Reunion in Death

*** CHAPTER 2 ***

Boyd must have seen it, too, as he got up and crossed to her quickly. «Nothing's wrong.» He touched her arm, a light gesture of reassurance before he took the bags from her. «They're just here about Marsha. For a routine followup.»

«Oh, well… Trade?»

«In her room. She's-«

Even as he spoke, the child shot out like a little blonde bullet, launched herself at her mother's legs. «Mommy! We go swing!»

«We'll get out of your way as quickly as possible,» Eve said. «Would you mind if we talked to you for a moment, Mrs. Stibbs?»

«I'm sorry, I don't know what I can … The groceries.»

«Tracie and I'll put them away, won't we, partner?»

«I'd rather-«

«She doesn't think we know where anything goes.» Boyd interrupted his wife with a wink for their daughter. «We'll show her. Come on, cutie. Kitchen duty.»

The little girl raced ahead of him, chattering in the strange foreign tongue of toddlers.

«I'm sorry to inconvenience you,» Eve began. Her gaze, steady on Maureen's face, was cool, flat, and blank. «This won't take long. You were a friend of Marsha Stibbs?»

«Yes, of both her and Boyd. This is very upsetting for Boyd.»

«Yes, I'm sure it is. How long had you known Mrs. Stibbs before her death?»

«A year, a little longer.» She looked desperately toward the kitchen where there was rattling and laughter. «She's been gone almost six years now. We have to put it behind us.»

«Six days, six years, someone still took her life. Were you close?»

«We were friends. Marsha was very outgoing.»

«Did she ever confide in you that she was seeing someone else?»

Maureen opened her mouth, hesitated, then shook her head. «No. I don't know anything. I talked to the police when it happened, and told them everything I could. What happened was horrible, but there's no changing it. We've got a new life now. A good life, a quiet one. You coming here like this, it'll only make Boyd grieve again. I don't want my family upset. I'm sorry, but I'd like you to go now.»

Outside in the hall, Peabody glanced back as Eve strode to the elevator. «She knows something.»

«Oh yeah, she does.»

«I figured you'd push her a little.»

«Not on her turf.» Eve stepped into the elevator. She was already calculating, already resetting the pieces of the puzzle. «Not with her kid there, and Stibbs. Marsha's waited this long, a little more time won't matter to her.»

«You think he's clean though.»

«I think…» Eve pulled the file and disc out of her bag, held it out. «You should work it.»

«Sir?»

«Work the case, Peabody. Close the case.»

Jaw dropping, Peabody stared. «Me? Like the primary? On a homicide?»

«You'll have to work it mostly on your own time, especially if we get something active. Read the file, study the reports and statements. Re-interview. You know the drill.»

«You're giving me a case?»

«You got questions, you ask them. I'll consult if and when you need it. Copy me on all data and progress reports.»

Peabody felt the adrenaline surge through her blood, and the nerves flood her belly. «Yes, sir. Thank you. I won't let you down.»

«Don't let Marsha Stibbs down.»

Peabody hugged the file to her breast like a beloved child. And kept it there all the way back to Central.

As they rode up from the garage, Peabody sent Eve a sidelong look. «Lieutenant?»

«Hmm.»

«I wonder if maybe I could ask McNab to assist on the electronic data. The victim's 'links, apartment building's security discs, and so on.»

Eve jammed her hands in her pockets. «It's your case.»

«It's my case,» Peabody repeated, in an awed whisper. She was still grinning, ear to ear, when they headed down the corridor to the bullpen.

«What the hell is that racket?» Eve's eyebrows drew together, her fingers danced instinctively over her weapon at the sound of shouts, whistles, and general mayhem rolling out of the Homicide Division.

She stepped in first, scanned the room. No one was at their desk or in their cube. At least a dozen duly authorized officers of the law were crowded into the center of the room, having what sounded suspiciously like a party.

Her nose twitched. She smelled bakery goods.

«What the hell's going on here!» She had to shout, and her voice still fell short of cutting through the din. «Pearson, Baxter, Delricky!» Since she accompanied this with a quick punch on Pearson's shoulder, a sharp elbow jab to Baxter's gut as she pushed through the crowd, she managed to snag some attention. «Are you all under the illusion that death's taken a fucking holiday? Where the hell'd you get that cupcake?»

Even as she jabbed a finger, Baxter stuffed what was left of it in his mouth. As a result, his explanation was incoherent. He merely grinned around the frosting and pointed.

She saw it now cupcakes, cookies, and what appeared to have been a pie before a pack of wolves had descended on it. And she spotted two civilians in the middle of that pack. The tall, skinny man and the robust, pretty woman were both beaming smiles and pouring some sort of pale pink liquid out of an enormous jug.

«Stand down! Every one of you, stand down and go back about your business. This isn't a damn tea party.»

Before she could push her way through to the civilians, she heard Peabody scream.

She whirled, weapon leaping into her hand, and was nearly plowed down as her aide streaked by and launched herself at the civilians.

The man caught her, and skinny or not managed to lift the sturdy Peabody right off her feet. The woman spun, her long blue skirts swirling as she threw out her arms and made an odd and effective Peabody sandwich.

«There's my girl. There's my DeeDee.» The man's face glowed with such obvious adoration, Eve's hand slid away from her weapon and dangled at her side.

«Daddy.» With something between a sob and a giggle, Peabody buried her face against his neck.

«Chokes me up,» Baxter murmured and snagged another cupcake. «Got here about fifteen minutes ago. Brought the good stuff with them. Man, these things are lethal,» he added and chomped into another cupcake.

Eve drummed her fingers on her thigh. «What kind of pie was that?»

Baxter grinned. «Exceptional,» he told her, and strolled back to his desk.

The woman loosened her death grip around Peabody's waist and turned. She was remarkably pretty, with the same dark hair as her daughter worn in a long waterfall down her back. Her blue skirt swept down to simple rope sandals. Her blouse was long and loose and the color of buttercups, and over it were at least a half-dozen chains and pendants.

Her face was softer than Peabody's, with lines of time fanning out from the corners of direct and gleaming brown eyes. She moved like a dancer when she crossed to Eve, both hands outstretched.

«You're Lieutenant Dallas. I'd have known you anywhere.» She gripped both of Eve's hands in hers. «I'm Phoebe, Delia's mother.»

Her hands were warm, a little rough at the palms, and studded with rings. Bracelets clanged and jangled on her wrists.

«It's nice to meet you, Ms. Peabody.»

«Phoebe.» She smiled, and still gripping Eve's hands drew her forward. «Sam, let the girl loose so you can meet Lieutenant Dallas.»

He shifted, but kept his arm tight around Peabody's shoulders. «I'm so happy to meet you.» He took Eve's hand, still cupped in his wife's. «I feel like I already have, with everything Peabody's told us about you. And Zeke. We'll never be able to thank you enough for what you did for our son.»

A little uneasy with all that good will beaming out at her, Eve slipped her hand free. «How's he doing?»

«Very well. I'm sure he'd have sent his best if he'd known we were coming.»

He smiled then, slow and easy. She could see the resemblance now, between him and Peabody's brother. The narrow, apostle's face, the eyes of dreamy gray. But there was something sharp in Sam Peabody's eyes, something that had Eve's neck prickling.

This man wasn't the puppy dog his son was.

«Give him mine when you talk to him. Peabody, take some personal time.»

«Yes, sir. Thank you.»

«That's very kind of you,» Phoebe said. «I wonder if it's possible for us to have a little of your time. You must be busy,» she went on before Eve could speak, «but I'd hoped we might have a meal together tonight. With you and your husband. We have gifts for you.»

«You don't have to give us anything.»

«The gifts aren't from obligation but from affection, and we hope you'll enjoy them. Delia's told us so much about you, and Roarke and your home. It must be a magnificent place. I hope Sam and I will have an opportunity to see it.»

Eve could feel the box being built around her, see the lid slowly closing. And Phoebe only continued to smile serenely while Peabody suddenly took an avid interest in the ceiling.

«Sure. Ah. You could come for dinner.»

«We'd love to. Would eight o'clock work?»

«Yeah, eight's fine. Peabody knows the way. Anyway, welcome to New York. I've got some … stuff,» she finished lamely and eased back to escape.

«Lieutenant? Sir? Be right back,» Peabody murmured to her parents and lit out after Eve. Before they'd gotten to her office door, the noise level in the bullpen rose again.

«They can't help it,» Peabody said quickly. «My father really likes to bake, and he's always bringing food places.»

«How the hell'd they get all that here on a plane?»

«Oh, they don't fly. They'd have come in their camper. Baking all the way,» she added with a fluttery smile. «Aren't they great?»

«Yeah, but you've got to tell them not to bring cupcakes every time they come in to see you. We'll end up with a bunch of fat detectives in sugar comas.»

«Snagged you one.» Peabody brought out the cupcake she held behind her back. I'll just take a couple hours, Dallas, get them settled in.»

«Take the rest of the day.»

«Okay. Thanks. Really. Um …» She winced, then closed the office door. «There's this thing I should tell you. About my mother. She has the power.»

«The power of what?»

«The power to make you do things you don't want to do, or don't think you want to do. And she'll get you to say stuff you don't mean to say. And you may even babble.»

«I don't babble.»

«You will,» Peabody said mournfully. «I love her. She's amazing, but she's got this thing. She just looks at you and knows.»

Frowning, Eve sat. «Is she a sensitive?»

«No. My father is, but he's really strict about not infringing on people's privacy. She's just… a mother. It's something to do with being a mother, but she's got this deal in spades. Man, Mom sees all, knows all, rules all. Half the time you don't even know she's doing it. Like you inviting them for dinner tonight, when you never invite people to dinner.»

«I do, too.»

«Uh-uh. Roarke does. You could've said you were busy, or hey, fine, let's meet at some restaurant or whatever, but she wanted to come to your house for dinner, so you asked her.»

Eve had to stop herself from squirming in her chair. «I was being polite. I do know how.»

«No, you were trapped in The Look.» Peabody shook her head. «Even you are powerless against it. I just thought I should tell you.»

«Scram, Peabody.»

«Scramming, sir. Oh and um …» She hesitated at the door. «I had a sort of date with McNab tonight, so maybe he could come along to dinner. That way, you know, he could meet them without it being as weird as it would be otherwise.»

Eve put her head in her hands. «Jesus.»

«Thanks! I'll see you tonight.»

Alone, Eve sulked. She scowled. Then she ate the cupcake.

«So they painted my office, and stole my candy. Again.» At home, in the spacious living area with its glossy antiques and gleaming glass, Eve paced the priceless Oriental carpet. Roarke had only just arrived home, so she'd had no one to bitch to for the past hour.

As far as she was concerned, a bitching partner was one of the top perks of marriage.

«And Peabody finished up all the paperwork while I was gone, which meant I didn't even have that to do.»

«She should be ashamed. Imagine, your aide doing paperwork behind your back.»

«Watch the smart-ass remarks, pal, because you've got some explaining to do as well.»

He just stretched out his legs, crossed his feet at the ankles. «Ah. So how did Peabody and McNab enjoy Bimini?»

«You're a real Lord Bountiful, aren't you? Sending them off to some island so they can run around naked and slide down waterfalls.»

«I take that to mean they had a good time.»

«Gel-beds,» she muttered. «Naked monkeys.»

«Excuse me?»

She shook her head. «You've got to stop interfering in this … thing they've got going.»

«Maybe I will,» he said, lazily. «When you stop seeing their relationship as some sort of bugaboo.»

«Bugaboo? What the hell is that?» She scooped a frustrated hand through her hair. «I don't see their thing as a bugaboo because I don't even know what that means. Cops-«

«Deserve lives,» he interrupted. «Like everyone else. Relax, Lieutenant. Our Peabody has a good head on her shoulders.»

Blowing out a breath, Eve dropped into a chair. «Bugaboo.» She snorted. «That's probably not even a word, and if it is, it's a really stupid word. I gave her a case today.»

He reached over idly to toy with the fingers she'd been tapping restlessly against her knee. «You didn't mention you'd caught a case today.»

«I didn't. I dug one out of the cold files. Six years back. Woman, pretty, young, upwardly mobile, married. Husband's out of town, comes back and finds her dead in the bathtub. Homicide poorly disguised as self-termination or accident. His alibi's solid, and he comes off clean as a whistle. Everyone interviewed says how they were the perfect couple, happy as clams.»

«Do you ever wonder how we determine the happiness of the clam?»

«I'm going to give that some real thought later. Anyway, there are letters hidden in her underwear drawer. Really explicit sex letters from someone who signs his name C.»

«Extramarital affair, lover's spat, murder?»

«The primary of record thought so.»

«But you don't?»

«Nobody ever found the guy, nobody ever saw the guy, nobody she knew ever heard her speak of the guy. Or so they said. I went by to see the husband, met his new wife and kid. Little girl, couple years old.»

«One could assume, justifiably, that after his period of mourning, he moved on, made a new life.»

«One could assume,» she replied.

«Not that I ever would, of course. Under similar circumstances, I'd wander aimlessly, a broken man, lost and without purpose.»

She looked at him skeptically. «Is that so?»

«Naturally. Now you're supposed to say something along the lines of you having no life at all without me in it.»

«Yeah, yeah.» She laughed when he bit the fingers he'd been playing with. «So back to the real world. I think I know how it went down. A couple of good, hard pushes and it's closed instead of cold.»

«But instead of pushing, you gave it to Peabody.»

«She needs the experience. A little more time won't matter to Marsha Stibbs. If Peabody goes down the wrong channels, I'll steer her back.»

«She must be thrilled.»

«Christ, she's got stars in her eyes.»

It made him smile. «What was the first case Feeney handed you?»

«Thomas Carter. Got into his sedan one fine morning, coded in, and the sucker blew up, sending pieces of him flying all over the West Side. Married, two kids, sold insurance. No side pieces, no enemies, no dangerous vices. No motive. Case stalled, went cold. Feeney dug it out, told me to work it.»

«And?»

«Thomas Carter wasn't the target. Thomas K. Carter, second-rate illegals dealer with a gambling addiction was. Asshole hired hitman tapped the wrong guy.» She glanced back to see Roarke still grinning at her. «And yeah, I remember how it felt to be handed the file and to close it.»

«You're a good trainer, Eve, and a good friend.»

«Friendship has nothing to do with it. If I didn't think she could handle working the case, I wouldn't have given it to her.»

«That's the trainer part. The friendship part should be here shortly.»

«Dinner. What the hell are we going to do with them when we're not eating?»

«It's called conversation. Socializing. Some people actually make a habit of doing both, on practically a daily basis.»

«Yeah, well some people are screwy. You're probably going to like the Peabodys. Did I tell you that when I got back to Central, they were feeding the bullpen cupcakes and cookies? Pie.»

«Pie? What kind of pie?»

«I don't know. By the time I got there all that was left of it was the dish and I think somebody ate that. But the cupcakes were amazing. Anyway, Peabody came back in my office and said all this weird stuff about her mother.»

He toyed with the ends of Eve's hair now, enjoying the streaky look of it. He'd have understood perfectly Boyd Stibbs's claim of not being able to keep his hands off his wife. «I thought they got along very well.»

«Yeah, they seem to cruise. But she said how she needed to warn me that her mother had these powers.»

«Wiccan?»

«Uh-uh, and not the Free-Ager hoodoo stuff either, even though she says her father's a sensitive. She said that her mother can make you do things you don't necessarily want to do, or say things you'd as soon keep to yourself. According to Peabody, I only asked them to dinner tonight because I was trapped in The Look.»

Intrigued, Roarke cocked his head. «Mind control?»

«Beats me, but she said it was just a mother thing, and her mother was particularly good at it. Or something. Didn't make any sense to me.»

«Well, neither of us know much about mother things, do we? And as she's not our mother, I imagine we're perfectly safe from her maternal powers, whatever they may be.»

«I'm not worried about it, just passing on the warning.»

Summerset, Roarke's majordomo and the bane of Eve's existence, came to the doorway. He sniffed once, his bony face set in disapproving lines. «That Chippendale is a coffee table, Lieutenant, not a footstool.»

«How do you walk with that stick up your ass?» She left her feet where they were, propped comfortably on the table. «Does it hurt, or does it give you a nice little rush?»

«Your dinner guests,» he said, curling his lip, «have arrived.»

«Thank you, Summerset.» Roarke got to his feet. «We'll have the hors d'oeuvres in here.» He held out a hand to Eve.

She waited, deliberately, until Summerset had stepped out again before swinging her feet to the floor.

«In the interest of good fellowship,» Roarke began as they started toward the foyer, «could you not mention the stick in Summerset's ass for the rest of the evening?»

«Okay. If he rags on me I'll just pull it out and beat him over the head with it.»

«That should be entertaining.»

Summerset had already opened the door, and Sam Peabody had his hand clasped, pumping away in a friendly greeting. «Great to meet you. Thanks for having us. I'm Sam, and this is Phoebe. It's Summerset, isn't it? DeeDee's told us you take care of the house, and everything in it.»

«That's correct. Mrs. Peabody,» he said, nodding at Phoebe. «Officer. Detective. Shall I take your things?»

«No, thank you.» Phoebe held on to the box she carried. «The front gardens and landscaping are beautiful. And so unexpected in the middle of such an urban world.»

«Yes, we're quite pleased with it.»

«Hello again.» Phoebe smiled at Eve as Summerset shut the front door. «And Roarke. You were right, Delia, he is quite spectacular.»

«Mom.» Peabody choked out the word as the flush flooded her face.

«Thank you.» Roarke took Phoebe's hand, lifted it to his lips. «That's a compliment I can return. It's wonderful to meet you, Phoebe. Sam.» He shifted, shook Sam's offered hand. «You created a delightful and charming daughter.»

«We like her.» Sam squeezed Peabody's shoulders.

«So do we. Please, come in. Be comfortable.»

He's so good at it, Eve thought as Roarke settled everyone in the main parlor. Smooth as satin, polished as glass. Within moments, everyone had a drink in their hands and he was answering questions about various antiques and art pieces in the room.

Since he was dealing with the Peabodys, Eve turned her attention to McNab. The EDD whiz was decked out in what Eve imagined he considered his more conservative attire. His periwinkle shirt was tucked into a pair of loose, silky trousers of the same tone. His ankle boots were also periwinkle. A half-dozen tiny gold hoops paraded up his left earlobe.

He wore his long blond hair in a ponytail that was slicked back from his face. And his pretty face, Eve noted, was approximately the color of a boiled lobster.

«You forget the sunblock, McNab?»

«Just once.» He rolled his green eyes. «You should see my ass.»

«No.» She took a deep gulp of wine. «I shouldn't.»

«Just making conversation. I'm a little nervous. You know.» He nodded toward Peabody's father. «It's really weird making small talk with him when we both know I'm the one banging his daughter. Plus, he's psychic, so I keep worrying if I think about banging her, he'll know I'm thinking about banging her. And that's way too weird.»

«Don't think about it.»

«Can't help it.» McNab chuckled. «I'm a guy.»

She scanned his outfit. «That's the rumor anyway.»

«Excuse me.» Phoebe touched Eve's arm. «Sam and I would like to give you and Roarke this gift.» She offered Eve the box. «For your generosity and friendship to two of our children.»

«Thanks.» Gifts always made her feel awkward. Even after more than a year with Roarke and his habit of giving, she never knew quite how to handle it.

Perhaps it was because she'd gone most of her life without anyone caring enough to give.

She set the box down, tugged on the simple twine bow. She opened the lid, pushed through the wrapping. Nestled inside were two slender candlesticks fashioned from glossy stone in greens and purples that melted together.

«They're beautiful. Really.»

«The stone's fluorite,» Sam told her. «For cleansing the aura, peacefulness of mind, clarity of thought. We thought, as you both have demanding and difficult occupations, this stone would be most beneficial.»

«They're lovely.» Roarke lifted one. «Exquisite workmanship. Yours?»

Phoebe sent him a brilliant smile. «We made them together.»

«Then they're doubly precious. Thank you. Do you sell your work?»

«Now and again,» Sam said. «We prefer making them for gifts.»

«I sell when selling's needed,» Phoebe put in. «Sam's too soft-hearted. I'm more practical.»

«I beg your pardon.» Once again, Summerset stood in the doorway. «Dinner is served.»

It was easier than Eve thought. They were nice people, interesting and entertaining. And their pride in Peabody was so obvious it was impossible not to warm up to them.

«We worried, of course,» Phoebe said as they began with lobster bisque, «when Dee told us what she wanted to do with her life, and where. A dangerous occupation in a dangerous city.» She smiled across the table at her daughter. «But we understood that this was her calling, and trusted she would do good work.»

«She's a good cop,» Eve said.

«What's a good cop?» At Eve's frown, Phoebe gestured. «I mean, what would be your particular definition of a good cop?»

«Someone who respects the badge and what it stands for, and doesn't stop until they make a difference.»

«Yes.» Phoebe nodded in approval. Her eyes, dark and direct, stayed on Eve's.

And as something in that quiet, knowing stare made Eve want to shift in her seat, she decided Phoebe would be an ace in Interview.

«Making a difference is why we're all here.» Phoebe lifted her glass, gesturing with it before she sipped. «Some do it with prayer, others with art, with commerce. And some with the law. People often think Free-Agers don't believe in the law, the law of the land, so to speak. But we do. We believe in order and balance, and in the right of the individual to pursue life and happiness without harm from others. When you stand for the law, you stand for balance, and for those individuals who have been harmed.»

«The taking of a life, something I'll never understand, makes a hole in the world.» Sam laid a hand over his wife's. «Dee doesn't tell us much about her work, the details of it. But she's told us that you make a difference.»

«It's my job.»

«And we're embarrassing you,» Phoebe said as she lifted her wineglass. «Why don't I change the subject and tell you what a beautiful home you have.» She turned to Roarke. «I hope after dinner we can have a tour of it.»

«Got six or eight months?» Eve muttered.

«Eve claims there are rooms we don't even know about,» Roarke commented.

«But you do.» Phoebe lifted her brows. «You'd know all of them.»

«Excuse me.» Summerset stepped in. «You have a call, Lieutenant, from Dispatch.»

«Sorry.» She pushed away from the table, strode out quickly.

She was back within minutes. One look at her face told Roarke he'd finish the evening's entertaining on his own.

«Peabody, with me. I'm sorry.» She scanned faces, lingered on Roarke's. «We have to go.»

«Lieutenant? You want me to tag along?»

She glanced back at McNab. «I could use you. Let's move. I'm sorry,» she said again.

«Don't worry about it.» Roarke got to his feet, skimmed his fingertips down her cheek. «Take care, Lieutenant.»

«Right.»

«Occupational hazard.» Roarke sat again when he was alone with Phoebe and Sam.

«Someone's died,» Sam said aloud.

«Yes, someone's died. And now,» Roarke said, «they'll work to find the balance.»