Authors: J. D. Robb
Vendetta in Death (26 page)
Darla sent Peabody an amused look. “We’d be better off smothering males at birth, but until we find a way to propagate without them?” She shrugged. “Young boys grow into men, and men have a fatal flaw
in their programming. The solution may be in droids, or a human/droid hybrid. I hope to begin work on that solution when this initial phase is complete.”
The business plan Roarke spoke of, Eve realized.
“Sure.” Bat-shit crazy, Eve thought. “But let’s stick with the initial phase for now. Start with McEnroy, walk us through your work there.”
“All right. I’m really quite proud of it. Justifiably.”
She told them everything, every step, and her only emotion was that pride.
Licks of anger came through as she spoke of her ex-husband. “I shouldn’t be so upset with him.” She held up a hand, took some breaths, then let out a quick, brittle laugh. “He actually opened my eyes, gave me my purpose, so I should be grateful. Until his betrayal I was content to be under his thumb, to focus my life, even my work, to suit his needs and pleasures. If he hadn’t betrayed me, stolen from me, crushed my heart, my pride, I would still be his wife, still be used by him.”
“That’s when you moved in with Eloise,” Eve prompted.
“Yes. My darling Grand opened her home to me, gave me comfort. She’s the kindest, most loving creature ever born. But naive. She believes, always has, that the man she loved was faithful, that he never strayed, never harmed another.”
Once again, she slammed a fist on the table. “He was a man, wasn’t he? But I let her hold that illusion, as accepting the truth would only hurt her. I’d never hurt Grand.”
“You drugged her,” Peabody said. “Again and again.”
“She needed rest, so I gave her rest. Sleep heals. She was very ill. I never left her alone, never! I built a medical droid to look after her when I couldn’t be there. She’s safe and sleeping now, but I have to get back before she wakes. She needs me.”
“Let’s move on to Kagen,” Eve instructed.
“Disgusting man.” Darla waved a hand in front of her face as if she
smelled something foul. “Nothing could have been easier, but being in his presence? A chore.”
Eve listened, didn’t interrupt, found no need for questions even when Darla, on her own, slid right into the details of Brinkman.
“Really, I’d barely started with him. I did begin a bit earlier than with the others but, to tell you the truth, I wanted to finish with him and get some sleep. I haven’t had much in the last several days, and using stimulants tends to make me jumpy after a long period.”
“I bet. And you had other men to deal with.”
“Of course, but that’s for tomorrow. I’m an interior designer meeting a man with a wife, and a mistress, who also found it necessary to exploit yet another woman, take her misplaced love before destroying her career. He has a property he wants redone. I’ll be Roweena Carson, and I have a marvelous costume for the scene.”
“You do realize this isn’t a vid?” Peabody asked.
With all the masks stripped away, her eyes were crazed.
Direct, Eve noted, but crazed.
“Of course, but I play the parts, dress the part these men expect before I reveal who I really am.”
“Lady Justice.”
Darla beamed at Eve. “Yes, exactly. Now that we’ve cleared this up, and you understand, I really have to get home and check on Grand.”
“Donnalou’s with her.”
“Oh.” Darla frowned. “That’s all right then. But—”
“We’re going to need you to stay. You can get some sleep, and tomorrow Dr. Mira will talk to you.”
“Oh, I’d love to meet her. I just adored her in the vid. But Grand—”
“Donnalou’s going to stay with her,” Peabody said and rose. “She’ll take care of her.”
“She’s a wonderful nurse. Still—”
“Grand’s sleeping now.” Peabody walked around the table to release
the chain, help Darla to her feet. “She’s safe, and sleeping. We could all use some sleep.”
“You’re right. I’m just exhausted. I’m glad we straightened this all out. I was angry with you at first,” she said as Peabody led her out of the room. “But then I realized, we women have to stick together. Women for women.”
Eve let out a long breath as the door closed behind them. “Peabody, Detective Delia, exiting with Pettigrew, Darla.
“Interview end.”
She sat where she was, continued to sit when Mira and Reo came in, when they sat with her at the table.
Mira spoke first. “I’ll interview and evaluate her formally tomorrow, but from my observations she doesn’t meet the threshold of legal sanity, and is unfit mentally and emotionally for trial.”
“I’m forced to agree,” Reo said. “If that wasn’t an act—”
“It’s all an act,” Eve interrupted, “but that was as real as she gets. She thinks we’ll let her go, seeing as we’re all in this big sisterhood, so she can go out and keep doing what these silly rules prevent us from doing. I guess you could say she found the role of her lifetime in Lady Justice.”
“You stopped her, very likely saved more lives, including her own. She couldn’t have maintained this facade for much longer. You can leave her to me, and to Reo now.”
Reaching across the table, Mira touched Eve’s hand. “You and Peabody should take some time off. Get some rest, soak up a little spring.”
“Yeah. Good idea.” She stood. “I’m going to write this up, and get the hell out before the brass decides I need to do a media conference.”
Reo let out a little laugh. “Run, because that’ll be coming.”
She didn’t run, but she moved fast. By the time she finished her report, signed off, her head pounded. But Roarke came in.
“Done then?”
“Yeah, it’s done.”
“We got a rundown, basically, in EDD. A trial’s unlikely, it seems.”
“Very. She’s not right, Roarke, and that’s that. Mira will take it from here.”
“And you’re all right with that?”
“It’s the way it is,” she began, then shook her head. “I’m all right with it. It’s … it’s justice, the real kind of justice. Are you still playing in EDD?”
“I’m with you, Lieutenant.”
“Great. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
He pulled out a pill case. “Take a blocker for that headache.”
“Let’s get out of here for five minutes. If I still need one, I’ll take it. Deal?”
“Deal.” He took her hand, kissed it. “You’re going to have some soup, some wine, some sleep.”
“I could live with that.” She walked out with him, too tired to object to the crowded elevator. “I’ll need to check on the status off and on. I guess you have lots of toys you want to play with, or maybe you have to make up time in your quest to own the known universe.”
“I can do both. I enjoy multitasking.”
“You’re good at it.” She got in the passenger side, kicked the seat back. “We talked about taking a few days.”
“We did.”
“So I put in for the time.”
“Did you now? Starting when?”
“Starting now.”
He glanced at her as he drove out of the garage. “Is that so?”
“I gave Peabody tomorrow, the next day if she wants it. I was thinking maybe we could go home, throw some stuff in a bag, and take off for Italy. I could bang you on the shuttle—multitasking, because banging would distract me from being up there.”
“Give me a half hour and I can make that happen.”
“I want to wake up somewhere else. Just somewhere else for a couple days and not think about sick, sad women who think killing men is not only necessary but heroic. You’ve probably got all sorts of things to do, but—”
“The villa hotel project in Italy’s important to me, and could use my attention on-site. And I’d like a few days to pay attention to my wife when she’s not working herself into the ground.”
“It’s no use telling you not to worry about me, but I’m going to take this moment to say I appreciate that you do. Even when it irritates the crap out of me, I appreciate it.”
“Your headache’s gone.”
“See? That’s irritating and appreciated—the way you just know that. So … I love you. I love the crap out of you, and I would never want you replaced by a droid-human hybrid.”
“That’s very appreciated as well.”
“I’m not naive,” she murmured. “I know what I’ve got, who I’ve got. Anyway, can we switch the soup for spaghetti and meatballs? Like a jump start to Italy. Wine, spaghetti, banging, sleep. Or banging, then the rest. Or—”
He took her hand again, kissed her hand again as they drove through the gates.
“Let’s just play that by ear.”
“Works for me.”
They had it all, in their own order of preference. And she woke to spring sunshine, Italian style, snuggled into him.
And had one particular item on the list again.
TITLES BY
J
.
D
.
ROBB
Naked in Death
Glory in Death
Immortal in Death
Rapture in Death
Ceremony in Death
Vengeance in Death
Holiday in Death
Conspiracy in Death
Loyalty in Death
Witness in Death
Judgment in Death
Betrayal in Death
Seduction in Death
Reunion in Death
Purity in Death
Portrait in Death
Imitation in Death
Divided in Death
Visions in Death
Survivor in Death
Origin in Death
Memory in Death
Born in Death
Innocent in Death
Creation in Death
Strangers in Death
Salvation in Death
Promises in Death
Kindred in Death
Fantasy in Death
Indulgence in Death
Treachery in Death
New York to Dallas
Celebrity in Death
Delusion in Death
Calculated in Death
Thankless in Death
Concealed in Death
Festive in Death
Obsession in Death
Devoted in Death
Brotherhood in Death
Apprentice in Death
ANTHOLOGIES
Silent Night
(with Susan Plunkett, Dee Holmes, and Claire Cross)
Out of This World
(with Laurell K. Hamilton, Susan Krinard, and Maggie Shayne)
Remember When
(With Nora Roberts)
Bump in the Night
(with Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas)
Dead of Night
(with Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas)
Three in Death
Suite 606
(with Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas)
In Death
The Lost
(with Patricia Gaffney, Mary Blayney, and Ruth Ryan Langan)
The Other Side
(with Mary Blayney, Patricia Gaffney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas)
Time of Death
The Unquiet
(with Mary Blayney, Patricia Gaffney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas)
Mirror, Mirror
(with Mary Blayney, Elaine Fox, Mary Kay McComas, and R. C. Ryan)
Down the Rabbit Hole
(with Mary Blayney, Elaine Fox, Mary Kay McComas, and R. C. Ryan)
J. D. Robb
is the pseudonym for the
New York Times
bestselling author of more than two hundred novels, including the futuristic suspense In Death series. There are more than 500 million copies of the author’s books in print. You can sign up for email updates
here
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