“Delay the broadcast. We need to—”
“I can’t hold the story for you, Dallas. I won’t. I’m giving you a heads up. I’ll also air whatever comment you want to make, whatever statement you or NYPSD wants to issue. But this is on in fifteen.”
“Damn it.” Frustrated, Eve swung toward the curb, cutting off a cab before she shot up a curbside parking ramp to the crowded second level. “Let’s have it.”
“ ‘Citizens of New York,’ ” Nadine read in perfect on-air pitch, “ ‘we wish to assure you of your safety and restate to you our promise to seek justice on your behalf. We are committed to our vow to protect the innocent while meting out the due punishment to the guilty that the shackled hands of the law cannot provide.
“ ‘We are you: your brothers, your sisters, your parents, your child. We are your family as we are your guardians.
“ ‘Like you, we are saddened by the tragic death of a New York Police and Security officer who died two days ago. Detective Kevin Halloway’s death during the performance of his duty is yet another example of the blight that plagues our city. We hold Louis K. Cogburn directly responsible for this despicable crime. If not for Louis Cogburn’s previous actions, which made necessary the punishment he received, Detective Kevin Halloway would be alive today, doing what he was allowed to do—within the limitations of our current laws—to serve this city.
“ ‘We ask you, the citizens of New York, to join us today in a moment of silence for the memory of Detective Halloway. And we offer his family, his friends, his fellow officers our condolences at this grievous time.
“ ‘Louis Cogburn has been punished. Justice has been served, and will continue to be served.
“ ‘We send out this warning to all who seek to harm our brothers, to all who prey on our children and the innocents, that our hand will be swift, it will be sure. You will no longer find sanctuary behind the law.
“ ‘We stand for purity.
“ ‘We stand for the people of New York.’ ”
“Smart,” Eve said when Nadine finished.
“Very smart. Make yourself one of the people so it doesn’t look too much like Big Brother’s watching you. Express regret over the death of a cop and point the finger at someone else. Restate your goals so your message is loud and clear, and leave it ringing in your audience’s ears that you stand for the people. It’s textbook PR.”
“Isn’t anyone hearing what I’m hearing?” Eve demanded. “ ‘Don’t any of you worry your poor silly heads over any of this. We’ll take care of it. We’ll decide who’s guilty, who’s innocent. Who lives, who dies. And if, gee, somebody gets caught in the crossfire, it’s not on us.’ ”
“No, you’re not the only one hearing it.” Nadine shook her head. “But a lot of people are going to hear just what they want to hear. That’s why this is textbook PR, Dallas. It works.”
“I’ll be damned if they’re going to use one of us as a symbol. You want a comment, Nadine, here it is: Lieutenant Eve Dallas, primary investigator on the Purity homicides, states that EDD Detective Kevin Halloway was killed in the line of duty by a terrorist organization calling themselves The Purity Seekers. This organization is suspected of being responsible for the murders of four civilians and a police officer. Lieutenant Dallas further states that she, the members of her investigative team, and every officer, every resource of the New York Police and Security Department will work to uncover, identify, and arrest all members of this terrorist organization so that they may be tried under the codes of this city and if found guilty, be punished to the full extent of the law.”
“Got it, got it. Not bad,” Nadine said as she turned back from her recorder. “How about a one-on-one followup?”
“No. I’m busy, Nadine. And I have to help bury a cop today.”
They memorialized Kevin Halloway in a bereavement facility downtown only blocks from Cop Central. It had often occurred to Eve when she’d had to pay her respects to other fallen cops there, that whoever had started the business had figured the location near a major cop shop would be a plus.
For Halloway, they’d opened the entire first flo
or, and still the place was packed. Cops always managed to find the time to wake another cop.
She spotted Mayor Peachtree, tucked in among his entourage as he shook hands and looked properly grim, sympathetic, or understanding.
Eve didn’t have anything against him personally, and he seemed to be doing the job with a minimum of fuss and self-aggrandizement. He might have been sincere.
He seemed sincere—sincerely pissed, she thought—when his sparkling gaze locked with hers through the crowd.
There was command in the single, sharp gesture that summoned her to him.
“Mayor.”
“Lieutenant.” He kept his voice low. It could have been mistaken for reverent in such a place, but she heard the annoyance beneath it. “Your record is impressive. Your superiors have complete faith in your abilities. But you’re not simply a police official in this matter. You’re a public figure. Your statement to Furst at 75 was neither vetted nor authorized.”
“My statement was responsive and accurate.”
“Accuracy.” He seemed to draw himself in. “Accuracy isn’t the issue. Perception, image, and message are. Lieutenant, we need to be a unit, a team, during this crisis.”
He laid a hand on her arm. There was warmth in the gesture, a kind of practiced bonhomie, just as the slight curve of his lips was practiced. “I’m depending on you.”