Obsession in Death

She sent McNab ahead, finished things up by talking to the beat cops. She wanted the neighborhood covered, visibly. Then she carted the takeaway – soup, pie, and garlic bread sticks Casey added in as, in his words, an apology for getting in her way.

 

She started to stow it in the back of the All-Terrain, realized she’d probably forget about it, so put it on the passenger seat.

 

Then made damn sure all the auto anti-theft bells and whistles were in play.

 

Since they knew she was on the way, Eve didn’t bother to buzz up, but used her master.

 

How many times had she climbed these stairs, she wondered, before Roarke? Couldn’t count them. She’d gotten stuck in the elevator once for over a half hour – and that had been the last time she’d used it, even when her ass had been dragging.

 

She thought of Peabody and McNab happily cohabbing, of Mavis and her family with their color and life. Was the building more content now that she wasn’t dragging blood and death in with her every night?

 

And that stupid thought, she admitted, was a direct result of frustration and just plain pissiness at having lost her quarry.

 

She’d make this quick, just do a check, reinforce precautions, then take her soup and sour mood home. Roarke had to deal with her moods. It was in the marriage rules.

 

She rapped on the door. The shriek blew out the second it opened. Eve’s hand flew to her weapon, had it nearly drawn when the wild laughter followed.

 

“What the hell.”

 

Leonardo – another mountain, but in fashionable trousers of dull gold and a knee-length vest over a black sweater, smiled at her. “We told Bella you were coming.”

 

Bella toddled across the floor as fast as her chubby little legs could manage, her face beaming smiles under its curly mass of sunny hair. She wore a rainbow, or so it seemed, with pretty pale colors swirling everywhere on some sort of skirted jumpsuit her father had, no doubt, designed for her.

 

Her boots were pink poodles.

 

She said, “Das!” and threw her arms around Eve’s legs.

 

“Okay. Why is she always so happy? What do you feed her?”

 

“She has her mama’s sunny outlook.”

 

“Das, Das, Das!” Still beaming, Bella held up her arms.

 

It was weird picking a kid up off the ground, and always made her worry she’d drop her. Weirder yet to have the kid slap its chubby – and a little bit sticky – hands on her cheeks, look deep and directly into her eyes, and rattle off the incomprehensible.

 

“You should run her through a translator,” Eve said. “It would be interesting.”

 

Bella threw back her head, laughed like a loon, then planted her mouth – also a little bit sticky – on Eve’s, and made an exaggerated mmmmmmmaaa! sound.

 

“Candy. No wonder you’re always happy. They stuff you with candy.”

 

“Fruity Drops,” Leonardo corrected. “All natural. Ben and Steve went out to do a circuit, they called it, around a two-block area. You think she was coming here.” He reached out with his big hand, brushed it gently, gently, over Bella’s curls.

 

“I don’t. I think she was casing the building, trying to get a feel. If she’s got Mavis on her list, she isn’t going to try for her when you’re here. She ran from an unarmed woman, Leonardo. Your security’s already gone over all the protocols and procedures with you, but I want to add mine.”

 

“McNab’s working on the apartment’s security, doing something so that if it goes off, it’ll signal in their place.”

 

“That’s good thinking. He’s full of that today.”

 

“Mavis took Peabody in to look at her costume for the ball drop. I’m going to go get them. I’m glad you’re here.” He gave Eve’s arm a squeeze, held her gaze with eyes full of worry and gratitude. “Glad you’re here, and looking out for my girls.”

 

“You forgot to take —”

 

The kid, she thought, but he’d swept away.

 

It looked nothing like her place anymore, not with its colorful swags of fabric, its bold and bright pillows, the scatter of dolls and little toys.

 

It had to be safe to put the kid down, she decided. She lived here.

 

At that moment Bella yanked on the chain, mostly hidden under Eve’s shirt, and pulled out the diamond about the size of the kid’s fist.

 

“Ahhhh,” she said, eyes shining. “Ba-ba!”

 

“Yeah, I bet. Mine.”

 

Eve tugged to get it back; Bella tugged to get it.

 

“Ba-ba! Das!” Then with a flutter of her lashes she stroked Eve’s cheek with the hand not currently in a vise grip on the chain, said, “Das,” again in a seductive tone that made Eve laugh.

 

“Forget it, kid. I’m not giving you the rock because you’re pretty.”

 

Through those fluttering lashes Eve spied what she could only describe as fierce determination. “Ba-ba,” she said again, in a tone Eve recognized as a threat.

 

“Seriously? You’re short and I’m armed. And this is my ba-ba or whatever.” She started to set Bella down, but the kid held the chain in a death grip, leaving Eve the choice of prying the pudgy little fingers loose or going down to her knees.

 

She went down.

 

“Come on, give it up.”

 

With a smile – and damn if it wasn’t sly – Bella popped the diamond into her mouth.

 

Eve’s brain just froze.

 

“Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ!”

 

Bella smiled at her, little pink lips tight as drums.

 

“Stop doing that. Stop it. You can’t eat that. Open up. I mean it.” Panic sweat rolled down her spine in a thin, cold river. “No kid who hasn’t had her first birthday gets to choke on a diamond. Shit, shit, shit! Spit it out.”

 

Desperate, she considered turning the kid upside down and shaking the diamond loose, then said, “Spit it out. Please.”

 

Bella spat it out, said perfectly, “Shit!” She plopped onto her butt giggling madly as Mavis danced in. “Mama! Shit!”

 

Mavis narrowed her eyes at Eve.

 

“It’s not my fault.” Jesus God, she thought, she was actually short of breath. “She tried to eat this.” Eve held up the spit-covered diamond. “Why would anybody leave me alone with her?”

 

“Ba-ba!” Bella made a grab for it, but this time Eve snatched it out of reach. The little chin quivered, tears swam into the big blue eyes.

 

“It’s Dallas’s bauble.” Mavis plucked Bella up, gave her a swing. How she managed to spin a couple circles in the mile-high red boots was a testament to agility and balance skills. “Go get Bella’s baubles. Show Dallas Bella’s baubles.”

 

“Ba-ba!” Tears banished, Bella wiggled down and toddled off.

 

“She likes to play dress-up, so I give her some junk jewelry.” Mavis pulled a pack of wipes out of some hidden pocket, passed them to Eve. “She knows better than to put things in her mouth, but it’s so shiny.”

 

“She knows how to say ‘bauble’?”

 

“It’s one of her favorites.” She glanced back, hearing Bella jabber, and Peabody answer. “Are we okay, Dallas?”

 

“You’re okay.”

 

Mavis pushed at her hair, a curling mass of electric blue today. “Leonardo wants us to go to a hotel, but —”

 

“You’re good here. Better here. In fact, I’d say we scared her off. She’s going to think twice about trying for this place, for you. You’ve got security in-house, you’ve got two cops wired in. Just don’t be alone, Mavis. Not even for a few minutes.”

 

Then she heaved out a breath. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t pull that with me. Not with me.” Mavis threw her arms around Eve, squeezed hard. “I want some wine. We’ll all have some wine.”

 

“Not for me. I can’t stay. I just want to go over some of the basics. Number one, after not being alone, is you don’t answer the door. Not until I have her, Mavis. You don’t answer the door. Whoever does —”

 

“Checks the monitors, verifies, and all that. I know how it works. My bestie’s a cop.”

 

“I’m going to get her, Mavis.”

 

“DFS.” She took another glance back toward the bedrooms. “Damn fucking straight.”

 

“McNab’s nearly done,” Leonardo announced as he came in.

 

“Good. I want to hit some of the non-negotiables with you and Mavis. I’m going to tell you to be careful, but not to worry. She’s not going to get past the wall.”

 

“Not worried. See any worry?” Mavis tapped her forehead. “Smooth as Bellamina’s bottom. Careful’s the top. We’ve got good reasons for careful.” She reached for Leonardo’s hand, gave it a kiss. “Babycakes, would you open a bottle of wine? Dallas says not for her, but I could sure use a nice glass.”

 

“Whatever she says to do, you’ll do?”

 

Mavis swiped her finger over her heart, kissed it, then laid it on his lips. “Mega promise, not to be broken.”

 

“I’ll open the wine.”

 

Mavis waited until he’d moved out of earshot. “Don’t tell me to cancel the ball drop. Mega promise, so I have to if you say. Don’t say.”

 

“I won’t. No way she’s going to go after you there. She runs, and she goes for solo, goes for alone. You make the mega promise you’re never alone. Not at rehearsals or pre-gig or post-gig, whatever it is.”

 

Once again Mavis swiped her heart. “No chances. I’ve got two of the maggest of mag reasons for staying safe.” She turned as Peabody came in with Bella, both of them draped in baubles.

 

“There’s one of them.”

 

Bella held out her arms, did the toddler version of a model’s turn. “Ba-ba!”

 

She pulled off a gaudy bangle bracelet and, smiling sweetly, offered it to Eve.

 

“You think I’m going to trade?” Eve slipped the thoroughly wiped diamond back under her shirt, then crouched. “Disappointment, kid. Get used to it.”

 

Bella only laughed, threw her arms around Eve’s neck. “Slooch,” she said in obvious delight, and pressed her sticky lips to Eve’s cheek.

 

Eve sat for twenty minutes after the security team returned, amazed and baffled that Bella insisted on crawling onto and staying on her lap while she talked of procedure and code words.

 

Then again, maybe the kid was plotting how she’d get her hands – or her mouth – on the diamond again.

 

Eve took another long scan of the street when she left, then turned, studied the windows of Mavis’s apartment. Bright and colorful for the holidays, tree shining in the center of the glass.

 

Baubles, she supposed.

 

Mavis would be smart. She’d survived the street for years, and knew how to be smart. And she’d be only smarter and more careful because she had family.

 

As safe as possible, Eve assured herself, and got in the car.

 

Time to go the hell home, she thought. She, too, had family. And she wanted to be home, with her family, eating takeout soup and pie.

 

As soon as she figured the best way to get the hell out of this parking space.

 

 

 

 

J.D. Robb's books