“Jesus, I need coffee.” She started to stalk away, rethought. She could throw one of her men a bone and save herself a step. “Santiago, Carmichael, you’re going to take the sketch of my suspect to DeLano in Brooklyn.”
Santiago visibly perked up, actually adjusted his cowboy hat. “Yeah?”
“I want her and her family to watch for this individual, who is known to have stalked them previously. Find out if DeLano, her mother, or her daughters have seen this woman—when and where, if so. Take another copy to the daughters’ school, show it around. Issue warnings. Check in with Brooklyn PSD, leave them a sketch. Hit the neighborhood shops, restaurants, and so on. Work it. The streets, alleys, shelters, boutiques, markets, diners, LCs, sidewalk sleepers, beat droids.
“She fades, but she’s not fucking invisible. If she scouts in that neighborhood, somebody’s seen her. Go.”
Santiago rose. “All over it, boss.”
“Peabody.”
“Printing out sketches now.”
Once again, Eve started toward her office, stopped when she heard a trill of crazed laughter.
Bella.
Not just Leonardo, she thought, but the whole family.
Mavis Freestone bounced in on electric-blue airboots with two-inch sparkling soles. The boots matched the current color of her hair, worn today in masses of braids. Her open coat—blue again, with thin stripes of pink and green—revealed a deep purple skin suit.
Beside her, Leonardo towered, copper skin, bronze tipped coils of hair, and a long leather coat the color of good port wine.
In his arms, Bella, blond curls falling under a hat with a puppy face and long floppy ears, waved her mittened hands and shouted, “Das!”
“Heartbreaker in training.” Baxter got up from his desk grinning, walked over to snatch her and toss her up in a way that made Bella squeal and Eve’s heart stop.
“Jesus, Baxter.”
“She’s a cutie.” He set her down.
She toddled straight over to hug Eve’s legs, then try to climb up them.
Left with little choice, Eve hauled her up. Bella planted a wet, sticky kiss on her cheek, bounced, babbled, with blue eyes dancing. And ended with a question. “Ork?”
“He’s not here.”
“Aw. Ove Ork.”
“Right. Listen, I appreciate you coming in.”
“We were close by,” Leonardo told her. “Anything I can do to help.”
“Probability’s high she’s working as a seamstress or a tailor. Most likely out of Brooklyn, but she may commute. Peabody says she’s good. Really good.”
“Design and execution,” Peabody confirmed. “Hey, Bellamina, want to come with me?”
Bella blew Peabody a kiss, but curled into Eve. “Das.”
“Let’s take it into my office.” Because Eve couldn’t quite get her head around standing in the bullpen holding a kid.
“Sure. Hey, Jenkinson.” Mavis beamed at him. “That tie is the total ult.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Eve mumbled and led the way.
“I’m running facial recognition,” she began. “And we’ve got a couple other angles. Since you’re in the business, maybe you know somebody who knows something. If she’s as good as Peabody says, maybe she works for a top outlet or designer. We need to—”
As they stepped into the office, Bella gasped. She pointed at the board. “Ow!”