Through the swirl of color, of scent, of gleam and gloss, waiters in severe black wandered with silver trays topped with crystal flutes of champagne.
"This is so decent." Mavis popped a black button mushroom in her mouth. She'd dressed conservatively for the occasion, which meant a great deal of her skin was actually covered, and her hair was a tame medium red. Being Mavis, so were her irises. "I can't believe Roarke actually invited me."
"You're my friend."
"Yeah. Hey, you think if later on, after everybody's imbibed freely, could I ask the band to let me do a number?"
Eve scanned the rich, privileged crowd, the glint of real gold and real stones, and smiled. "I think that would be great."
"Superior." Mavis gave Eve's hand a quick squeeze. "I'm going to go talk to the band now, sort of worm my way into their hearts."
"Lieutenant."
Eve shifted her gaze from Mavis's retreating form over and up into Chief Tibble's face. "Sir."
"You're looking… unprofessional tonight." When she squirmed, he laughed. "That was a compliment. Roarke puts on quite a show."
"Yes, sir, he does. It's for a worthy cause." But she couldn't quite remember what that worthy cause was.
"I happen to think so. My wife is very involved." He took a flute from a passing tray and sipped. "My only regret is that these monkey suits never go out of style." With his free hand, he tugged at his collar.
It made her smile. "You should try wearing these shoes."
"There's a heavy price for fashion."
"I'd rather be dowdy and comfortable." But she resisted tugging at her butt-molding skirt.
"Well." He took her arm, eased her toward a shielding arborvitae. "Now that we've exchanged the obligatory small talk, I'd like to tell you you've done an excellent job on the investigation."
"I bumped with Angelini."
"No, you pursued a logical line, then you backtracked and found pieces others had missed."
"The albino junkie was a fluke, sir. Just luck."
"Luck counts. So does tenacity – and attention to detail. You cornered him, Dallas."
"He's still at large."
"He won't get far. His own ambition will help us find him. His face is known."
Eve was counting on it. "Sir, Officer Peabody did fine work. She has a sharp eye and good instincts."
"So you noted in your report. I won't forget it." When he glanced at his watch, she realized he was as edgy as she. "I promised Feeney a bottle of Irish whiskey if he broke it by midnight."
"If that doesn't do it, nothing will." She put on a smile. There was no use reminding the chief that they hadn't found the murder weapon in Morse's apartment. He already knew.
When she spotted Marco Angelini step into the room, her shoulders stiffened. "Excuse me, Chief Tibble. There's someone I have to speak to. "
He laid a hand on her arm. "It isn't necessary, Dallas."
"Yes, sir, it is."
She knew the moment he became aware of her by the quick upward jut of his chin. He stopped, linked his hands behind his back, and waited.
"Mr. Angelini."
"Lieutenant Dallas."
"I regret the difficulties I caused you and your family during the investigation."
"Do you?" His eyes were cool, unblinking. "Accusing my son of murder, subjecting him to terror and humiliation, bringing more grief upon already impossible grief, putting him behind bars when his only crime was witnessing violence?"
She could have justified her actions. She could have reminded him that his son had not only witnessed violence, but had turned away from it without a thought but to his own survival, and had compounded his crime by attempting to bribe his way out of involvement.
"I regret adding to your family's emotional trauma."
"I doubt if you understand the phrase." He skimmed his eyes down. "And I wonder if, had you not been so busy enjoying your companion's position, you might have caught the real murderer. It's easy enough to see what you are. You're an opportunist, a climber, a media whore."
"Marco." Roarke spoke softly as he laid a hand on Eve's shoulder.
"No." She went stiff under the touch. "Don't defend me. Let him finish. "
"I can't do that. I'm willing to take your state of mind into account, Marco, as the reason you would attack Eve in her own home. You don't want to be here," he said in an undertone of steel that indicated he was taking nothing into account. "I'll show you out."
"I know the way." Marco's eyes stabbed at Eve. "We'll put our business association to an end as soon as possible, Roarke. I no longer trust your judgment."
Hands balled into fists at her side, Eve trembled with fury as Marco strode away. "Why did you do that? I could have handled it."
"You could have," Roarke agreed, and turned her to face him. "But that was personal. No one, absolutely no one comes into our home and speaks to you that way."
She tried to shrug it off. "Summerset does."
Roarke smiled, touched his lips to hers. "The exception, for reasons too complicated to explain." He rubbed away the frown line between her brows with his thumb.
"Okay. I guess I'm not going to be exchanging Christmas cards with the Angelinis."
"We'll learn to live with it. How about some champagne?"
"In a minute. I'm going to go freshen up." She touched his face. It was getting easier to do that, to touch him when they weren't alone. "I guess I ought to tell you that Mars has a recorder in her bag."
Roarke gave the dent in her chin a quick flick. "She did. I have it in mine now, after I let her crowd me at the vegetarian table."
"Very slick. You never mentioned pickpocketing as one of your skills."
"You never asked."
"Remind me to ask, and ask a lot. I'll be back."
She didn't care about freshening up. She wanted a few minutes to simmer down, and maybe a few more to call Feeney, though she imagined he'd bite her head off for interrupting his compusearch.
He still had an hour to go before he lost his bottle of Irish. She didn't think it would hurt to remind him. She was at the door to the library, preparing to code herself in, when Summerset melted out of the shadows behind her.
"Lieutenant, you have a call, termed both personal and urgent."
"Feeney?"
"He did not grant me his name," Summerset said down his nose.
"I'll take it in here." She had the small but worthy satisfaction of letting the door close smartly in his face. "Lights," she ordered and the room brightened.
She'd almost gotten used to the walls of books with leather bindings and paper pages that crackled when you leafed through. For once she didn't give them so much as a glance as she hurried to the 'link on Roarke's library desk.
She engaged, then froze.
"Surprise, surprise." Morse beamed at her. "Bet you weren't expecting me. All dressed up for your party, I see. You look flash."
"I've been looking for you, C. J."
"Oh yeah, I know. You've been looking for a lot of things. I know this is on record, and it doesn't matter. But you listen close. You keep this between you and me, or I'm going to start slicing off little tiny pieces of a friend of yours. Say hi to Dallas, Nadine."
He reached out, and Nadine's face came on screen. Eve, who'd seen terror too many times to count, looked at it now. "Has he hurt you, Nadine?"
"I – " She whimpered when he jerked her head back by the hair, touched a long slim blade to her throat.
"Now, you tell her I've been real nice to you. Tell her." He skimmed the flat of the blade over her throat. "Bitch."
"I'm fine. I'm okay." She closed her eyes and a tear squeezed through. "I'm sorry."
"She's sorry," Morse said between pursed lips and pressed his cheek to Nadine's so both of their faces were in view. "She's sorry she was so hungry to be top bitch that she slipped the guard you put on her and fell right into my waiting arms. Isn't that right, Nadine?"
"Yes."
"And I'm going to kill you, but not quick like the others. I'm going to kill you slowly, and with a lot of pain, unless your pal the lieutenant does everything I say. Isn't that right? You tell her, Nadine."