“I sense unplumbed depths.”
He grinned at her. “I got some that are plumbed, too. Anyway, Morbelli runs a tight, efficient ship.”
“Good to know. I’m going to take another run at the household. If she’s not done when I am, I’m leaving it in your hands.”
“We got it covered.”
“I wouldn’t leave otherwise. You could tag me when everything’s moved and secured.”
“Can do. What the hell was that guy thinking? Locking all that away?”
“Mine,” Eve said. “All mine.”
When she went back in, Roarke met her in the foyer.
“The widow went up to lie down, her youngest with her. The older daughter just went up to check on them. The sister’s using the widow’s office to draft a statement.”
“The staff?”
“About their duties. I asked that they stay available to you.”
“That works. I’ll take the sister now. Listen, you don’t have to hang around for the rest of this.”
“It’s rather fascinating.” He glanced back toward the crime scene. “I’ll go when you go.” Despite the recorder, he touched her cheek. “Haven’t eaten since breakfast, have you then?”
“I’ll get something when we’re done here. If you’re staying, maybe pick the best spot for me to talk to the staff, separately, housekeeper first.”
She walked to the second office, where Joy Barrister sat at the desk, staring at the monitor. She’d done her makeup, Eve noted, and carefully, but the strain showed through.
“I have to interrupt you.”
“It’s fine. I can’t get my head around it. I can’t ask Aileen to help. She’s just not up to it. And I don’t want to call the PR team who’d usually… it’s too personal. But we have to have something. It’s going to hit the media soon. We have to be ready.”
“I’m going to give you the name of our media liaison.”
“Roarke’s?”
“No, NYPSD’s media liaison. He’s very good, and it’s best if you coordinate with him anyway. On the statement, on the time and the place to give it.”
“Oh yes. Of course.” She lifted her hands. “I need to do something, but I’m not doing very well at this. Do I need to go over everything about last night again?”
“No, unless you remember something else.”
“I wish I did.” On a sigh, she pressed her fingers to her eyes. “I wish I’d gotten up. If it had been Nate I heard walking down the hall, I wish I’d gotten up, gone down with him. Maybe… Well, maybe doesn’t count.”
“Ms. Barrister, someone knew about the vault, at least some of the contents.”
“Yes, that’s painfully obvious.”
“Your brother told you.”
“Yes. He asked me to come over, and said it was important. When I got here, he took me into the office, shut the door. When he locked it, I was not just surprised but a bit anxious. He looked upset. Then he opened the panel.”
She pushed at her hair. “Honestly, I was delighted. A secret vault! What fun, I thought. He told me our father had done something criminal, something we had to deal with.”
She rose, began to pace. “I said something about don’t tell me he has bodies of ex-wives we don’t know about, but he didn’t laugh. Nate loved a joke, but he didn’t laugh. He opened the vault.”
Joy stopped, stared out of the window.
