“All right.” With her eyes closed, Mira rubbed her fingers over the middle of her forehead. “It’s very personal, sexual—”
“I’m not asking for a profile, Dr. Mira, not right now. Take a minute. I’m not sure what you want to tell Mr. Mira.”
Mira opened her eyes. “I’ll tell him what you tell me. Of course.”
“Okay. I’m going to need to talk to him again. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” There was a snap in the words. Mira held up a hand, visibly regouped. “Don’t apologize,” she said again, calmly now. “Both Dennis and I want you to do everything you have to do, everything you can do to find who did this. Do you want him to come to Central?”
“No, don’t do that. I’ll go to him. I have to inform next of kin, then I’ll go by and talk to him before I go in. Officially, I’m not going to be able to consult with you on this.”
“Of course not, the conflict of interest. I’m not thinking straight yet.”
“But unofficially I’m going to want your help with the profile. Later,” she added. “Go home. You’re going to want to be with him when I interview him. I’m going to contact Whitney, go by the victim’s residence and speak to his wife. That’ll give you time to go home, to tell Mr. Mira before I get there.”
“Yes, you’re right. I’ll leave here in a few minutes.”
“One last thing. I’m going to leak this to Nadine Furst.”
“Oh,” Mira said, on a kind of sigh.
“The media’s going to know about this fast. I’m going to leak it to her so she can get out in front of it. You’re going to want to screen any incomings, because once this hits, the media’s going to try to talk to you and Mr. Mira. You need a statement.”
“I know what to do. I’ll take care of that end. Please do what you have to do.”
“I’ll speak to you within ninety minutes.”
Eve turned, saw Peabody in the doorway.
“Sweepers are here, uniforms are canvassing. The morgue wagon’s on its way. I flagged him for Morris.”
“That covers it. The sweepers will go through the house, but there’s nothing relevant that’s not in the entranceway. For now, we’re finished here. Let’s go break it to the vic’s wife.”
“I hate that part.”
“We all do. You’re probably going to hate this time more than usual.”
She contacted Whitney before she left the crime scene.
“Tibble was right about the media, particularly given the sexual implications of the murder.”
“Yes, sir. I’m going to contact Nadine Furst. I’d rather have someone I know and trust, someone who knows the Miras, take the media lead on this. Whatever comes after, what goes out first will be fair.”
“Do it. I’ll speak with Tibble and with our media liaison. And dot those i’s, Dallas, right down the line.”
“Let’s move,” she told Peabody when Whitney clicked off. “I’ll contact Nadine on the way.”
The minute she slid behind the wheel, Eve used the in-dash to contact Nadine.
The reporter, looking on-camera ready as usual, greeted her with a brilliant smile. “Dallas. I happen to be with your delicious husband in what may be my new triplex penthouse. I was just wishing he came with it, then it would be a done deal.”
“Get your own, and put on your media hat.”
The humor dropped out of Nadine’s foxy green eyes, turning them sharp. “What do you have?”
“Less than an hour ago Peabody and I discovered the body of former Senator Edward Mira in the former residence of the senator’s grandparents.”
“Shit, damn, fuck. Let me get my recorder.”
“Just listen. The victim had been brutally beaten, then hanged. He’d also been sodomized.”
“Christ, this story’s going to burn.”
“Yesterday at approximately five-twenty-five P.M., according to the log of the Rapid Cab used for transportation, the senator’s cousin Dennis Mira—no, go with Professor Mira, he’s one of those—entered the residence, and was attacked and rendered unconscious after seeing the senator injured and trying to go to his assistance. Professor Mira contacted the NYPSD. Since that time, investigators have attempted to locate the senator, who they believe was held against his will in another location before being brought back to the residence. The chief medical examiner is working to determine the time and cause of death. The primary investigator has no comment at this time, but the department intends to issue a statement once details are confirmed.”
“God, when you drop one on me, you drop it big-time.”
“I’m on my way to notify next of kin. You can’t air that until Peabody gives you the green.”
“All right. How’s Dennis? Is he all right?”
Eve let out a breath. Friendships didn’t come easily to her, but when they did, they came solid.
“There are two reasons I’m giving you the jump. You’ll wait for the green, and you asked about Mr. Mira. He’s okay. He got banged up a little, but he’s okay.”
“And now it’s my job to ask if you have any leads, any suspects.”
“No, because I’m still doing my job. Since you’re with Roarke, tell him I okayed it for him to fill you in on the details of the grandfather’s estate, the brownstone. That’s going to come out anyway, and I’d rather you played it at the opening. What I don’t want is even a whiff that Mr. Mira is a suspect, even a person of interest. He’s a witness and a victim himself. That’s it.”
“You should know me better.”
“I do, that’s why I contacted you before I notified next of kin. Peabody will give you the green as soon as we do. I’ve got to go.”
“So do I now.”
They both clicked off, and Eve scowled at the traffic.
“How are you going to handle Mr. Mira?”
Eve’s scowl deepened. “What do you mean, ‘handle’?”
“Look, first off, I know he didn’t have anything to do with this. I’m talking about the whole dotting the i’s thing. He was the last person to see the vic alive, and he and the vic had a strained relationship at least partially due to the house the vic’s body was hanged in. So I know how we’d handle it if we didn’t know and love Mr. Mira. But . . .”
“We’ll dot the fucking i’s, Peabody.”
“I don’t want to throw off the rhythm.”
“You won’t.”
By the time she pulled up in front of the shiny spear of the building, Eve was primed for trouble. A different doorman wore the polar bear suit and instantly jogged her way. Eve slammed out of the car, shot up her badge.
“We’re the police, and here on police business. That’s a police vehicle and it stays just where it is. You give me any lip over that, my partner here is going to arrest you for obstruction of justice and interfering in a police investigation, and arrange to have you hauled down to Central.”
He had a deep brown face against the snow white of the livery, and that face went carefully blank. “I didn’t say a word.”
“That’s smart. You need to clear us up to Edward and Mandy Mira’s apartment.”
Now he winced. “It just would be. Look, I have to follow procedure. You’re doing your job, right? I’ve got to do mine. I need to clear it with the Miras’ personal security.”
“Then do that.”
He walked toward the building, and had the grace—or the training—to hold the door open for them. “If you’ll give me a minute.”
He went to the same system used the night before, tapped in a code. “Hank, it’s Jonah on the door. There are a couple of cops here who—”
Eve nudged Jonah aside. “Hank, Lieutenant Dallas. Don’t screw around. You need to clear me and my partner up there, asap.”