clogged the road for blocks and had what seemed like half of New York breaking the noise pollution codes in order to blast their horns in pitiful and useless protest.
Her own solution was a bit more direct. She hit the sirens, punched into vertical and skimmed the corner to take the crosstown to Tenth.
They were fifteen blocks away when her climate control sputtered and died.
“I hate technology. I hate Maintenance. I hate the goddamn stupid NYPSD budget that sticks me with these pieces-of-shit vehicles.”
“There, there, sir,” Peabody crooned as she hunkered down to work on the controls manually. “There, there.”
After the sweat began to run into her eyes, Peabody gave up. “You know, I could call Maintenance. Yes, we hate them like poison, like rat poison on a cracker,” she said quickly. “So I was thinking, I could ask McNab to take a whack at it. He’s good with this kind of thing.”
“Great, good, fine.” Eve rolled down the windows before they suffocated. The stinking, steamy air outside wasn’t much of an improvement. “When we finish at Cobb’s, you drop me home, take this rolling disaster with you. You can pick me up in the morning.”
When she reached the apartment building she considered, actively, the rewards of giving one of the stoop-sitters twenty to steal the damn car. Instead, she decided to hope somebody boosted it while they were inside.
As they started inside, she heard Peabody’s quiet whimper. “What?”
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
“It’s those shoes, isn’t it? You’re limping. Goddamn it, what if we have to pursue some asshole on foot?”
“Maybe they weren’t the best choice, but I’m still finding my personal look. There may be some miscues along the way.”
“Tomorrow you’d better be in something normal. Something you can walk in.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Peabody hunched her shoulders at Eve’s glare. “I don’t have to say ‘sir’ all the time because, hey, look, detective now. And we’re partners and all.”
“Not when you’re wearing those shoes.”
“I was going to burn them when I got home. But now I’m thinking of getting a hatchet and chopping them into tiny, tiny pieces.”
Eve knocked on the apartment door. Essie answered. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face splotchy from tears. She simply stared at Eve, saying nothing.
“We appreciate your coming back from your parents to let us go through your sister’s things,” Eve began. “We’re very sorry for your loss and regret having to intrude at this time.”
“I’m going to go back and stay with them tonight. I needed to come and get some of my things anyway. I don’t want to stay here tonight. I don’t know if I’ll ever stay here again. I should’ve called the police right away. As soon as she didn’t come home, I should’ve called.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered.”
“The other cops, the ones who came to tell me? They said I shouldn’t go down to see her.”
“They’re right.”
“Why don’t you sit down, Essie.” Peabody moved in, took her arm and led her to a chair. “You know why we need to go through her things?”
“In case you find something that tells you who did this to her. I don’t care what you have to do, as long as you find who did this to her. She never hurt anybody in her whole life. Sometimes she used to piss me off, but your sister’s supposed to, right?”
Peabody left her hand on Essie’s shoulder another moment. “Mine sure does.”
“She never hurt anybody.”
“Do you want to stay here while we do this? Or maybe you have a friend in the building. You could go there until we’re done.”
“I don’t want to talk to anybody. Just do what you have to do. I’ll be right here.”
Eve took the closet, Peabody the dresser. In various pockets, Eve found a tiny bottle of breath freshener, a sample-size tube of lipdye and a mini pocket organizer that turned out to belong to Essie.
“I got
Her own solution was a bit more direct. She hit the sirens, punched into vertical and skimmed the corner to take the crosstown to Tenth.
They were fifteen blocks away when her climate control sputtered and died.
“I hate technology. I hate Maintenance. I hate the goddamn stupid NYPSD budget that sticks me with these pieces-of-shit vehicles.”
“There, there, sir,” Peabody crooned as she hunkered down to work on the controls manually. “There, there.”
After the sweat began to run into her eyes, Peabody gave up. “You know, I could call Maintenance. Yes, we hate them like poison, like rat poison on a cracker,” she said quickly. “So I was thinking, I could ask McNab to take a whack at it. He’s good with this kind of thing.”
“Great, good, fine.” Eve rolled down the windows before they suffocated. The stinking, steamy air outside wasn’t much of an improvement. “When we finish at Cobb’s, you drop me home, take this rolling disaster with you. You can pick me up in the morning.”
When she reached the apartment building she considered, actively, the rewards of giving one of the stoop-sitters twenty to steal the damn car. Instead, she decided to hope somebody boosted it while they were inside.
As they started inside, she heard Peabody’s quiet whimper. “What?”
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.”
“It’s those shoes, isn’t it? You’re limping. Goddamn it, what if we have to pursue some asshole on foot?”
“Maybe they weren’t the best choice, but I’m still finding my personal look. There may be some miscues along the way.”
“Tomorrow you’d better be in something normal. Something you can walk in.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Peabody hunched her shoulders at Eve’s glare. “I don’t have to say ‘sir’ all the time because, hey, look, detective now. And we’re partners and all.”
“Not when you’re wearing those shoes.”
“I was going to burn them when I got home. But now I’m thinking of getting a hatchet and chopping them into tiny, tiny pieces.”
Eve knocked on the apartment door. Essie answered. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face splotchy from tears. She simply stared at Eve, saying nothing.
“We appreciate your coming back from your parents to let us go through your sister’s things,” Eve began. “We’re very sorry for your loss and regret having to intrude at this time.”
“I’m going to go back and stay with them tonight. I needed to come and get some of my things anyway. I don’t want to stay here tonight. I don’t know if I’ll ever stay here again. I should’ve called the police right away. As soon as she didn’t come home, I should’ve called.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered.”
“The other cops, the ones who came to tell me? They said I shouldn’t go down to see her.”
“They’re right.”
“Why don’t you sit down, Essie.” Peabody moved in, took her arm and led her to a chair. “You know why we need to go through her things?”
“In case you find something that tells you who did this to her. I don’t care what you have to do, as long as you find who did this to her. She never hurt anybody in her whole life. Sometimes she used to piss me off, but your sister’s supposed to, right?”
Peabody left her hand on Essie’s shoulder another moment. “Mine sure does.”
“She never hurt anybody.”
“Do you want to stay here while we do this? Or maybe you have a friend in the building. You could go there until we’re done.”
“I don’t want to talk to anybody. Just do what you have to do. I’ll be right here.”
Eve took the closet, Peabody the dresser. In various pockets, Eve found a tiny bottle of breath freshener, a sample-size tube of lipdye and a mini pocket organizer that turned out to belong to Essie.
“I got
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