Vendetta in Death (In Death #49) - J. D. Robb Page 0,37
you usually outdo me in creativity there. But the fact is we never would. It’s not only love that keeps us faithful. It’s respect, for each other, for ourselves. That’s a bond that holds.”
“I know it. Still, I can be even more creative if you ever tested it.”
“And I know that.”
He shot her a grin as he drove through the gates.
The house rose and spread, lights gleaming in the windows. Its turrets and towers speared under a glass-clear sky that opened the night to the April chill.
Home, she thought, no longer just the house he’d built, but home. Because they’d learned how to make it one together.
“I thought, when I first moved here, it couldn’t last. You’d realize: Jesus, what was I thinking with her? Or you’d start bitching about the job, the hours, and I’d start bitching about the wife-of-the-business-emperor deal, and it would all just go south.”
She turned to him as he pulled up in front of the house, then leaned over, took his face in her hands. Kissed him. “It’s really nice to be wrong.”
“I had moments when I wondered if you’d walk away, unable to accept who I am, who I was, what I’ve done. It’s very nice, yes, to be wrong.”
When they got out of the car, he met her, took her hand. “But then again, I knew I had you at the cat.”
“At the cat?”
“You brought Galahad here, and that I took as a sign in my favor.”
“Maybe I just wanted to dump him on you.”
“No,” Roarke said simply, and walked inside with her.
She shrugged out of her coat, tossed it over the newel post as Roarke hung his own in the closet. Then she simply stood there in the wide, quiet foyer.
“Problem?”
“I’m just waiting to see if Summerset slithers into view.”
Roarke rolled his eyes, well used to her digs at his majordomo, and started up the stairs. “I let him know we’d be late, and would have dinner out. The night’s chilly enough for a fire. I expect you’ll want to set up your board and book.”
“Yeah, and more, I need to review more of McEnroy’s vids. We need to ID the women, run them, interview them. I’ve had the London cops hit his offices and residence there. I’ve got copies of more vids coming.”
They made their way to her office, where he walked to the fire, ordered it on low. The cat, sprawled in her sleep chair, rolled his tubby body over, stretched. “You haven’t spoken with his partners as yet?”
“On for tomorrow.”
Since Galahad deigned to jump down, stroll over to wind through her legs, she bent to scratch him.
“If I were going to kill the guy, I might try to cover it by doing it in New York if I lived elsewhere. So I’ve got travel to check.”
“Why don’t I see to that for you when you have it ready?” An equal opportunist, Galahad wandered to Roarke, ribboned there until he got a good stroke. “I’ve a few things to deal with, so you can let me know if you want that help.”
“I will, thanks.”
When Roarke went into his adjoining office, Eve programmed a pot of coffee. She poured a large mug, began to set up her board.
Drinking coffee, adjusting her board, she glanced over to where Galahad lay, once again, sprawled in her sleep chair.
“You know, he had that right—big surprise. I wasn’t dumping you on him. I was bringing both of us home. You just got used to it faster.”
Once she had her board and book finished, she sat to open the file from London. And found a very helpful detective inspector had written a detailed memo attachment. She’d identified the hotel McEnroy used, statements from staff at the clubs McEnroy had detailed in his memo book—the London version also locked in his office there.
She’d also confiscated the illegals and all electronics.
Same pattern.
Moreover, Detective Inspector Lavina Smythe had reviewed a full dozen of the vids and run face recognition on the women.
Eve now had a list of names to work with, in addition to a comprehensive report. Smythe ended the memo with:
While Nigel McEnroy’s murder occurred in New York City, he is now posthumously under investigation for possession and use of illegals, for rape, extortion, and abduction, all of which took place in London. We will arrange interviews with all individuals related to said investigation, and subsequently copy you on these reports. We request any information you gather in the course of your investigation be shared.