Remember When

Eve rode the miserably crowded elevator another three floors before she bailed and switched to the glide for the rest of the trip to Commander Whitney's office.
    Whitney suited his rank. He was a commanding man with a powerful build and a steely mind.
    The lines dug around his eyes and mouth only added to the image of leadership, and the toll it took on the man.
    His skin was dark, and his hair had sprinkles of gray, like dashes of salt. He sat at his desk, surrounded by his com unit, his data center, disk files and the framed holos of his wife and family.
    Eve respected the man, the rank and what he'd accomplished. And secretly marveled he'd kept his sanity between the job and a wife who lived to socialize.
    "Commander, I apologize for being late. I was detained at the lab."
    He brushed that away with one of his huge hands. "Progress?"
    "Sir. My case and Detective Baxter's connect through Samantha Gannon."
    "So I see from the files."
    "Further information has come to light after a follow-up interview with Gannon this morning: We're pursuing the possibility that Alex Crew's son or another connection or descendant may be involved in the current cases."
    She sat only because he pointed to a chair. She preferred giving her orals standing. She relayed the details of the morning interview.
    "Captain Feeney is handling the search personally," she continued. "I haven't yet spoken with him this afternoon, but have word there's been some progress in that area."
    "The son would be in his sixties. A bit old to have interested a girl of Cobb's age."
    "Some are attracted to older men for their experience, their stability. And he may have passed as younger." Though she doubted it. "More likely, he has a partner he used to get to Cobb. If this link holds, Commander, there are numerous possibilities. Judith Crew may have remarried, had another child, and that child may have learned of the diamonds and Gannon. Westley Crew may have children, and have passed his father's story to them, much as Gannon was passed the family legend. But it's someone with a proprietary interest. I feel certain of it, and Mira's profile concurs.
    I hope to have an artist rendering shortly.
    "We got a break through the lab. There was trace of a fire-retardant substance on Cobb. A sealant, professional-grade. We'll run it down and concentrate on buildings near the dump site.
    He's been very careful, Commander, and this was a big mistake. One I don't believe he would have made if he had applied the sealant himself. Why kill her on or around flame-retardant material when you plan to light her up? It's too basic a mistake for this guy. Once we find the crime scene, we're a big step closer to finding him."
    "Then find it." He shifted when his interoffice 'link signaled. "Yes."
    "Commander, Detectives Peabody and Yancy."
    "Send them in."
    "Commander, Lieutenant." Peabody angled over so Yancy, the Ident artist, could precede her.
    "We thought it would be more expedient if Detective Yancy reported to both of you at once."
    "Wish I had more." He handed out printouts and a disk. "I worked with the witness for three hours. I think I got her close, but I'm not passing out cigars. You can only lead them so far," he explained, and studied the printout image Eve held. "And you can tell when they're just making things up, or mixing them up, or just going along so you'll finish and let them go."
    Eve stared at the rendering and tried to see a resemblance to Alex Crew. Maybe, maybe around the eyes. Or maybe she just wanted to see it.
    But this was no sixty-year-old man.
    "She tried," Yancy continued. "Really gave it her best shot. If we'd gotten to her closer to the time she saw the guy, I think we could've nailed it down. But a lot of time's passed, and she sees dozens of men at her tables every day. Once we got to a certain point, she was just tossing in features at random."
    "Hypnosis could juggle her memory."
    "I tried that," he said to Eve. "Mentioned it to her, and she freaked. No way, no how. Added to that, she caught a media report on the murder, and she's freaked about that. This is going to be the best we get."
    "But is it him?" Eve demanded.
    Yancy puffed out his cheeks, then deflated them. "I'd say we're on, as far as the skin tone, the hair, the basic shape of the face. Eyes, the shape's close, but I wouldn't bank on color. She thought age-wise, late twenties, early thirties, then admitted that was because of the age of the girl. She bounced to thirties, back to