Chapter Nineteen #2
“I can do it.” One of the morgue team stopped as they rolled Wyst’s bagged body out. “Man, Dallas, you got pounded.”
“Really? You think so?”
She had to pause, breathe again. “Peabody, get that search going. His hair’s mostly white, some brown still in it. He’s wearing black trousers, black long-sleeved tee, black boots. Weighs maybe one-seventy, and a lot of it muscle. He’s not armed. He doesn’t have to be.
“Nadine, if you take out your ’link to get an image of the body bag, my right arm’s still good, and I’ll knock you the fuck out. Let’s do it,” she said to the morgue tech.
“I’m training to be a medical tech. We did this manipulation on a practice droid.”
She ran her hands over Eve’s shoulder first, and might as well have rammed hot pins into it.
“Feels like a partial anterior dislocation. Bet it hurts like fuck.”
“You win.”
“Okay. Easy breaths, and maybe look away.”
“It’s my shoulder. I’m going to keep an eye on it.”
“Your choice.” The tech cupped a firm, supporting hand under Eve’s left armpit, gripped Eve’s wrist with her other hand. “On three. One.”
She went on one. Eve figured the bright flash of pain drained every ounce of blood from her body. She yelped, swayed, then the flash went to a faint glow.
“Is that how they teach you to count in MT training?”
The tech grinned. “That’s my personal method.”
“It works. Thanks.” Gently, cautiously, Eve rotated her shoulder. “It’s better.”
“Sling, ice, meds. You could use ice on your face. Fact, you look like you could use ice everywhere. Let’s go, Pete. Last run of the day.”
Eve turned as they wheeled the body out, noted both Peabody and Nadine were sheet white. She imagined she hit the same tone under the blood.
“I’m just going to sit down. Nadine, this is an active crime scene. Beat it.”
“I knew Banner-Wyst had this suite.” Ignoring Eve, Nadine stood her ground as Eve lowered slowly into a chair. “But it’s used generally, primarily, for visiting execs, VIPs, that sort of thing.”
“Data already gathered. Peabody?”
“Search underway. Tell me what happened.”
“Shit, my clutch piece is still in the elevator. Get that.”
Peabody rushed to the elevator. Nadine held up two fingers. “How many fingers?”
“Thirty-six. I can see fine, Nadine. I don’t have a concussion, I know what they feel like. No broken ribs, also know what they feel like. Bruised the living fuck out of them, but no breaks.”
“You’ve got blood all over your face, and plenty on the rest of you. Tell us what happened. It’s off the record.”
“In a minute.” She held her arm close to her body to ease the shoulder, to press against the aching ribs.
“Peabody, we need someone to check security, see how he got into the building, then into the elevator shaft. Sweepers?”
“In the office,” Peabody told her. “You were only gone about ten minutes, fifteen tops. I was about to tag you when Nadine came in.”
“She was kicking me out when the elevator opened.” Nadine opened her enormous bag, pulled out a pack of wipes. “Here, clean your face up a little.”
“Search is underway.” Peabody took a small evidence bag out of her kit, passed it to Eve for disposal of bloody wipes. “Officers are in security checking the feed.”
“It has to be after fifteen hundred because—”
“Dallas.”
“Right, right.” Eve balled up the first wipe, pushed it in the bag. “You already know that, so they already know that.”
“Lieutenant, give me your report.”
Nadine held up a hand. “I’m not leaving. And nothing goes on air without your say-so.”
Eve used up a second wipe, and wished the simple process didn’t make her entire face burn like a rampaging wildfire.
“Elevator stopped between floors—or I assume between. I felt it stop, started for my weapon. He dropped out of the ceiling grate, took me down. He’s fast. I drew my weapon, and he knocked it out of my hand.”
She circled her right wrist. Not broken, but bruised, maybe sprained.
She went through the steps of the struggle.
“He wanted me to listen.”
“To his fists?” Nadine shook her head when Eve offered what was left of the wipes back. “Keep them. Your mouth and nose are still bleeding a little.”
“He had to convince me to listen. He had me. I’m hurt, can’t get to my weapons. Obviously I can’t retreat and regroup. If he’d wanted me dead, I’d be dead.”
“So you listened.”
“I listened, and my recorder was on, so it’s on record.”
“Then send me a copy of the record. You need to go home.” Where, Peabody thought, Summerset—an Urban War medic—could assess and treat her injuries.
Whether she liked it or not.
“I’ll have a uniform take you home, and I’ll finish up here.”
“I want to know how he got in.”
“And I’ll send you that . . .” Peabody answered her ’link. Listened. “Send me the feed. Are you actually wondering if that portion would apply?” she said in a tone that had Eve lifting her brows at pissed-off, authoritative Peabody. “Make it now.”
She lowered the ’link. “Walked in the main entrance, and yeah, like you suspected, went to the mezzanine level, straight into the men’s room. Approximately fourteen minutes later, he came out of a staff lounge on the third floor and went into a service elevator.
“Into it,” she added, “by prying the doors open. With his hands.”
“Yeah.” Eve laid her right hand on her left shoulder. “He could do it.”
“Seven minutes ago,” Peabody continued, “he exited a service elevator on the basement level, and left the building by an emergency exit.”
“He knows the building, inside and out. He plans, all contingencies.” Eve sat back a moment, closed her eyes. “He made his way here through shafts, through vents. He knew we’d check the feed, see him, ID him. It doesn’t matter to him now.”
“Dallas.” Nadine held out a case with the little blue blockers inside. “Take a blocker. Go home. You’re not going to find him tonight, and if you did, you’re in no shape to handle him. My sources tell me Calvin Banner’s in custody.”
“I want to take him in the box.” And no, she had to admit, she wasn’t in shape to do that tonight, either. “If they set bail, no matter how high, he’ll pay it. And if he gets out on bail—”
“Mass murder, Dallas. Trust Reo and the PA’s office on this. I’m pulling a uniform to get you home.”
“Yes to the blocker, no to the escort. I can drive, and if I can’t, I’ll set it on auto.” She got to her feet, took back her clutch piece.
“Look at that. He busted the holster. Grabbed it right off my ankle, which feels it, and busted a damn good holster.”
She put it in her field kit. “How’s the face?”
“How does it feel?” Nadine asked her.
“Pretty fucking awful.”
“Then it matches how it looks.”
“Great. Peabody, secure the scene, send me the security feed, your report. Nadine, get the hell out. Do not tag Roarke, either of you. Do you understand me?”
“He may be strong, but even he couldn’t smash that rock-hard head of yours. I’m getting the hell out because I’m walking you out. I live here,” Nadine said before Eve could object. “I can go where I want.”
“I won’t inform Roarke because I know you don’t want him to have that extra time to worry. But,” Peabody added, “I want a tag when you get through the gates.”
Eve just nodded as she left. Walking wasn’t pleasant, but the blocker had already gotten to work.
“You’ve got two black eyes,” Nadine began. “Your nose is swollen.”
“It’s not broken.”
“I suppose you’d know. So’s your jaw, your right cheek.
Your mouth looks like you caught it in a grinder, and the bruising altogether is awesome.
The way you’re walking,” Nadine continued as she called for an elevator, “I’d say you’ve got a banged-up knee, hip, ankle.
You’re favoring your shoulder so that must hurt like a mother. ”
“Less than it did. I’m standing. I’m breathing. All in all, a win.”
“Did you land any?”
“Maybe a couple.”
“I bet that stings. The ‘maybe a couple.’ ”
“Stings more they hurt me more than hurt him.”
They stepped on the elevator. The two women already on it gave out twin gasps. “Oh my goodness! You poor thing.”
“Featherweight boxing champ,” Nadine said easily. “You should see the other guy.”
Eve rode down to the lobby aching and amused.
“Tag Peabody. It’s important. She’ll tag me. I hope whatever he needed you to hear’s worth what it took to convince you to listen.”
“He thinks it is. So do I. Thanks for the help, sincerely.”
“Thanks for your service, sincerely.”
The doorman pulled open the door, said, “Jeez, Lieutenant.”
“You should see the other guy.” Doesn’t have a mark on him, Eve thought, and lowered herself carefully into her car.