“Any threats?”
“No, nothing serious.” She stared beyond Eve to the red wall of curtains. “A client demanding their money back from Keelie, or filing suit because they didn't get the results they wanted when they were stuffing their faces with soy chips. And Grant would get the sort of outrage or anger lawyers deal with because they're lawyers. But for the most part, their clients were satisfied. Both of them built a solid base because of referrals and word of mouth. People liked them.”
“Were they ever involved in anything or with anyone illegal? This isn't about protecting them,” Eve added.
“They believed in doing the right thing, in setting an example for their children. Grant used to joke about his wild college days, and how he'd once been arrested for possession of some Zoner. How it scared him enough to straighten him out.”
She curled her legs up in a way that told Eve the gesture was habitual, thoughtless. “They didn't have a strong family base, either of them. It was important to them to make one, and to raise their own children on that base. The closest either of them would have come to doing something against the law was jaywalking or cheering too loudly at one of Coyle's games.”
“How did you arrange to have Linnie stay the night in their house?”
Jenny shuddered once. She uncurled her legs, sat very straight with her busy fingers twisted tight in her lap. “I… I asked Keelie if she'd be able to have Linnie over after school, keep her for the night. A school night. Normally, she didn't allow sleepovers on school nights. But she was happy to do it, pleased that Matt and I were able to get the suite, have the anniversary celebration.”
“How long ago did you arrange it?”
“Oh, six, seven weeks. We're not spur-of-the-moment people. But we didn't tell the girls until the night before, in case something came up. They were so excited. Oh God.” She clutched her belly and began to rock. “Linnie said, she said, it was like a present for her, too.”
“Nixie came here a lot, too.”
“Yes, yes.” She kept rocking. “Play dates, study dates, sleepovers.”
“How would she get here?”
“How?” She blinked. “One of them would bring her, or one of us would pick her up.”
“She and Linnie ever go out by themselves?”
“No.” Her eyes were wet now, and Jenny wiped at them in the same absent way she'd curled her legs up on the cushion. “Linnie would complain sometimes because a lot of her schoolmates were allowed to go to the park by themselves, or to the vids or arcades. But Matt and I felt she was too young to be on her own.”
“The Swishers, with Nixie?”
“The same. We had a lot in common.”
“With Coyle?”
“He was older, and a boy. I know that's sexist, but it's the way it is. They kept a tight rein on him, but he could go out with his friends, on his own, as long as they knew where. And he had to carry a pocket 'link so they could check on him.”
“Did he ever get in any trouble?”
“He was a good kid.” Her lips trembled. “A very good kid. His biggest rebellion, that I know of, was sneaking junk food, and Keelie knew about it anyway. He was sports mad, and if he screwed up, they'd limit his activities. Coyle wouldn't risk not being able to play ball.”
When Eve sat back, Peabody touched Jenny on the arm. “Is there someone we can call for you? Someone you want to be here with you?”
“My mother's coming. I told her not to, but then I called her back. My mother's coming.”
“Mrs. Dyson, we're going to need to talk about arrangements for Nixie.”
“Nixie?”
“You and your husband are her legal guardians.”
“Yes.” She pushed a hand through her hair. “We-they wanted to make sure Nixie and Coyle had… I can't, I can't think-” She shot off the sofa when her husband came down the curve of the stairs like a ghost.
His body swayed; his face was slack with drugs. He wore only a pair of white boxers. “Jenny?”
“Yes, baby, right here.” She dashed toward the stairs to enfold him.
“I had a dream, a terrible dream. Linnie.”
“Shh. Shh.” She stroked his hair, his back, staring over his shoulder at Eve as he bowed his body to hers. “I can't. I can't. Please, can't you go now? Can you go?”
7
MARRIAGE, TO EVE'S MIND, WAS A KIND OF obstacle course. You had to learn when to jump over, when to belly under, and when to stop your forward motion and change direction.
She had work, and at the moment would have preferred that forward motion. But figured when you dumped a strange kid on a spouse, you should at least give him a heads-up when it looked like the stay might be extended.
She took five minutes personal-as personal as she could manage on a pocket 'link while standing on the sidewalk.
She was surprised he answered himself, and guilty when she caught the flicker of annoyance in his eyes at the interruption.
“Sorry, I can get back to you later.”
“No, I'm between-but just. Is there a problem?”
“Maybe. I don't know. Just a gut thing, and I thought I should let you know the kid might be around a little longer than I expected.”
“I told you she's welcome as long as…” He glanced away from the screen, and she saw him raise a hand. “Give me a minute here, Caro.”
“Look, this can wait.”
“Finish it out. Why do you think she won't be with the Dysons in the next day or so?”
“They're in bad shape, and my timing didn't help. Mostly, it's a gut feeling. I'm thinking about contacting the-what is she-the grandmother?-when I find a minute. And there's a stepsister, his side, somewhere. Just a backup. Maybe a temporary deal until the Dysons are… better equipped or whatever.”
“That's fine, but meanwhile she's all right where she is.” He frowned. “You're thinking it might be considerable time before they're able to take her. Weeks?”
“Maybe. Family member should take the interim. I could bring GPS in, but I don't want to. Not if I can avoid it. Maybe I didn't read the Dysons right, but I figured you should know the kid might be around longer than we thought.”
“We'll deal with it.”
“Okay. Sorry to hold you up.”
“No problem. I'll see you at home.”
But when he clicked off, he continued to frown. He thought of the child in his home, and the dead ones. He had half a dozen people waiting for a meeting, and decided they could wait a few moments. What good was power if you didn't flex its muscles now and again?
He called up Eve's file on the Swishers from her home unit, and scanned the names of the family connections.
They started knocking on doors, working their way east then west from the Swisher home. A lot of doors remained unopened, people in the workforce. But those that did open shed no light.
Saw nothing. Terrible thing. Tragedy. Heard nothing. That poor family. Know nothing.
“What are you seeing, Peabody?”
“A lot of shock, dismay-the underlying relief it wasn't them. And a good dose of fear.”
“All that. And what are these people telling us about the victims?”
“Nice family, friendly. Well-behaved children.”
“Not our usual run, is it? It's like stepping into another dimension where people bake cookies and pass them out to strangers on the street.”
“I could use a cookie.”
Eve walked up to the next building, listed in her notes as a multifamily. “Then there's the neighborhood. Families, double incomes primarily. People like that are going to be beddy-bye at two in the morning, weekday.”
She took another moment to look up and down the street. Even in the middle of the day, the traffic was pretty light. At two in the morning, she imagined the street was quiet as a grave.