“Yeah, Christ. I’ll start that. You still up for some fieldwork?”
“Get me up from this desk? Sure.”
She drank contemplatively. “We could split up the matches we’ve got. Have to check them out. Split them up, move faster through them.”
“I can help you out in a couple hours. Got some things to finish up.”
“Good. Peabody’s running something else. I’d want her with experience if she hits on our guy. She can handle herself, but it’d be better if she had somebody with her who’s clocked more field time. You partner with her for this?”
“Sure. What about you?”
“I’ll see if my personal expert consultant, civilian’s got some time. I’ve got a session with the psychic and the shrink. Depending on how it goes, I may have a little more data to input.”
She pushed to her feet. “Feeney,” she said before she started out. “Why would anybody buy a droid cat?”
“Litter box issue?”
“Huh. That’s a point.”
“I’m a little nervous.”
Celina lay back in a sleep chair, with the lights dim and a whisper of music Eve thought sounded like water flowing into a pool.
She’d left her hair loose and curling lavishly. Around her neck was a silver chain that dangled with several crystals in wand shapes. She wore a dress today, a long straight column in severe black that stopped inches above her ankles.
Her hands gripped the arms of the chair.
“Try to relax.” Mira moved around the chair, checking, Eve supposed, the subject’s vital and brain wave patterns.
“I am. Really.”
“We’re recording this, you understand?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ve voluntarily agreed to undergo hypnosis.”
“Yes.”
“And you’ve requested that Lieutenant Dallas be present during the session.”
“Yes.” Celina smiled a little. “Thanks for making the time.”
“It’s okay.” Eve ordered herself not to shift in her chair. She’d never witnessed a session, and wasn’t sure she was going to like it, even as an observer.
“Are you comfortable?”
Celina breathed slowly, in and out. Her hand relaxed on the arms of the chair. “Yes. Surprisingly.”
“I want you to continue to breathe, slow and deep. Picture the air coming inside you, soft and blue, expelling, clean and white.”
Mira lifted a small screen, and Eve could see the silver star on a deep blue background. The star pulsed, gently, like a quiet heartbeat. “Look at the star. Your breath comes from the star, returns to it. The star is your center.”
Uneasy, Eve looked away from the screen, pushed her thoughts back to the case to block out the soothing tone of Mira’s voice.
She didn’t think you could get hypnotized by accident, but why risk it.
Time drifted—the liquid music, Mira’s quiet voice, Celina’s deep breaths.