{"product_id":"glory-in-death-isbn-9780593545645","title":"Glory in Death","description":"\u003cb\u003eLieutenant Eve Dallas never wavers in her search for justice. But in this gripping novel in the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling In Death series, she’ll learn that matters of the heart are never black and white.\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first victim was found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second was murdered in her own apartment building. Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas had no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both victims were beautiful and highly successful women. Their glamorous lives and loves were the talk of the city. And their intimate relations with men of great power and wealth provided Eve with a long list of suspects—including her own lover, Roarke. As a woman, Eve was compelled to trust the man who shared her bed. But as a cop, it was her job to follow every lead...to investigate every scandalous rumor...to explore every secret passion, no matter how dark. Or how dangerous.“Sexy…A perfect balance of suspense, futuristic police procedural and steamy romance.”—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Some authors break the rules very successfully; a very rare few define them. Nora Roberts, writing as J.D. Robb, is a spectacular innovator who always leaves her fans desperate for more.”—\u003ci\u003eRT Book Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Ms. Robb’s brilliant talent for creating fresh, innovative plots…is unsurpassed.”—Rendezvous\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMore Praise for the In Death series\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Robb is a virtuoso.”—\u003ci\u003eSeattle Post-Intelligencer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “It’s \u003ci\u003eLaw \u0026amp; Order: SVU\u003c\/i\u003e—in the future.”—\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “J. D. Robb’s In Death novels are can’t-miss pleasures.”—#1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Harlan Coben\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Anchored by terrific characters, sudden twists that spin the whole narrative on a dime, and a thrills-to-chills ration that will raise the neck hairs of even the most jaded reader, the J. D. Robb books are the epitome of great popular fiction.”—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Dennis Lehane\u003cb\u003eJ. D.   Robb\u003c\/b\u003e is the pseudonym for a #1 \u003ci\u003eNew   York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of more than 200   novels, including the bestselling In Death series. There are more than 500   million copies of her books in print.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFame then was cheap . . .\u003cbr\u003eAnd they have kept it since, by being dead.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—DRYDEN\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChok’d with ambition of the meaner sort.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—SHAKESPEARE\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003echapter one\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe dead were her business. She lived with them, worked with them, studied them. She dreamed of them. And because that didn’t seem to be enough, in some deep, secret chamber of her heart, she mourned for them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA decade as a cop had toughened her, given her a cold, clinical, and often cynical eye toward death and its many causes. It made scenes such as the one she viewed now, on a rainy night on a dark street nasty with litter, almost too usual. But still, she felt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMurder no longer shocked, but it continued to repel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe woman had been lovely once. Long trails of her golden hair spread out like rays on the dirty sidewalk. Her eyes, wide and still with that distressed expression death often left in them, were a deep purple against cheeks bloodlessly white and wet with rain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe’d worn an expensive suit, the same rich color as her eyes. The jacket was neatly buttoned in contrast to the jerked-up skirt that exposed her trim thighs. Jewels glittered on her fingers, at her ears, against the sleek lapel of the jacket. A leather bag with a gold clasp lay near her outstretched fingers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer throat had been viciously slashed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLieutenant Eve Dallas crouched down beside death and studied it carefully. The sights and scents were familiar, but each time, every time, there was something new. Both victim and killer left their own imprint, their own style, and made murder personal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe scene had already been recorded. Police sensors and the more intimate touch of the privacy screen were in place to keep the curious barricaded and to preserve the murder site. Street traffic, such as it was in this area, had been diverted. Air traffic was light at this hour of the night and caused little distraction. The backbeat from the music of the sex club across the street thrummed busily in the air, punctuated by the occasional howl from the celebrants. The colored lights from its revolving sign pulsed against the screen, splashing garish colors over the victim’s body.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEve could have ordered it shut down for the night, but it seemed an unnecessary hassle. Even in 2058 with the gun ban, even though genetic testing often weeded out the more violent hereditary traits before they could bloom, murder happened. And it happened with enough regularity that the fun seekers across the street would be miffed at the idea of being moved along for such a minor inconvenience as death.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA uniform stood by continuing video and audio. Beside the screen a couple of forensics sweepers huddled against the driving rain and talked shop and sports. They hadn’t bothered to look at the body yet, hadn’t recognized her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWas it worse,\u003c\/i\u003e Eve wondered, and her eyes hardened as she watched the rain wash through blood, \u003ci\u003ewhen you knew the victim?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe’d had only a professional relationship with Prosecuting Attorney Cicely Towers, but enough of one to have formed a strong opinion of a strong woman.\u003ci\u003e A successful woman,\u003c\/i\u003e Eve thought,\u003ci\u003e a fighter, one who had pursued justice doggedly.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHad she been pursuing it here, in this miserable neighborhood?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a sigh, Eve reached over and opened the elegant and expensive bag to corroborate her visual ID. “Cicely Towers,” she said for the recorder. “Female, age forty-five, divorced. Resides twenty-one thirty-two East Eighty-third, number Sixty-one B. No robbery. Victim still wearing jewelry. Approximately . . .” She flipped through the wallet. “Twenty in hard bills, fifty credit tokens, six credit cards left at scene. No overt signs of struggle or sexual assault.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe looked back at the woman sprawled on the sidewalk.\u003ci\u003e What the hell were you doing out here, Towers?\u003c\/i\u003e she wondered.\u003ci\u003e Here, away from the power center, away from your classy home address?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnd dressed for business,\u003c\/i\u003e she thought. Eve knew Cicely Towers’s authoritative wardrobe well, had admired it in court and at City Hall. Strong colors—always camera ready—coordinated accessories, always with a feminine touch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEve rose, rubbed absently at the wet knees of her jeans.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Homicide,” she said briefly. “Bag her.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was no surprise to Eve that the media had caught the scent of murder and were already hunting it down before she’d reached the glossy building where Cicely Towers had lived. Several remotes and eager reporters were camped on the pristine sidewalk. The fact that it was three A.M. and raining buckets didn’t deter them. In their eyes, Eve saw the wolf gleam. The story was the prey, ratings the trophy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe could ignore the cameras that swung in her direction, the questions shot out like stinging darts. She was almost used to the loss of her anonymity. The case she had investigated and closed during the past winter had catapulted her into the public eye. The case, she thought now as she aimed a steely glance at a reporter who had the nerve to block her path, and her relationship with Roarke.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe case had been murder. And violent death, however exciting, soon passed out of the public interest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Roarke was always news.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What do you have, Lieutenant? Do you have a suspect? Is there a motive? Can you confirm that Prosecuting Attorney Towers was decapitated?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEve slowed her ground-eating stride briefly and swept her gaze over the huddle of soggy, feral-eyed reporters. She was wet, tired, and revolted, but she was careful. She’d learned that if you gave the media any part of yourself, it squeezed it, twisted it, and wrung it dry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The department has no comment at this time other than that the investigation into Prosecuting Attorney Towers’s death is proceeding.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Are you in charge of the case?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m primary,” she said shortly, then swung between the two uniforms guarding the entrance to the building.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe lobby was full of flowers: long banks and flows of fragrant, colorful blooms that made her think of spring in some exotic place—the island where she had spent three dazzling days with Roarke while she’d recovered from a bullet wound and exhaustion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe didn’t take time to smile over the memory, as she would have under other circumstances, but flashed her badge and moved across the terra-cotta tiles to the first elevator.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere were more uniforms inside. Two were behind the lobby desk handling the computerized security, others watched the entrance, still others stood by the elevator tubes. It was more manpower than necessary, but as PA, Towers had been one of their own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Her apartment’s secured?” Eve asked the closest cop.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yes, sir. No one’s been in or out since your call at oh two ten.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’ll want copies of the security discs.” She stepped into the elevator. “For the last twenty-four hours, to start.” She glanced down at the name on his uniform. “I want a detail of six, for door-to-doors beginning at seven hundred, Biggs. Floor sixty-one,” she ordered, and the elevator’s clear doors closed silently.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe stepped out into the sixty-first’s lush carpet and museum quiet. The halls were narrow, as they were in most multihabitation buildings erected within the last half century. The walls were a flawless creamy white with mirrors at rigid intervals to lend the illusion of space.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpace was no problem within the units, Eve mused. There were only three on the entire floor. She decoded the lock on 61-B using her Police and Security master card and stepped into quiet elegance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCicely Towers had done well for herself, Eve decided. And she liked to live well. As Eve took the pocket video from her field kit and clipped it onto her jacket, she scanned the living area. She recognized two paintings by a prominent twenty-first century artist hanging on the pale rose-toned wall above a wide U-shaped conversation area done in muted stripes of pinks and greens. It was her association with Roarke that had her identifying the paintings and the easy wealth in the simplicity of decor and selected pieces.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow much does a PA pull in per year?\u003c\/i\u003e she wondered as the camera recorded the scene.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEverything was tidy, meticulously so. But then, Eve reflected, from what she knew of Towers, the woman had been meticulous. In her dress, in her work, in maintaining her privacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo, what had an elegant, smart, and meticulous woman been doing in a nasty neighborhood in the middle of a nasty night?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEve walked through the room. The floor was white wood and shone like a mirror beneath lovely rugs that echoed the dominant colors of the room. On a table were framed holograms of children in varying stages of growth, from babyhood on through to the college years. A boy and girl, both pretty, both beaming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOdd, Eve thought. She’d worked with Towers on countless cases over the years. Had she known the woman had children? With a shake of her head, she walked over to the small computer built into a stylish workstation in the corner of the room. Again she used her master card to engage it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“List appointments for Cicely Towers, May two.” Eve’s lips pursed as she read the data. An hour at an upscale private health club prior to a full day in court followed by a six o’clock with a prominent defense attorney, then a dinner engagement. Eve’s brow lifted. Dinner with George Hammett.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRoarke had dealings with Hammett, Eve remembered. She’d met him now twice and knew him to be a charming and canny man who made his rather exorbitant living with transportation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd Hammett was Cicely Towers’s final appointment of the day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Print,” she murmured and tucked the hard copy in her bag.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe tried the tele-link next, requesting all incoming and outgoing calls for the past forty-eight hours. It was likely she would have to dig deeper, but for now she ordered a recording of the calls, tucked the disc away, and began a long, careful search of the apartment.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy five A.M., her eyes were gritty and her head ached. The single hour’s sleep she had managed to tuck in between sex and murder was beginning to wear on her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“According to known information,” she said wearily for the recorder, “the victim lived alone. No indication from initial investigation to the contrary. No indication that the victim left her apartment other than voluntarily, and no record of an appointment that would explain why the victim traveled to the location of the murder. Primary has secured data from her computer and tele-link for further investigation. Door-to-doors will begin at oh seven hundred and building security discs will be confiscated. Primary is leaving victim’s residence and will be en route to victim’s offices in City Hall. Lieutenant Dallas, Eve. Oh five oh eight.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEve switched off the audio and video, secured her field kit, and headed out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was past ten when she made it back to Cop Central. In concession to her hollow stomach, she zipped through the eatery, disappointed but not surprised to find most of the good stuff long gone by that hour. She settled for a soy muffin and what the eatery liked to pretend was coffee. As bad as it was, she downed everything before she settled in her office.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was just as well, as her ’link beeped instantly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Lieutenant.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe bit back a sigh as she stared into Whitney’s wide, grim-eyed face. “Commander.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“My office, now.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere wasn’t time to close her mouth before the screen went blank.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe hell with it,\u003c\/i\u003e she thought. She scrubbed her hands over her face, then through her short, choppy brown hair. There went any chance of checking her messages, of calling Roarke to let him know what she was into, or of the ten-minute catnap she’d been fantasizing about.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe rose again, worked out the kinks in her shoulders. She did take the time to remove her jacket. The leather had protected her shirt, but her jeans were still damp. Philosophically, she ignored the discomfort and gathered up what little data she had. If she was lucky, she might get another cup of cop coffee in the commander’s office.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt only took Eve about ten seconds to realize the coffee would have to wait.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhitney wasn’t sitting behind his desk, as was his habit. He was standing, facing the single-wall window that gave him his personal view of the city he’d served and protected for more than thirty years. His hands were clasped behind his back, but the relaxed pose was negated by the white knuckles.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEve briefly studied the broad shoulders, the grizzled dark hair, and the wide back of the man who had only months before refused the office of chief to remain in command here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Commander.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s stopped raining.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer eyes narrowed in puzzlement before she carefully made them blank. “Yes, sir.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s a good city all in all, Dallas. It’s easy to forget that from up here, but it’s a good city all in all. I’m working to remember that right now.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe said nothing, had nothing to say. She waited.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I made you primary on this. Technically, Deblinsky was up, so I want to know if she gives you any flak.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Deblinsky’s a good cop.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yes, she is. You’re better.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause her brows flew up, she was grateful he still had his back to her. “I appreciate your confidence, Commander.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You’ve earned it. I overrode procedure to put you in control for personal reasons. I need the best, someone who’ll go to the wall and over it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Most of us knew PA Towers, Commander. There isn’t a cop in New York who wouldn’t go to the wall and over it to find who killed her.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe sighed, and the deep inhalation of air rippled through his thick body before he turned. For a moment longer he said nothing, only studied the woman he’d put in charge. She was slim, deceptively so, for he had reason to know she had more stamina than was apparent in that long, slender body.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe was showing some fatigue now, in the shadows under her whiskey colored eyes, in the pallor of her bony face. He couldn’t let that worry him, not now.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Cicely Towers was a personal friend—a close personal friend.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I see.” Eve wondered if she did. “I’m sorry, Commander.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I knew her for years. We started out together, a hotdogging cop and an eager-beaver criminal lawyer. My wife and I are godparents to her son.” He paused a moment and seemed to fight for control. “I’ve notified her children. My wife is meeting them. They’ll stay with us until after the memorial.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe cleared his throat, pressed his lips together. “Cicely was one of my oldest friends, and above and beyond my professional respect and admiration for her, I loved her very much. My wife is devastated by this; Cicely’s children are shattered. All I could tell them was that I would do everything, anything in my power to find the person who did this to her, to give her what she worked for most of her life: justice.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow he did sit, not with authority but with weariness. “I’m telling you this, Dallas, so that you know up front I have no objectivity on this case. None. Because I don’t, I’m depending on you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I appreciate you being frank, Commander.” She hesitated only an instant. “As a personal friend of the victim’s, it’ll be necessary to interview you as soon as possible.” She watched his eyes flicker and harden. “Your wife as well, Commander. If it’s more comfortable, I can conduct the interviews at your home rather than here.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I see.” He drew another breath. “That’s why you’re primary, Dallas. There aren’t many cops who’d have the nerve to zero in so directly. I’d appreciate it if you’d wait until tomorrow, perhaps even a day or two longer, to see my wife, and if you’d see her at home. I’ll set it up.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yes, sir.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What have you got so far?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I did a recon on the victim’s residence and her office. I have files of the cases she had pending and those that she closed over the last five years. I need to cross-check names to see if anyone she sent up has been released recently, their families and associates. Particularly the violent offenders. Her batting average was very high.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Cicely was a tiger in the courtroom, and I never knew her to miss a detail. Until now.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Why was she there, Commander, in the middle of the night? Prelim autopsy puts time of death at one sixteen. It’s a rough neighborhood—shake-downs, muggings, sex joints. There’s a known chemical trading center a couple of blocks from where she was found.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I don’t know. She was a careful woman, but she was also . . . arrogant.” He smiled a little. “Admirably so. She’d go head to head with the worst this city’s got to offer. But to put herself in deliberate jeopardy . . . I don’t know.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“She was trying a case, Fluentes, murder two. Strangulation of a lady friend. His lawyer’s using the passion defense, but word is Towers was going to send him away. I’m checking it out.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Is he on the street or in a cage?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“On the street. First violent offense, bail was dead low. Being it was murder, he was required to wear a homing bracelet, but that doesn’t mean diddly if he knew anything about electronics. Would she have met with him?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Absolutely not. It would corrupt her case to meet a defendant out of the courtroom.” Thinking of Cicely, remembering Cicely, Whitney shook his head. “That she’d never risk. But he could have used other means to lure her there.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Like I said, I’m checking it out. She had a dinner appointment last night with George Hammett. Do you know him?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Socially. They saw each other occasionally. Nothing serious, according to my wife. She was always trying to find the perfect man for Cicely.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Commander, it’s best if I ask now, off the record. Were you sexually involved with the victim?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA muscle in his cheek jerked, but his eyes stayed level. “No, I wasn’t. We had a friendship, and that friendship was very valuable. In essence, she was family. You wouldn’t understand family, Dallas.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“No.” Her voice was flat. “I suppose not.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m sorry for that.” Squeezing his eyes shut, Whitney rubbed his hands over his face. “That was uncalled for, and unfair. And your question was relevant.” He dropped his hands. “You’ve never lost anyone close to you, have you, Dallas?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Not that I remember.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It shreds you to pieces,” he murmured.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe supposed it would. In the decade she had known Whitney, she had seen him furious, impatient, even coldly cruel. But she had never seen him devastated.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf that was what being close, and losing, did to a strong man, Eve supposed she was better off as she was. She had no family to lose, and only vague, ugly flashes of her childhood. Her life as it was now had begun when she was eight years old and had been found, battered and abandoned, in Texas. What had happened before that day didn’t matter. She told herself constantly that it didn’t matter. She had made herself into what she was, who she was. For friendship she had precious few she cared enough for, trusted enough in. As for more than friendship, there was Roarke. He had whittled away at her until she’d given him more. Enough more to frighten her at odd moments—frighten her because she knew he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf she gave him all, then lost him, would she be in shreds?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRather than dwell on it, Eve dosed herself with coffee and the remains of a candy bar she unearthed in her desk. The prospect of lunch was a fantasy right up there with spending a week in the tropics. She sipped and munched while she scanned the final autopsy report on her monitor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe time of death remained as issued in the prelim. The cause, a severed jugular and the resulting loss of blood and oxygen. The victim had enjoyed a meal of sea scallops and wild greens, wine, real coffee, and fresh fruit with whipped cream. Ingestion estimated at five hours before death.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe call had come in quickly. Cicely Towers had been dead only ten minutes before a cab driver, brave or desperate enough to work the neighborhood, had spotted the body and reported it. The first cruiser had arrived three minutes later.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer killer had moved fast, Eve mused. Then again, it was easy to fade in a neighborhood like that, to slip into a car, a doorway, a club. There would have been blood; the jugular gushed and sprayed. But the rain would have been an asset, washing it from the murderer’s hands.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe would have to comb the neighborhood, ask questions that were unlikely to receive any sort of viable answers. Still, bribes often worked where procedure or threats wouldn’t.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe was studying the police photo of Cicely Towers with her necklace of blood when her ’link beeped.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dallas, Homicide.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA face flashed on her screen, young, beaming, and sly. “Lieutenant, what’s the word?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEve didn’t swear, though she wanted to. Her opinion of reporters wasn’t terribly high, but C. J. Morse was on the lowest end of her scale. “You don’t want to hear the word I’ve got for you, Morse.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis round face split with a smile. “Come on, Dallas, the public’s right to know. Remember?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’ve got nothing for you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Nothing? You want me to go on air saying that Lieutenant Eve Dallas, the finest of New York’s finest, has come up empty in the investigation of the murder of one of the city’s most respected, most prominent, and most visible public figures? I could do that, Dallas,” he said, clicking his tongue. “I could, but it wouldn’t look good for you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“And you figure that matters to me.” Her smile was thin and laser sharp, and her finger hovered over the disconnect. “You figure wrong.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Maybe not to you personally, but it would reflect on the department.” His girlishly long lashes fluttered. “On Commander Whitney for pulling strings to put you on as primary. And there’s the backwash on Roarke.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer finger twitched, then curled into her palm. “Cicely Towers’s murder is a priority with the department, with Commander Whitney, and with me.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’ll quote you.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFucking little bastard.\u003c\/i\u003e “And my work with the department has nothing to do with Roarke.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Hey, brown-eyes, anything that touches you, touches Roarke now, and vice versa. And you know, the fact that your man had business dealings with the recently deceased, her ex-husband, and her current escort ties it up real pretty.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer hands balled into fists of frustration. “Roarke has a lot of business dealings with a lot of people. I didn’t know you were back on the gossip beat, C. J.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat wiped the smarmy little smile off his face. There was nothing C. J. Morse hated more than being reminded of his roots in gossip and society news. Especially now that he’d wormed his way onto the police beat. “I’ve got contacts, Dallas.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yeah, you’ve also got a pimple in the middle of your forehead. I’d have that taken care of.” With that cheap but satisfying shot, Eve cut him off.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpringing up, she paced the small square of her office, jamming her hands into her pockets, pulling them out again. Goddamn it, why did Roarke’s name have to come up in connection with the case? Just how closely was he involved with Towers’s business dealings and her associates?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEve dropped into her chair again and scowled at the reports on her desk. She’d have to find out, and quickly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt least this time, with this murder, she knew he had an alibi. At the time Cicely Towers was having her throat slashed, Roarke had been fucking the hell out of the investigating officer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003echapter two\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEve would have preferred to have gone back to the apartment she continued to keep despite the fact that she spent most nights at Roarke’s. There, she could have brooded, thought, slept, and walked herself back through the last day of Cicely Towers’s life. Instead, she headed for Roarke’s.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe was tired enough to give up the controls and let the auto program maneuver the car through late-evening traffic. Food was the first thing she needed, Eve decided. And if she could steal ten minutes to clear her mind, so much the better.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpring had decided to come out and play, prettily. It tempted her to open the windows, ignore the sounds of bustling traffic, the hum of maxibuses, the griping of pedestrians, the overhead swish of air traffic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo avoid the echoing bellow of the guides from the tourist blimps, she veered over toward Tenth. A shot through midtown and a quick zip up Park would have been quicker, but she would have been treated to the droning recitation of New York’s attractions, the history and tradition of Broadway, the brilliance of museums, the variety of shops—and the plug for the blimp’s own gift emporium.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the blimp route skimmed over her apartment, she’d heard the spiel countless times. She didn’t care to hear about the convenience of the people glides that connected the sparkling fashion shops from Fifth to Madison or the Empire State Building’s newest sky walk.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA minor traffic snag at Fifty-second had her pondering a billboard where a stunning man and a stunning woman exchanged a passionate kiss, sweetened, they claimed each time they came up for air, by Mountain Stream Breath Freshener.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir vehicles jammed flank to flank, a couple of cabbies shouted inventive insults at each other. A maxibus overflowing with passengers laid on its horn, adding an ear-stinging screech that had pedestrians on rampways and sidewalks shaking their heads or their fists.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA traffic hovercraft dipped low, blasted out the standard order to proceed or be cited. Traffic inched uptown, full of noise and temper.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe city changed as she moved from its core to its edges, where the wealthy and the privileged made their homes. Wider, cleaner streets, the sweep of trees from the islands of parks. Here the vehicles quieted to a whoosh of movement, and those who walked did so in tailored outfits and fine shoes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe passed a dog walker who handled a brace of elegant gold hounds with the steady aplomb of a seasoned droid.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen she came to the gates of Roarke’s estate, her car idled until the program cleared her through. His trees were blooming. White blossoms flowed along with pink, accented by deep, rich reds and blues, all carpeted by a long sweep of emerald grass.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe house itself towered up into the deepening sky, glass sparkling in the late sun, the stone grand and gray. It had been months since she had first seen it, yet she had never grown used to the grandeur, the sumptuousness, the simple, unadulterated wealth. She had yet to stop asking herself what she was doing here—here, with him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe left her car at the base of the granite steps and climbed them. She wouldn’t knock. That was pride, and it was ornery. Roarke’s butler despised her and didn’t trouble to hide it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs expected, Summerset appeared in the hall like a puff of black smoke, his silver hair gleaming, a frown of disapproval ready on his long face.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Lieutenant.” His eyes scraped her, making her aware that she was wearing the same clothes she’d left in, and they were considerably rumpled. “We were unaware of the time of your return, or indeed, if you intended to return.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Were we?” She shrugged, and because she knew it offended him, peeled off her scarred leather jacket and held it out to his elegant hands. “Is Roarke here?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“He is engaged on an interspace transmission.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The Olympus Resort?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSummerset’s mouth puckered like a prune. “I don’t inquire as to Roarke’s business.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eYou know exactly what he’s doing and when,\u003c\/i\u003e she thought, but turned out of the wide, glittery hall toward the curve of the stairs. “I’m going up. I need a bath.” She tossed a glance over her shoulder. “You can let him know where I am when he’s finished his transmission.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe climbed up to the master suite. Like Roarke, she rarely used the\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Berkley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301097656549,"sku":"NP9780593545645","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593545645.jpg?v=1742922981","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/glory-in-death-isbn-9780593545645","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}