didn’t, but it worked somehow.
“You didn’t tell me how her family took the notification.”
“A lot worse than Tween.” She could still hear the pain, the shock, the grief. “I only spoke to the father. When he recovered enough, he said they would all come—including his son and his son’s family. They all needed to come, to see her, to arrange for her, to talk to me.”
“Did he say anything about Tween?”
“He asked if he should contact Tween, asked about his grandson. I suggested maybe they should wait until they got to New York before contacting Tween, and that I hoped they would agree to come in and speak with me, that I would tell them all I could at that time.”
Roarke nodded. “I believe they’re a close family. As I said, I know the brother a little—Stefano. He’s a canny businessman, knowledgeable. Tennis, as I recall, is his sport, and he’s fairly fierce about it. That’s how he met his wife. She was a pro, and retired when she had their second child. She’s a coach now.”
Details, all details, helped.
“Anything I should know about the parents I can’t find on a standard?”
“Nothing I can think of, but I can, and will, ask around.”
“Meanwhile, I want to talk to the housekeeper—alone. She didn’t come back down after going up to get Tween. That tells me he sent her back to her quarters rather than letting me see her reaction to the notification.”
She ate some bacon and waited while Roarke gave the covertly advancing Galahad a cool, warning stare.
Galahad decided he needed to wash again.
“What about you?”
“Besides what I couldn’t reasonably postpone or reschedule, I have some sources of my own to mine. I want to talk to Brian as well.”
Brian Kelly, Eve thought, Roarke’s old friend and the proprietor of the Penny Pig, a Dublin pub.
“Brian must have known Cobbe.”
“And sure he did. They didn’t care for each other, but neither did they have any dealings to speak of. Still, having Brian’s ear to the ground won’t hurt. And I’ve put some men in Clare to keep an eye on the family.”
“Your family?” She set down her fork with a clatter. “Jesus Christ, Roarke, you think he’d go after your family?”
“I won’t risk it, so I’ve people looking out. Odds are he hasn’t kept close tabs on me the last years. For what point? He likely doesn’t know I have family, as I didn’t myself for years. But I promise you he will know of them right quick, as he’ll look into such matters or try.”
“I can talk to the locals,” Eve began.
“Not as yet. I’d rather the family not have this worry, or take the chance of one of the local cops letting out I’ve got a concern. That’s all he’d need, trust me.”
“I do.” But she didn’t like it. She added doing some quiet research into the locals to her agenda. She’d already consulted with them once, already had opinions.
“Then there’s the school. We’re about to open An Didean, and I want no trouble in that quarter.”
“I’ll have some cops keep an eye out there, and on Dochas,” she added, thinking of the women’s shelter. “I know who I can trust,” she said before he could object.
“You do, of course. I’d appreciate it, as he might find it a lark to make trouble in those areas, or hurt someone just for the bloody hell of it.”
“Then it’s done. I don’t care who your sources are, or however far they fall over my particular line, I need to know whatever you find out.”
“And you will. There’s no question of it. And I know who you are, Lieutenant, and how good you are at what you do.” Looking at her, he trailed a finger down the shallow dent in her chin. “But I’m asking you to take more care, to watch out more closely for the woman I love. It would give him great joy to take you from me.”
“He’s not going to be happy when we’re done with him. I promise you.”
She rose to gather her ’link, her communicator, and all the rest. Then considered, dug into a drawer for a stiletto, a wrist sheath. After she put it on, she turned to Roarke, hit the switch that released the lethal blade.
He smiled at her. “Thanks for that.”
“As an officer in the New York Police and Security Department, I can’t advise you to arm yourself in a similar fashion. As the woman who loves you right back, I’m telling you