“Whew, nobody dressed like you are should be able to burn the flesh off somebody’s bones with that look.” Then she grinned. “It’s the point!”
“Shut up about it or I’ll crush your still smoking bones with my boot. Jesus, still more coming.”
She’d stayed well back, hoping to scan faces, to judge body language. But now moved into and through the crowd. A lot of kids, she thought, from babies in those pushcart things or in backpacks to toddlers and up to teens.
She wove through to stand with Louise and Charles.
“I’m glad you came.” Louise took Eve’s hand to squeeze, then Peabody’s. “It’s a hard day, but the way they’re doing it…”
“It shows not only that he was loved,” Charles finished, “but that he loved. He cared. Delia.” Charles bent down to kiss her cheek, then with the ease of a friend, flipped a finger in her hair. “I love the red.”
“I’m having fun with it. How are you doing, Louise?”
“Hanging in. They asked me to give the eulogy.” Louise leaned into Charles as she spoke. “They were afraid none of the family would be able to get through it without breaking down. But I—”
“You won’t,” Eve interrupted. “You won’t break down because you know what they need from you.”
“That’s what Charles said. I want you to know Martin has absolute faith in you.”
“Oh hell.”
“No, it’s important for you to know. He understands we’re friends, but he didn’t have to tell me, and he did. He believes you and Peabody will do everything you can do. He said with all his years of working with educators, he can recognize whether someone has a passion for the work, the importance of it, or if it’s just a job. And he recognized it’s not just a job for either of you.”
Louise put an arm around Eve for a quick hug before Eve could evade it. Then did the same with Peabody.
“It matters to him. It comforts him. And right now, when I’m about to speak about a really good friend, it comforts me.”
“She won’t ask,” Charles put in, “so I will. Is there any more? Do you know any more you can tell us?”
“We have a full agenda today on the job that, no, isn’t just a job. We have a lead, and we’ll build on it. You know a lot of these people, so if you see anyone who doesn’t fit in, or who just gives you a wrong feel, let us know.”
She looked around again. “For now, we’re going to move around, get a sense, pay our respects.”
“We’re going back to the house with the family, Kent’s office staff, some of the close friends after. We’ll pay attention,” Charles assured her.
“I’ll be speaking in a few minutes. I guess I’ll have a pretty good view from up there.” Louise gestured to a slim podium set between baskets of flowers. “I’ll try my best.”
With Peabody, Eve moved through the crowd, kept her eyes and ears open, until they paused near Rufty.
“Lieutenant, Detective. It’s so kind of you to come.”
Though red-rimmed, his eyes stayed dry.
“I saw you speaking with Louise and Charles. They’ve been such strong shoulders the last few days.”
“We wanted to pay our respects, and to offer you and your family the condolences of the NYPSD.”
“Thank you. Thank you very much. It’s—it’s time for Louise to speak. Our son started to write the eulogy, but, well, he couldn’t. None of us felt we could manage it.”
“It’s time to sit, Daddy.” His daughter took his arm. “Excuse us.”
“Let’s move back, Peabody. You go left, I’ll go right. Find a vantage point.”
Eve found her own, watching, watching as Louise began to speak, as people stopped chatting or moving around to listen.
She had a mini mic clipped to her black jacket so her voice carried. Eve didn’t pay attention to the words as she studied faces, groups, but heard the tone.
Strong and soothing, and that hit the mark.
She didn’t break down, and though Eve stayed for another ten minutes, no one gave her a buzz.
She signaled Peabody to meet her at the car.
“Louise did so good,” Peabody said as she got into the car. “She was really loving and told sweet stories, and funny ones just when you needed one.” Then she sighed. “There were so many people, and so many types. The killer could have been there, just blended in.
“It was worth a shot,” she added.
“It might be worth another to go to Duran’s memorial, see if we spot any faces who were here.”
“Yeah. There’d maybe be some overlap, but yeah. Can I now?” Peabody asked as Eve drove toward the shuttle station. “Nobody can see.”
“You can touch it, once.”
“Once isn’t a pet! Three times is a pet, that’s minimum.”
“That’s not a thing. That’s definitely not a thing.”
But Peabody had already reached out. Stroked. “So smooth! Now you’ve got the black coat that says I’ll kick your ass and the three asses with you, and the jacket that says I can handle whatever I need to without breaking a sweat. Now this? This says I may be classy, but you don’t want to mess with me.”
“Is that what it says?”
“Loud and clear. On somebody else, it would just say classy, but you put it on the cop, that’s the punch.”
“That’s not bad. And that’s three.”
“I didn’t think you were counting. I love my pink coat, and that color wouldn’t work on me. But I can still lust for it.”
“Keep your lusts to yourself. I don’t plan to soft-pedal it with Grange.”
“I guess that makes me good cop.”
“I’m looking for you to judge her reactions and play it from there. She’s used to giving orders, and being the top dog. I’m betting she’s not going to much like either of us before we get started.”
“Got it, and that’s okay, because from everything we’ve learned about her so far, I don’t like her before we get started. Thinking of all that, I can start off pretending to be a little awed and intimidated.”
“Thanks to EDD and Rufty’s reports and notes, we’ve got a slew of names to hit her with. Including banging one of her teachers on school premises.”
“Do you really think she … with a student?”
“Hard to say. Let’s hope it’s not so hard after we talk to her. We’re doing this on her turf, so she’ll think she has the advantage. She doesn’t. We go from her to Kendel Hayward. We’re not notifying her or asking her for an interview.”
Showing her teeth, Peabody rubbed her hands together. “We ambush.”
“Close enough. She’s got a lot to lose if she’s in any way involved. She’s got a lot to lose if she knows or suspects anything and doesn’t come clean. That’s what we make clear.”
“I don’t need to pretend to be awed or intimidated.”
“We pressure—from both sides—until we get a sense.”
“Something could break loose. It’s too bad we’re going to East Washington after the cherry blossoms have peaked. I bet it’s really mag.”