Chapter Seven #3
“You are, and I bet the boss around here could go for half a grilled sandwich with melty-gooey cheese on the inside. He really loves you,” she continued as she programmed. “I know McNab really loves me, but when he says or does something that just shows it, well, I’m a grilled cheese sandwich.”
She handed Eve half. “Pepsi with that?”
On a sigh, Eve bit in. “Fine. Thanks. Shit. He worries too much.”
“That’s part of the really loves you. I’d say it’s in those Marriage Rules.
Cohab Rules, too. I worked to get here, sitting in this car with you, eating a grilled cheese, detective’s shield in my pocket.
But all the rest? Sometimes it feels like it just happened.
McNab, I really love him back. We work, just work.
Now the house, that amazing place we helped make. Mavis, Leonardo, Bella.”
On a sigh, Peabody took another bite of melty-gooey.
“I miss my family, and I’m so happy I’m going to have some time with them, especially in my world, you know?
But I’ve got family here, at the home we’ve made, on the job.
It keeps me centered. When things get hard, when the job takes me places where it hits how awful people can be to other people, it keeps me centered. ”
“What’s melty and gooey inside and out?”
“Ah . . . Mmm. Caramel sundae.”
“You’re a caramel sundae, Peabody.”
“Well, spinach is good for you, and can be tasty if you know what to do with it. But all in all? I’d rather go through life as a caramel sundae.
“And now, of course, I want one.” She chugged down some Diet Pepsi instead.
“Now that we’ve established your food group, when we get to Banner-Wyst, we push to meet with Wyst straight off. If we get the runaround, we hit on the acting director. Yes, what was Dent consulting with Chu on, but what were both of them working on thirteen years ago? It’s going to play.”
“Yeah, it is. If Dent got a payoff, Roarke will find it.”
Eve nodded. “Counting on it.”
It would be there, Eve thought as she drove. Dent’s longtime cohab knew Chu and his wife, but casually. The connection wasn’t a personal one between Dent and Chu.
But it was sure as hell personal for their killer.
When Eve pulled up to the gate at Banner-Wyst, a different security officer—big, beefy, male—approached.
“This is not a public parking facility,” he began, then looked at the badge Eve held up.
“Yeah, so?”
“So scan the badge and clear us through to Jacob Wyst.”
“Got a warrant?”
One of those, Eve thought. “We can certainly get one, Security Officer . . . ?”
“Mertz.”
“First name, please.”
“Henry.”
Eve glanced at Peabody.
“Running Security Officer Henry Mertz,” Peabody said with her hard-ass face on.
“However,” Eve continued, “I’m sure you’ve been apprised of Dr. Chu’s murder and the investigation thereof.
If you would like to impede or obstruct said investigation, we can also secure a warrant for you.
Or you could contact your superiors, get the green, and clear us through so we can do our jobs. ”
“Oh, look here, Lieutenant, Security Officer Henry Mertz, age fifty-two, twice divorced, applied to the NYPSD. Rejected.”
“You don’t say?”
“He’s got a couple of bumps here for assault.”
“Ah, violent behavior. Where were you between twenty-one and twenty-three hundred hours last night?”
“Kiss my ass.”
“While there seems to be plenty of it, I am not so inclined. Clear us through, or if you’re not so inclined, call in a replacement, as we’ll be taking you downtown for questioning. Of course, you’ll have to sit in holding until we get to that, as our business here is priority.”
His wide, angry face now shined bright red. “Think you’re a big fucking deal, don’t you?”
“I know I’m a bigger fucking deal than you. But your choice.”
Because she could clearly see he wanted to take a swing at her, Eve opened the car door, stepped out to face him. “You’ve got ten seconds to decide whether to follow your own procedure or make it worse.”
She saw him ball a hand into a fist, braced to block it, kept her eyes steady on his. She heard Peabody open the passenger door.
Then, yanking his communicator out of his pocket, Mertz turned on his heel.
Eve got back in the car. And Peabody, one hand on her weapon, relaxed.
“He really wanted to punch you in the face.”
“Yeah. I bet he’s had a lot of sad disappointments in his life.”
The gate opened. Eve drove through, then pulled into the same slot she’d taken earlier.
Mertz, mouth tight, eyes hard, marched to the elevator. Saying nothing, he set the elevator to the top floor, stepped back.
He shot up a middle finger as the doors closed.
“Gee, what a pleasant individual,” Peabody commented.
“Oh yeah, Security Officer Henry Mertz is a winner. Now, because he couldn’t punch me in the face, he’s going over to my vehicle to kick it.”
“You think?”
Eve couldn’t stop the smile so didn’t bother to try. “In the bank.”
Peabody beamed out a smile of her own. “He’s about to find out the DLE fights back.”
“Yeah, it’ll give him a good jolt. He’ll have a hell of a headache.” She smiled wider. “Sometimes things just work out perfectly, don’t they?”