“He’s not in there, Chloe.”
“I have a right to see where he was murdered.”
Eve held up a hand to security, then took Chloe’s arm. “That’s far enough,” she said at the doorway.
She felt the girl jerk, felt her tremble. But she didn’t cry out. Instead, she made a low, keening sound, then sucked in her breath and stopped it.
“How did they kill him? What did they use to kill him? I didn’t want to ask the medical examiner in front of my mother.”
“There was a display piece in the office. An amethyst.”
“The magic crystal?” Another keening sound escaped again, and she swallowed it. “We called it that, Anya and I. Granddad told us he won it from a wizard in a poker game.”
When she clutched at her belly, Eve grabbed her arm again. “If you’re going to be sick—”
“I’m not. I won’t.” She’d gone pale as glass, still trembled, but fought to stiffen her shoulders.
“Let’s walk outside. You could use the air.”
When Chloe only nodded, Eve guided her out.
“I’m okay. I have to be. My mom… she’s not weak, but she’s shattered. She’s just… lost right now. They really loved each other. Not everybody does who stays married. But they really loved each other. They liked each other. This is all going to come out now, isn’t it? The things my grandfather stole.”
“Yes.”
“I loved him. We always had so much fun when we visited here. My dad used to say how Granddad liked us better than he did his own kids, and Granddad would say, why wouldn’t he? He didn’t have to raise us, clothe us, educate us. He only had to enjoy us.”
Pressing a hand over her mouth, she breathed through her fingers. “But he was a selfish man. Only a selfish man could have all that stolen and locked away. Now my dad’s gone, and he’ll be smeared with that. And he didn’t do anything wrong. He was working on the best way to give it all back.”
“I know that. I believe that.”
“It’s what everyone cares about. His blood’s all over the floor. My mom’s broken, our family’s broken, but all everyone cares about are those things. All these guards and weapons, for the things, and my father’s dead.”
That keening sound. Eve didn’t have to hear it to know it lived inside a dead man’s daughter.
“I have to care about the things. They were my responsibility, and now they’re not, or soon won’t be. I have to care about the things because they’re the reason your father’s dead. And he’s mine now. Not the same way he’s yours, but he’s mine now and deserves the best I’ve got.”
“You don’t know him.”
“I know he fell for your mother in college and never quit. I know he maybe got a boost at Zip, but he worked to earn his place. I know his cook made him chicken soup and valerian tea not just because it’s her job but because she cared about him.
“I know he ran track in high school—pretty good sprinter,” she added as Chloe stared at her.
“I know he liked to read science fiction novels, played tennis. His best man at the wedding was a childhood friend, and a few years later, he was best man at that friend’s wedding.”
“How do you know all that?”
“I know all that, and more, because he belongs to me now.”
Chloe looked away. “The guy I’m seeing, he was really into the Furst books, the vid. And I thought, right. They cashed in because she’s married to a guy who’s got more money than ten gods, and she’s probably playing at the cop thing while thinking about her next trip to Paris. Then my aunt said when you came last night he was in a tux and you were wearing a designer gown.”
“That part’s true. We were at this charity thing when I got the call.”
“Why didn’t you pass it off? Why didn’t you just hand it off and go on dancing?”
“Because I’m a cop, and someone was dead. I work Homicide because the dead can’t speak or stand for themselves, so I speak and stand for them. That’s it.”
With a nod, Chloe wiped at her eyes. “I had to be pissed at someone. Had to blame someone or I’d just fall to pieces. But that’s a stupid way to get through this. I’m sorry I used you for it.”
