insulting."
    "People keep saying that to me. The fact that I'm innately suspicious and insulting means I'll probably make a bigger mess than those anal-retentives in INS. Won't I, Detective Peabody?"
    "As