Justice in Death---Chapter 19

The call came in the next morning. Eve was still asleep and called out for video block as she reached for her link. Eve knew Roarke hadn’t come to bed last night because her body automatically sank into his when they were into bed together like two magnets meeting.

    “Eve, it’s me.” Louise said over the link.

    Eve sat up in bed. Her first thought something had happened to Mira. Eve voiced her concern.

    “No,” Louise said quickly. “Doctor Mira is resting comfortably in a private room. I need you to come to Dochas.”

    Eve got out of bed and took the link with her to the bathroom. “What’s wrong?”

    “I have a young woman here who saw your killer’s picture last night and recognized him. She won’t let me take her to Cop Central so I was hoping you would come here.”

    “I understand and I’ll be there in half an hour.”

    Eve ended transmission and contacted Peabody with what Louise had told her.

    All thoughts of Roarke’s whereabouts went out of her head as she showered quickly, dressed, and jogged down the stairs. She came up short when Roarke appeared at the foot of the stairs. Eve noticed he was still dressed in yesterday’s clothes.

    “What’s wrong?” He asked.

    “I’m headed to Dochas to talk to a witness who saw the killer.”

    Roarke produced keys from his pocket. “Let’s go,” He said.

    “You can’t go,” Eve told him as she headed for the door. The last thing she needed was Roarke hounding her while she was doing an interview. That added to walking into Dochas after so long was too much for even her to handle.

    He smirked at her, giving her a hint of a smile. “Hip to hip, remember, Darling Eve?”

    “Yeah,” Eve said walking through the door Roarke opened for her. “Too bad you forgot that last night.” Eve didn’t see Roarke’s wince.
  

Roarke had built Dochas more than a year ago as a safe haven for women and children to go who needed to get away from abusive situations. He had it built for Eve, thinking about the young life she led with her father in several hotel rooms. She had to save herself because there was no one there to do it for her. With Dochas, Roarke provided the help that he had wished his wife had as a young child. Now when they walked through the doors, Roarke could be proud that he was doing something to help women like his mother and children like Eve who didn’t have a Summerset when they were young.

    Knowing the security system by heart, Roarke keyed in the access code that let employees and volunteers into the building. There was a ten second palm scan for both of them at the front doors and Louise met them at the front desk.

    “Her name is Janie,” Louise said, walking them down the corridor to the day room. “She came in last night. She had a hot shower and food and slept. This morning she came to one of the employees and told them she needed to speak to Lieutenant Dallas about the Justice killer. I called you as soon as the employee told me.”

    “Why wait until this morning?” Roarke asked. They stopped in front of the day room. It was painted with figures from children’s shows and books. Toys took up one corner while a large screen TV, couches and chairs took up the rest of the corners. A bay window let in an enormous amount of light while no one from outside could see in. Janie was sitting in the bay window.

    “She wanted to make sure there was food and shelter for her so at least she would have one safe night off the streets,” Eve told them while still staring at the girl. With different color hair and eyes, this girl could have been Eve.

    Eve let herself into the room and thought about the child she saw the year before with the cast on his arm. Roarke had ordered her not to return to Dochas after her reaction to the child’s injuries. Now, here she was. Life threw some strange things at you and having to deal with Dochas was one of them.

    Eve pulled over a metal chair and sat across from Janie. “Hi,” She began. “I’m Lieutenant Eve Dallas. You told Doctor Dimatto that you had information for me.”

    The girl swung her head to face Eve and Eve saw a lifetime of pain and abandonment in her face. Her blonde hair was clean and combed back from her face. “I want to know that I can stay here even after I tell you what I know. I won’t tell you if I can’t stay.”

    Eve smiled at the girl. She may have looked like a junior Barbie doll, but the kid was full of spit and vinegar.

    “You can stay even if you don’t tell me anything, Janie. Dochas is here for anyone that needs help. No one here is going to turn you away, even if this is the only thing you tell me.”

    The girl turned back to the window. The sky was a perfect blue and the sun was shining brightly. Eve held her tongue to keep from scaring the girl into silence, but she needed the information.

    “I saw him in Creeper’s Alley last night.” She said. “Sometimes the nights get cold and there’s a fire in a barrel. I had just gotten something to eat and walked by a TV store that was showing your interview. When I got to the alley, I saw him standing by the fire with some of the other guys.” She turned her face back to Eve. “He didn’t look scary. He looked scared.”

    Eve nodded, understanding the difference all too well. “Thanks. You’ll be safe here and if you need me for anything, Doctor Dimatto and the others know how to get in touch with me.”

    The girl turned her face back to the window. Eve didn’t touch her. Instead, she returned the chair to the corner and walked out. Roarke and Louise were still outside the door. “What did she say?” Roarke asked.

   “Kelsey Boone is living in Creeper’s Alley.”

    “What’s that?” Roarke asked.

    “It’s an alley that’s sheltered enough for the homeless to keep from getting rained or snowed on. If the shelters are full, that’s where you’ll find most people. I patrolled it when I was a rookie. Let’s go.”

    Eve drove Roarke to Roarke Industries. She pulled in front of the entrance and stopped the car.

    Roarke looked at the front entrance and then amusingly at Eve. “Have you decided to become a business magnate instead of cop?”

    “No,” Eve said, letting out a breath. “This is where you work. We both need to get back to it and I can’t do my job when you’re hovering over me like a love struck teenager.”

    Roarke smiled at her. He leaned close enough to smell the cleanliness of her skin. “Oh, darling, I am a love struck teenager when I’m around you.” He ran his finger under the collar of her button down shirt. “Care to make out in the car?”

    “I have work to do,” She said, but made no attempt to remove his finger from her body. She had to stay cool. She had to stay calm. She couldn’t melt like hot butter because her husband was trying to angle his way into staying with her by using sex. He was good, but she needed to be better.

    “Go to work. The best I can do is promise that I won’t do anything without calling you first. You’re my husband, Roarke, not my bodyguard.”

    Roarke withdrew his finger from her collar so quickly that Eve still felt it there like a ghost limb. The spot he was touching burned. “I’ll plan on seeing you this evening, Lieutenant.” He opened the door. “Don’t disappoint me.” He stepped out of the car.

    Eve wanted to yell something at him, but he hadn’t turned back to look at her so all she was seeing was Roarke walking away from her. Again. Eve let out an exasperated huff and drove away.

    Instead of pulling out in traffic and heading toward Cop Central, Eve changed lanes and made her way to the hospital.