An hour later, she was back to being annoyed and frustrated. She'd managed to intimidate and browbeat reservation lists out of two of the resort spas on her list. The others were sticking firm to the protection-of-guests' privacy line. And so were the private transportation companies.
Pushing through an international warrant to free up the data was problematic and time-consuming. The case was a hot enough button that the judge she'd tapped for it was sympathetic rather than annoyed. But it was taking time.
Another advantage for Julianna, Eve thought. She didn't have to jump through the hoops of the law.
She paced, checked her wrist unit, and willed the warrant to spill out of her data slot.
"Problem, Lieutenant?"
She glanced back to where he leaned against the doorjamb separating their offices. He looked very alert, and very pleased with himself.
"I guess somebody's time was well spent."
"It was. The meeting went very well. And yours?"
"Bureaucratic snags." She glared at her computer. "Waiting for paperwork."
"Of what sort?"
"Of the legal sort. Privacy codes. Nobody blabs to a badge anymore, especially a foreign badge. And those fancy spa places are damned tight-lipped about who's coming in to have their hips sheered or their chins lifted."
"Ah, well, if that's all."
"No. I thought about it—thought about it a little too easy and a little too fast. This is just a hunch, and I'm not having you slide under the law to access data on a hunch."
"When you spend this much time and energy on an angle, it's more than a hunch."
"I know this is something she'll do. Maybe not now, but soon. She needs that kind of thing and New York's too risky. She needs to pump herself up, reward herself, before she hits at you. She didn't take the time in Denver, and she could have. She wants something more prestigious, more exclusive. With more ... what do you call it? Cachet. So it's France or Italy or something Old World. She doesn't do off planet. It's too nouveau for her."
"Will you get your warrant?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's coming. Eventually. Protocol, politics, bullshit."
"Then what difference does it make, in the grand scheme, if you begin to accumulate data now, or when a document's in your hand?"
"It's the law."
And in less than three days, Eve thought, it was highly probable that the woman she hunted would try to kill Roarke. Not because she knew him. Not because she hated him. But because she dismissed the law and all it stood for.
Because she wanted payback.
"It's hard for you, being so conflicted over something you want to be black and white. But even the law has shades, Lieutenant, and we both know them all very well."
She gave up, and stepped into the gray. "She'd use her own initials. She doesn't like to give up her identity. The list, in order of probability percentage is already loaded on my machine."
"All right then. Let's find her." He sat down at her desk, rolled up the sleeves of his pristine white shirt. "It's really just a head start on a technicality."
She told herself to think about that later.
"I'm looking for reservations starting from yesterday through the next four weeks. I could be pushing her into relaxation mode too fast. Maybe she's going for it after she's won the war."
"We'll scan for the next month then. L'lndulgence first? Over-priced with a coolly efficient staff. Its ratings have stagnated over the last two years. It's falling out of fashion."
"Which is why you don't own it."
"Darling, if I did, I'd make certain it remained in fashion. This'll just take a minute or two. Wouldn't you like coffee?"
"Yeah, I guess."