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“You’re sure it’s a cop?” Nadine asked.
“Not only a cop, but one of Coltraine’s squad.” She ordered data on her wall screen. “Delong, Vance, her lieutenant. Authority figure who likes to keep things low-key. Family man. Twenty years in, with more administrative interests and skills than investigative. He rarely works in the field, but does so on occasion.”
“He prefers a steady flow,” Mira said when Eve nodded to her. “While he does possess solid leadership qualities, he’s better suited to running this small squad than he might be in helming a larger, more complex department.”
“O’Brian, Patrick. Detective,” Eve continued. “The senior man in the squad. Experience. Claims he prefers the slower pace of his squad to the work he used to do. His personal relationship with Coltraine is reputed to be a kind of father-daughter deal. With the way the squad’s set up, he—and the others—would partner up when Delong paired them.”
“He would be, in my opinion, the most trusted member of the squad. The others respected him,” Mira added. “My read of the files and Dallas’s notes indicated that the squad trusted his opinion more than their lieutenant’s. He’s the team leader.”
“Coltraine wouldn’t have questioned him,” Peabody said. “If he contacted her, told her he needed her on a case, a follow-up, any kind of op, she’d have done exactly what we believe she did that night. Get her weapons, walk out to meet him. But . . . Well, he looked really sad at her memorial. And his wife came. It felt sincere.”
“Sometimes, for some, killing’s just business,” Eve said.
“True.” Mira nodded in agreement. “And that business can be held separate from sincerity. Cops separate their emotions very often. One with his longevity could potentially commit the act, as a job to be done, and regret the loss of a friend or coworker. He has the maturity needed for the control of the kills, and the experience. But the personal elements of the acts don’t quite fit his profile, again in my opinion. The humiliation of both victims.”
“It may have been part of the orders,” Louise suggested. “Part of the assignment.”
“True enough,” Mira admitted.
“He wouldn’t have used ‘cunt.’ In the message to me.” Eve studied O’Brian’s face. “It’s too crude for his type. ‘Bitch’ but not ‘cunt.’ Plus I don’t think he’d have screwed up the tail on me. He’s too experienced. Delong would have, but not O’Brian. At this point, he’s last on my list.”
She brought up the next. “Clifton, Dak, Detective. Now, he’d use ‘cunt.’ And he’d screw up a tail. He’s cocky, full of himself, and not nearly as good as he thinks he is. Youngest male in the squad, thinks he’s a ladies’ man, and hit on Coltraine. She deflected.”
“Guys hate that.” Nadine cut another piece of French toast. “Killing’s a little extreme, but they hate that.”
“There are elements of anger in the killings,” Mira pointed out. “That need, or that enjoyment, in the close-up kill. The delay in killing Coltraine, so she’d know what was coming. The humiliation again. I would expect from his type to have signs of some sexual abuse. If not actual rape, some molestation. Proving his power over her.”
“He may have done so without leaving a mark, a sign.” Louise considered the data. “Touching her, or verbal abuse. You don’t think it’s him,” she said to Eve. “Why?”
“I’d like it to be him. He’s a prick. But he’s a hothead, with a jacket that lists excessive force, insubordination. Ricker tends to go for smarter, cooler. Then again, he might’ve been all Ricker could get in this case. He’s not out of it, he’s just not top of my list.”
She moved on. “Newman, Josh, Detective. Light touch, takes it easy. Keeps his head down and does the job.”
“He’s not top of your list either.” Mavis stood at the board, a plate in her hand. “It’s the woman.” She ate another bite, turned to where Eve sat. “It’s got to be the woman. She’s the best fit.”
“Why?” Nadine wanted to know.
“Well, jeez, Coltraine might’ve respected her lieutenant, and the old guy. She maybe liked the asshole okay, even if she brushed him back. Because, hey, Morris and she had good taste. Maybe she got on fine with this last guy, too. But she and this one? Only women in the club, right? They’re going to have a different kind of thing. Women say shit to each other and talk about stuff they don’t with penises. Look at us. Sorry,” she said abruptly to Mira. “Stepping on your spot.”
“No, it’s interesting. Your idea is that Cleo Grady killed Coltraine because they were women.”
“I just figure she’d get closer than the others, know more about what the what was when Coltraine was off—you know, the R&R time. Like she’s not going to tell the asshole she’s got her period and wants a hot bath, or the old guy how she’s got the hornies and can’t wait to jump Morris. Like that. This one probably knew all that.”
“And would’ve known, more than the others, that she’d be home alone that night.” Nadine pursed her lips. “Good one, Mavis.”
Mavis grinned, shrugged. “Okay,” she said to Eve, “am I right or am I wrong?”
“You win the Smart Girl Award.”
“Uptown!”
“Grady’s your prime? You could’ve told me,” Peabody complained.
“I didn’t bump her up until this morning. She’s cool-headed, but she’s got something under there that runs hot. There’s the ring. Okay, you take it because
you’re playing at making it look like robbery. But you don’t send it back with the badge and weapon. You keep it. A man might do the same, for a trophy. But she likes jewelry—the subtle, classy kind. So it’s an element. Coltraine might’ve told the entire squad she was taking an evening at home alone, but given her type, she was more likely to talk about it with Grady. Plus, she and Grady were working a case together. More opportunity. And the opportunity for Grady to tag her, tell her she had something go hot on the investigation. And Ricker likes using women. He likes using them, hurting them, disposing of them. It’s icing for him to pit one against the other.”
“Sandy.” Peabody set her plate aside and rose to go to the board. “It would be easier for a woman to get close to him. Play on his ego, and he’d have less cause—in his mind—to worry about her, physically.”
