Page 106 of Random in Death

“It was dark. He had WTF eyes.”

“Did he now? Did you see what color?”

“It was too dark, but his eyes were pow!” She widened her own. “WTF eyes. I spilled all my popcorn, and I was going to punch him right in the face for stabbing me. But he ran away. Flaker.”

Losing her, Eve decided. The kid was wrung out.

“Kiki,” she said, “had you ever seen him before?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Is there anything else you noticed about him? Any little thing?”

“Nuh-uh. Flaker. We didn’t get to see the vid. Wish I’d punched him.”

“So do I.”

“She’s so tired. I’m sorry,” Connie added as she stroked that long red hair. “She’s just been through so much.”

“Don’t be sorry. She was a big help. I’m very glad she’s going to be all right. I’ll need to talk with her again when she’s feeling better. If you have any questions, need to talk to me, contact me at any time.”

She dug for a card. “Crap, I’m out of cards.”

Roarke pulled out one of his own. “I’ll just put the Lieutenant’s contact on the back for you.”

“Thank you.” Andrea swiped away a tear. “When she’s more herself, she’ll be thrilled to have met both of you.”

Eve stepped out just as Myler came down the hall.

“She looks delicate,” Eve said. “Probably the red hair adds to that. But she’s not. She’s tough, she’s a tough girl.”

“Was she able to help you?”

“Yeah. I’m going to want to follow up with her tomorrow.”

“She’ll be much more herself. We’ll monitor her overnight, and she’ll continue the course of antibiotics. A couple of days, she’ll be back on her airboard.”

“The one that saved her life.”

With a perky smile, Myler nodded. “The very one. The waiting room’s down the hall, first right, then the glass-walled room on the left.”

“She didn’t tell her mothers about the spill from the airboard.”

Eve nodded in agreement as she and Roarke walked down the hall. “They’d have treated it, and given her a safety lecture. She’d rather have the bruise, and thank Christ for it.”

Behind the glass, the three kids sat in a huddled unit.

Eve doubted they’d be the only occupants for long, and hoped to get through the interviews while they were.

She recognized the brother. The red hair, a few shades darker than his sister’s, fell in a tumble around his face. They shared the same bone structure.

When he saw her, he jolted to his feet. “Oh God. No. Kiki’s dead!”

“She’s fine,” Eve said over the sudden wail of the girl between the two boys. “I just spoke with her.”

“But you do dead people. We saw the vid, right?” He looked at his friends. “We all saw it.”

“Didn’t Dr. Myler just tell you she was going to be fine?”