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“Commander?”
“Go. Mrs. Dunwood, you need to sit down.”
Leaving the men to deal with the hysteria, Eve laid her hand on her weapon and started her search. She went upstairs first, trusting Lucias could be dealt with if he made any move on the lower level. She swept each room, entered, searched. When she came to a locked door, she drew out her master, bypassed the locks.
He’d kept a room here, she noted as she stepped inside. A pampered, indulged boy’s room full of high-class toys. The entertainment unit spread over an entire wall—video, audio, screen, game components. The data and communication center took up most of an L-shaped counter. Shelves were stocked tight with discs, books, mementos.
There was a minilab, fully equipped, set up in the adjoining room.
In both areas, the drapes were drawn tight over the windows, the doors locked to the outside hallways. It was a little world of secrets, she thought.
She searched the closets first, found more wigs stored in clear boxes along with what she assumed he considered his secondary wardrobe.
In the bath she found traces of face putty and face base on the counter.
No, he wasn’t here, she thought. And he hadn’t walked out as himself.
Holstering her weapon, she walked back to the data center.
“Computer, display last opened file, image or data.”
CANNOT COMPLY WITHOUT PASSWORD . . .
“We’ll see about that.” She hurried out, went to the top of the stairs. “Roarke, I need you a minute.”
She walked back through the bedroom into the lab and helped herself to a can of Seal-It.
“The maid claims Dunwood and his mother had a shouting match,” Roarke told her as he came in. “Or rather, Dunwood did the shouting. She heard his mother crying, heard the sound of blows. That’s when she ran out of the kitchen area. She heard him slam out, and found Mrs. Dunwood on the floor. Apparently, it’s not the first time he’s used his fists on her. Like his grandfather and father before him. The father’s in Seattle on business. He doesn’t spend much time here.”
“Big, happy family. I want whatever you can get me out of this, last work first. It’s passcoded. If you have to touch anything, use this.”
She tossed him the sealant. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
She left him to it, went downstairs. “He’s not on the premises,” she told the commander. “Mrs. Dunwood, where did Lucias go?”
“For a walk. He just went out for a walk. His mind’s troubled.”
I’ll say, Eve thought, but crouched down. “Mrs. Dunwood, you’re not helping him. You’re not helping yourself. The longer it takes to find him, the harder it’s going to go on him. Tell me where he is.”
“I don’t know. He was upset and angry.”
“How was he dressed when he left?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do. He disguised himself again. And you knew when you saw him that way, you knew in some part of yourself that he’d done everything he’s been accused of.”
“I don’t. I don’t believe it.”
Eve turned away when her communicator signaled. She strode out of earshot, listened. Then she gave the order for an APB.
“Kevin Morano’s dead.” She said it flatly, watched shock and horror pale Mrs. Dunwood’s face.
“Kevin? No. No.”
“He was poisoned. He had a visitor this evening in a consultation room. You know what that visitor looked like, don’t you, Mrs. Dunwood? Your son went to visit his friend, and he killed him. Then he walked away.”
“How the hell did he get through security?” Whitney demanded to know.
