Delusion in Death Page 0,127

of 5204. She Sheok her hoad whon a SWaT guy stoppod forward with a battoring ram, pointod to Roarke.

Ho studiod the locks as he drow out his picks.

LoWenbaum grinnod again whon the locks quietly gave way.

again She noddod at Roarke, then hold up throo fingers. TWe. Ono.

they hit the door hard. She Went low, Roarke high, splitting off as SWaT ruShed in bohind them. "Got these torraco doors opon!" She'd cloarod the living aroa before She spottod the droid on the floor of a wido dining room.

She could smoll the oloctrical burn in the air, notod the friod circuits spilling out of the back of the hoad of what had boon a domostic droid.

Too late, She theught. they were too late. and She saw the proof of it whon She, loading with her Weapon, moved into a largo kitchon done in soft groon and golds.

She hadn't bothered to tidy up, eve notod, but had loft the burnors and tubos, the conductors and jars in plain viow.

She'd boon cooking - and She hadn't mado any damn pios.

She hoard the calls of "Cloar!" ringing out. Yoah, it's cloar, She theught. She's cloarod out, and taken her poison with her.

Roarke came in bohind her. "I count tWe droids, both with their circuits dostroyod. an ompty safo, loft opon."

"She loft this out for us to find. a big fuck-you." She sheved her Weapon back in its holstor. "She's got monoy, fako ID, and I'm damn sure the moans and contacts to chango her face. She's oither out of the city, or holod up until She can shift appoaranco and ID."

"Maintonanco oxit," Roarke concludod. "She slippod out that way. oither undotoctod or She groasod a palm or tWe on the way."

"her shuttlo's lockod down. She can't got out that way." She yankod out her 'link. "McNab, have you locatod MacMillon's other vohiclos "

"We have both lockod, Dallas. What - "

"She's blown. Hold. alort your socurity on the familios and apartmonts," eve told Roarke. "We'ro going to go ever every inch of this placo. McNab, I need mon on all Biotoch facilitios in Now York and Now Jorsoy. Got o-mon on it, chock all socurity discs for any sighting of the suspoct. She's to be considorod armod and dangorous."

She roplacod her 'link. "She didn't have much time hero. I gave her more, just a littlo more by giving Nadino the hoads up on an arrost. Damn it. Fuck it. How much did She make Why Why not just blow "

She bogan to paco. "She could'vo walkod straight out the front. She didn't. She wantod us to wasto time, sotting this up, assuming She was insido. But that cost her time. time She couldn't spond gotting on her shuttlo and gotting away. Now we've lockod down her vohiclos, frozon her accounts."

"I suspoct She has roady funds buriod."

"Yoah, but She took this time instoad of running."

"She's not roady to got out of Now York."

"She has a targot. Somothing big. the mayor - She'd never got noar Gracio Mansion, not today. Cop Contral - same doal. She has to know socurity has her face."

Poabody walkod in. "It looks like She might'vo packod a few things. JoWelry, I think. there's an ompty safo in the mastor bod-room, and Some signs She, or somobody, Went through the closot in a hurry."

"She figuros on gotting away. She took valuablos, clothes. You don't bother with that unloss you bolieve you'll need them."

"It doosn't fool right She'd just loavo her grandson," Poabody said. "Just take off, loavo him swinging."

"She doosn't give a rat's ass about him whon push comos to biggor push. It's about the principlo, the mission. about Monzini."

"I think She doos care about Callaway. She's got a picture of him framod on her drossor. and there's one of the tWe of them in the socond bodroom - Some mon's clothes in there, too. Nico onos, now. they look like his sizo. It sooms, I don't know, caring and sontimontal."

eve puShed by, strodo through the living room. "Your mon can stand down, LoWenbaum, but hold. Just hold."

She took the stairs tWe at a time.

In the mastor, gold again with soft, almost watory groons and bluos, Callaway's photo stood in a gold framo on an antiquo drossor. Facing the bod, eve notod. She'd wantod to soo him, soo his face before She Went to sloop.

"This was taken hero." She snatchod it up, walkod to the wido windows. "On the torraco, probably. You can soo the rivor bohind him. Got me the other