‘Good afternoon, Lieutenant. I hope you had no trouble finding us.’
‘No, we didn’t.’
‘Very good. Dr. Engrave will see you in the solarium. It’s very pleasant there. If you’d follow me.’
‘That’s a droid,’ Peabody murmured to Eve, and Anna-
6 turned, smiled beautifully.
‘I’m a new, experimental model. There are only ten of us at this stage, all in use here, at this complex. We hope to be on the market within six months. The research behind us is very extensive, and unfortunately the cost is still prohibitive for most general markets. We hope that larger industries will find the expense worthwhile until we can be cost-effectively mass produced.’
Eve cocked a head. ‘Has Roarke seen you?’
‘Of course. Roarke approves all new products. He was very involved in the design.’
‘I bet he was.’
‘Through here, please,’ Anna-6 continued, turning into a long, arched corridor in hospital white. ‘Dr. Engrave has found your specimen highly interesting. I’m sure you will find her very helpful.’ She stopped by a mini wall screen and coded in a sequence. ‘Anna-6,’ she announced. ‘Accompanied by Lieutenant Dallas and aide.’
The tiles parted, opening up into a large room filled with flora and lovely artificial sunlight. There was the tinkle of running water and the lazy drone of contented bees.
‘I will leave you here and return to lead you out. Please request any refreshment you might like. Dr. Engrave often forgets to offer.’
‘Go smile someplace else, Anna.’ The testy voice seemed to come from a clump of ferns. Anna-6 merely smiled, stepped back, and let the tiles click together. ‘I know droids have their place, but damned if they don’t make me itchy. Over here, in the spirea.’
Warily, Eve stepped to the ferns, and through. There, kneeling in rich black dirt, was a woman. Her graying hair was scooped up in a messy knot, her hands reddened and soiled. Coveralls that might have once been white were stained with too many streaks to identify. She looked up, and her plain, narrow face proved to be as filthy as her clothes.
‘I’m checking my worms. Trying out a new breed.’ She held up a clump of dirt that wiggled.
‘Very nice,’ Eve decided and was faintly relieved when Engrave buried the busy clump.
‘So, you’re Roarke’s cop. Always figured he’d choose one of those fussy purebreds with the skinny necks and big boobs.’ She pursed her lips as she looked Eve over. ‘Glad he didn’t. Trouble with purebreds is, they need constant pampering. Give me a good hybrid any day.’
Engrave wiped her dirty hands on her dirty clothes. When she rose, she proved to be about five feet tall. ‘Digging around with worms is good therapy. More people should try it, then they wouldn’t need drugs to get through the day.’
‘Speaking of drugs . . .’
‘Yes, yes, over here.’ She started off at marching pace, then began to slow, to meander. ‘Need some pruning here. More nitrogen. Underwatered. Root bound.’ She paused beside spearing green leaves, trailing vines, explosive blooms. ‘It’s gotten to the stage they pay me to garden. Nice work if you can get it. Know what this is?’
Eve looked at a purple trumpet-shaped bloom. She was pretty sure, but wary of a trap. ‘A flower.’
‘Petunia. Hah. People have forgotten the charm of the traditional. ’ She stopped by a sink, washed some of the dirt off her hands, left more under her short ragged nails. ‘Everybody wants exotic nowadays. Bigger, better, different. A good bed of petunias will give a lot of pleasure for little care. You plant them, don’t expect them to be something they’re not, and enjoy. They’re simple, don’t wither up on you if you look cross-eyed. A good bed of petunias means something. Well then.’
She hoisted herself onto a stool in front of a workbench crowded with garden tools, pots, papers, an AutoChef that blinked on empty, and a top-of-the-line computer system.
‘That was an interesting bag of tricks you sent over with that Irishman. Who knew his petunias, by the way.’
‘Feeney’s a man of many talents.’
‘Gave him a nice flat of pansies for his wife.’ Engrave engaged the computer. ‘Already ran analysis on the sample Roarke brought by. Sweet-talked me into putting a rush on it. Another Irishman. God love ’em. Believe in crossing my t’s on something like this. The fresh sample gave me more to work with.’
‘Then you have the results—’
‘Don’t rush me, girl. It only works with good-looking Micks. And I don’t like working for cops.’ Engrave smiled widely. ‘They don’t appreciate the art of science. Bet you don’t even know your periodic table, do you?’
‘Listen, Doctor—’ To Eve’s relief the formula flashed on screen. ‘Is this unit controlled?’
‘It’s passkeyed, don’t you worry. Roarke said it was top security. I’ve been off the turnip truck longer than you’ve been alive.’ She brushed Eve off with one grimy hand, gestured toward the screen with the other. ‘Now, I don’t have to go into the basic elements here. A child could make them, so I assume you’ve ID’d them.’