Thankless in Death

while Boyd took his wife’s hand, tried to keep her calm. The coffee, she decided, hit somewhere between the horrors of cop coffee and the joys of Roarke coffee. She couldn’t complain.
    “Listen, I haven’t seen or spoken or had any contact with Jerry since he was about eleven.”
    “Give me your assessment of him, at eleven. No filters, Mr. Boyd. Honest take, you worked with a lot of kids. You have a take.”
    “Okay.” He shoved a hand back through his hair. “Lazy, arrogant, sneaky. Not wild, not right-in-your-face, but he had an edge, and under the edge, he— God, he was a kid.”
    “Honest,” Eve repeated.
    “Soft. Look at him crosswise, he took offense. A backbiter. He was pretty good at the game, and he’d have gotten better with some discipline, some practice. He’d miss or come late for practice all the time, always had an excuse.”
    He still had his wife’s hand, and looked at her briefly before he turned his gaze back to Eve. “I didn’t like him, that’s honest. I was glad when he quit, and I felt bad about it. But he was a problem, and I wasn’t sorry to lose him.”
    Eve nodded, glanced at Flynn. “He was a little bastard, now he’s a bigger one. And he’s a killer. You’ve got a good place here, pretty good security, but it wouldn’t take much to get past it. Not with some planning, and he’s learning how to plan. He slips in behind somebody, poses as maintenance, delivery. You’ve got a nice family, Mr. Boyd.”
    “All right. All right. We’ll take protection.”
    “That’s good. When any of you go out, don’t go alone. If you see him—and this goes for you, Flynn—don’t engage, get to a safe place, back home or a public place, and contact the police.”
    “For how long?” Boyd asked.
    “I wish I could tell you. Finding him, stopping him, is my priority.”
    “She won’t stop,” Roarke added. “Until he’s in a cage, she won’t stop. I can promise you that.”
    “You’ll have an officer here within the hour,” Eve said as she rose. “And around the clock until this is done.”
    “Thank you. I’ll walk you out.”
    “I’ll do it, Mom.” Sari got to her feet, walked to the door. “I know who you are,” she said quietly. “I recognize you both. I’ll tell them after you go. They’re too upset to recognize you, I think.” She managed a smile. “They’ll feel safer when they know who you are.”
    “Stay together,” Eve advised. “That’s safer, too.”

16
    THE LIGHTS OF HOME GLIMMERED AGAINST the dark. As she drove through the gates the wind began to whip, lashing denuded trees, sending out a whistling groan.
    It’s going to be a rough night
, she thought,
in more ways than one
.
    As she got out of the car, that fierce wind clawed at her coat, sent it billowing.
    “What?” she demanded when Roarke grinned at her.
    “The wind, the gloom, the halos of light. You look like some otherworldly warrior queen about to battle.”
    “I don’t know about that, but the battle sounds about right.”
    She pushed her way in, assumed the first stage of battle started in the foyer as Summerset gave her a cool stare.
    “Ah, you did remember where you live.”
    “I keep hoping you’ll forget.”
    He merely shifted his attention to Roarke as Eve shrugged out of her coat, and the cat hurried over to rub against her legs.
    “Your aunt contacted me to let you know your family will arrive tomorrow as planned. I estimate their ETA here at two P.M . our time.”
    “Good. I’ll do what I can to be here for their arrival.”
    “I should hope. Richard DeBlass also confirmed. They arrived in New York this evening. The children are very excited.” His eyes pinned Eve now. “Nixie is particularly excited to see you, be here with you.”
    “I’ll be here,” Eve snapped back. Sometime. Somehow. God.
    And because she could see Nixie as she first had—cowering, covered with her parents’ blood, shaking in the shower where she’d hidden, Eve went straight up the stairs and into her home office with a new weight on her shoulders.
    “What am I supposed to do?” she demanded when Roarke came in behind her.
    “Exactly what you need to do.” He set the comp down. “And right now? It’s eat dinner.”
    “Jesus, lay off, will you? I have work. I need to update my board, check in with Peabody, Baxter, and Trueheart, and the cops I put on various protection details. I need to cross with Feeney and start pushing on hotels because the son of a bitch