Twice a day, between the hours of ten and four, tours were guided through the station. Louise had taken one herself as a child, had gawked with the best of them, and had, she remembered with a smug smile, decided then and there on her career.
She waved to the guard at the front entrance, detoured to the east end, which was the shortest route to Second. At the side door for employees, she passed her palm over the handplate to deactivate the lock. As the door swung open, she winced at the heavy sound of drumming rain. She almost changed her mind.
Was one sneaky smoke worth a two-block sprint through the cold and damp? Damn right, she thought and flipped up the hood. The good, expensive raincoat would keep her dry enough, and she’d been stuck in Editing with Nadine for more than an hour.
Hunching her shoulders, she bolted outside.
The wind kicked so that she broke her stride just long enough to secure the coat at the waist. Her shoes were soaked before she reached the bottom of the steps, and looking down at them, she swore under her breath.
“Well, shit.”
They were the last words she spoke.
A movement caught her attention and she looked up, blinking once to
clear the rain from her eyes. She never saw the knife, already in an arching slash, glint wetly in the rain then slice viciously across her throat.
The killer studied her for only a moment, watched the blood fountain, the body collapse like a puppet cut from its strings. There was shock, then anger, then a quick, jittering fear. The gored knife hurried back into a deep pocket before the darkly clad figure ran off into the shadows.
“I think I could live like this.” After a meal of rare Montana beef accented with lobsters harvested from Icelandic waters, washed down with French champagne, Mavis lounged in the lush indoor lagoon off the solarium. She yawned, blissfully naked and just a little drunk. “You are living like this.”
“Sort of.” Not quite as free-spirited as Mavis, Eve wore a snug one-piece tank suit. She’d cozied herself on a smooth seat made of stone, and was still drinking. She hadn’t allowed herself to relax to this extent in too long to remember. “I don’t really have a lot of time for this part of it.”
“Make time, babe.” Mavis submerged, popped up again, perfect round breasts gleaming in the showy blue lights she’d programmed. Lazily, she paddled over to a water lily, gave a sniff. “Christ, this is the real thing. Do you know what you’ve got here, Dallas?”
“Indoor swimming?”
“What you’ve got,” Mavis began as she frog kicked her way over to the float that held her glass, “is a grade one fantasy. The kind you can’t get from the top-line VR goggles.” She took a long sip of icy champagne. “You’re not going to get all weirded out and blow it, are you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you. You’ll pick it apart, question everything, analyze.” Noting Eve’s glass was empty, Mavis did the honors. “Well, I’m telling you, pal. Don’t.”
“I don’t pick things apart.”
“You’re the champion picked—pick it part—damn it, pick it aparter. Whew. Try saying that five times fast when your tongue’s numb.” She used a bare hip to nudge Eve over and squeezed in next to her. “He’s crazy about you, isn’t he?”
Eve jerked her shoulders and drank.
“He’s rich, I mean mag rich, gorgeous as a god, and that body—”
“What d’you know about his body?”
“I got eyes. I use ’em. I’ve got a pretty good idea of what he looks like naked.” Amused by the glint in Eve’s eyes, Mavis licked her lips. “Of course, any time you want to fill in the missing details, I’m here for you.”
“What a pal.”
“That’s me. Anyway, he’s all that stuff. Then there’s that power trip. He’s got all that power, sort of shoots out from him.” She highlighted the statement by splashing up water. “And he looks at you like he could eat you alive. In big . . . greedy . . . bites. Shit, I’m getting hot.”
“Keep your hands off me.”
Mavis snorted. “Maybe I’ll go seduce Summerset.”
“I don’t think he has a dick.”
“Bet I could find out.” But she was just too lazy at the moment. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
“Summerset? I’ve had a hell of a time controlling myself around him.”