Chapter Nine

Peabody curved closer to Morris, tugging the blanket tighter around her wet shoulders.  Dallas was shouting loud enough to make the sweepers refuse to come onto the scene.  Nadine had managed to work her way through the crime scene barriers, fallen on the wet tiles beside the now filled pool, and gone down hard enough that she was at a local health center getting checked out.  The uniform rookie who had accidentally set off the torrent of water, filling the pool and hence the crime scene, had been rescued by fainting dead away as a soaking wet, spitting, blood pouring from her head Lieutenant Dallas started toward him with murder in her eyes.  She looked at the sadly floating DB.  Whitney would have their heads.
“And I have to report this clusterfuck to Whitney” Dallas screamed to whatever gods were listening, hands fisted so tight in her wet hair that the pain actually was helping her think.
Judging the time was right; Morris patted Peabody’s shoulder and stood up.  “And now for your medical treatment, Dallas.  Let’s get that head wound seen to.”
Eve rounded on him, slipped, and went down.  He had his hand on her shoulder and was examining her head before she could bounce back up.   She gave him an evil look, but held still.  “Peabody, we have to filter this water for evidence before it can be drained.  Call Dickhead and tell him to bring the entire laboratory synchronized swimming team down to my goddamn Olympic sized completely screwed up crime scene.  And if he gives you any trouble, tell him I will personally cut off his balls and find many baby alligators to feed the pieces to.”  She crossed her arms over her chest.  Then she tagged Roarke.  “You better get your excellent ass home, ace.  I think you being out of communication this long has jinxed me.  Morris, tell him I’m fine.”  She thrust her arm at the Chief Medical Examiner.
“Hello, Roarke.  Our precious Lt Dallas has experienced a minor head wound, which I have just finished closing with twelve stitches.  So not quite so minor.  However, she’s come through the ordeal swimmingly.”  He grinned.
“Smart ass.  I love you and blah, blah, blah.”  She looked around the scene.  “God damn it!”
  +++++++++++++++++++++++++
Summerset considered his options as the Lieutenant and Detective Peabody came up the steps.  Both women were wet and unhappy.  Secretly, he thought they looked like two bedraggled kittens.  He stepped back as they entered the house.  “I see Roarke’s car is at least still land bound.  Although I’m certain the interior will need dealt with to avoid being ruined by your wet clothes.”
When the Lieutenant kicked the newel post and screamed, he felt he’d done his job.  Making note to order several pairs of pink cowboy boots this time, he glided from the foyer.  He would program new links for them.  There were fresh clothes for the Detective in her favorite room.  He’d just get a snack ready and on a tray placed in the Lieutenant’s office.
“Get a shower and dressed, Peabody.  Meet me in my office.”  Christ what a mess.  Whitney needed a written report about the incident, and Eve had no doubt she’d get called on it.  No one else to blame, unless you counted the twenty year old rookie who’d almost burst into tears when he’d come around.  And she wasn’t.  But first she had to go find Delmar White’s wife and tell her that her husband was dead.
Showered and dressed again, Eve eyed the tray of food in her office.  It smelled good.  She sighed, gave in, and ate.  Peabody bounced in and joined her.  “All right.  The crime scene is a wash.”
“Ha Ha.”
“Yeah, that was a good one.  Hell, even the weapons came out of the body.  Dickie can maybe rescue something, but it won’t hold up in court.  We’ll go tell the widow, see if she has any ideas.  Maybe she’ll meet us and confess.”  Eve drank some coffee.
“I’m sure that will happen.  Then you can help me knit sweaters for the squad.”  Peabody slipped on her new link after folding the note from Summerset telling her it was programmed.  She’d send him a thank you note later.  “I really thought Dickhead was going to have a heart attack when he saw the pool.”
“Yeah.”  Eve brooded on it.  She tagged Summerset.  “I need to do something nice for someone.”
There was a dead silence.
Peabody snickered.
“Perhaps if you gave me more details, Lieutenant, I could be of assistance.” Summerset sounded suspicious.
“Dickhead’s going to be spending the day looking for evidence that I can’t use even if he ties it up in a bow.  And he had to bring his entire department with him.  Think freaked out geeks, slimy water, and me breathing down their necks.”  She felt a little bad about shoving the smart mouthed one into the water.  But he’d asked for it.
“I’ll take care of it, Lieutenant.”
“Yeah.  Well.  Thanks.”
“You’re really getting used to him helping you,” Peabody commented, admiring her link.  It was neon yellow with brown edging and strap.  “It’s nice.”
Eve poured another cup of coffee for herself, topped off her partner’s cup.  “You wanna go out tonight?”
Peabody swallowed wrong, coughed, started choking.
After she came back from the bathroom, Eve expanded.  “I thought we could maybe pick up Mavis, Nadine.  Reo.  Whoever.  Go and drink and dance or whatever.”  Anything so I’m not so lonely, she thought.
Peabody decided her partner needed more than the twelve stitches Morris had put in.  “Um, sure.  We could add Louise into that.  Why don’t I tag her, find out where she’s at?  We can stop by and ask her after Mrs. White.”  Dallas had to be eased into anything medical.  Once she got her to a health center, they’d tranq her so Louise could run a brain scan.  She’d just wait to let Roarke know, since there wasn’t anything he could do about it, Peabody thought.  “I’ll drive.  OK?”  When Dallas agreed, Peabody blanched.