She turned away from the board. “Let’s keep her alive. I don’t want to see another face on this board.”
“A moment of your time, Lieutenant?” Roarke gestured to his office, stepped out himself before she could put him off.
“Look, I’m on the clock here.”
“Then why waste time.” He shut the door behind her. “I can get you those consumer lists, have them cross-referenced and complete in a fraction of the time it would take Peabody.”
“Haven’t you got work?”
“Considerable, yes. It would still take me less time.” He skimmed a fingertip over the bruise on her jaw, then lightly along the shallow dent in her chin. “I find I prefer having my mind fully occupied just now. And,” he added. “I’d rather not see another face on your murder board either. I intend to do it anyway, but I thought you might feel less annoyed if I made the pretense of asking.”
She scowled at him, folded her arms. “Pretense?”
“Yes, darling.” He kissed the bruise. “And this way, as you know what I’m up to, it frees you to have Peabody along with you in the field, wherever that might be.” His in-house communication panel beeped. “Yes?”
“A Dr. Dimatto is here to see Lieutenant Dallas.”
“Send her up,” Eve ordered. “Do what you’re going to do,” she told Roarke. “But for right now I’m going with the pretense that I don’t know about it.”
“Whatever works for you. I’m just going to take a minute to set some things up. Then I’d like to say hello to Louise.”
“Suit yourself.” She opened the door, glanced back. “You generally do.”
“That’s what makes me such a contented man.”
She gave a rude snort and crossed into her office to greet Louise.
She came in fast, but Eve had rarely seen her move another way. She took one look at the coffee in Eve’s hand and smiled. “Yes, I’d love some, thanks.”
“Peabody, coffee for Dr. Dimatto. Anything else we can get you?”
Louise stared at the danish McNab was current
ly trying to swallow whole. “Is that an apple danish?”
With his mouth stuffed, he made some sound, a mixture of affirmation, pleasure, and guilt.
“Love one, too, thanks again.”
Eve swept a glance over Louise’s snappy red suit. “You don’t look dressed for seeing patients, Doc.”
“I have a meeting. Fund-raiser.” Diamonds twinkled at her ears when she tilted her head. “You tend to squeeze out more money when you look like you don’t need it. Go figure. In any case . . . thank you, Peabody. Mind if I sit?” She did, crossing her legs, balancing the plate with the danish expertly on her knee as she took her first sip of coffee.
She heaved a long sigh before she sipped again. “Where do you get this stuff? It has to be illegal.”
“Roarke.”
“Naturally.” She broke off a tidy corner of the danish.
“Have you got a reason for dropping by, Louise, other than a little coffee break? We’re a little busy here.”
“I’m sure you are.” She nodded toward the board. “I asked about Bryna Bankhead in my building. She knew everyone on her floor, and several others. She was very well liked. She’d lived there three years. She dated fairly regularly, but no one serious.”
“I know all that. Thinking of giving up medicine for police work?”
“She lived there for three years,” Louise repeated, and the humor had died from her voice. “I’ve lived there for two. She fell on the sidewalk at my feet. I’d never had a conversation with her.”
“Feeling guilty over that won’t change what happened to her.”