Page 9 of Random in Death
“Yes. I’ll notify them tonight.”
He closed his eyes again. “If they want to talk to me—I was with her when…”
“I’ll let them know. It’s your turn to take that walk.”
“All right. Dallas, what she said? If somebody did this to her—”
“It’s my job to find out. One more time around,” she said to Roarke, then turned to Nadine.
“I’ve never seen him like this. He’s always in control. I need to get him away from here, Dallas.”
“Then let’s make this quick. What time did the band break?”
“Oh, I don’t know, just before eleven, I think. I knew the break was coming, so I made a dash to the ladies’ before a hundred teenage girls had the same idea. When I came out, I looked for Jake, and Renn said he’d gone out to the alley. So I went out. I saw Jake doing CPR on the girl. I was going to call for the MTs, but he said he had. And, Dallas, I could see it was too late. He was trying so hard to save her, but she was gone. And I said I was going to tag you.
“And he looked at me when I did.” Taking a breath, Nadine dashed a tear away. “And he looked at me as if I’d broken his heart.
“You can’t suspect him of doing something to that girl. You know—”
“I don’t, but at the same time, there’s a procedure that has to be followed to clear him of any suspicion. You know that.”
Nadine swiped at another tear, this time impatiently. “It’s different when it’s your person. You know that. And I know you,” she added. “So I know you’ll find out who did this to that poor girl.”
“At this time, I can’t conclusively say anyone did it to her.”
Nadine pushed a hand at her streaky blond hair, gave Eve one long look with those shrewd green eyes. “You can’t say it, but you know it.”
“And you know the fact that Jake Kincade and Nadine Furst were in an alley with a dead minor female is going to explode all over the media.”
Nadine set a hand on the hip of a pair of tight black jeans. “I’m a freaking reporter on the crime beat, so I know that very well. Only another reason I want to get him the hell away from here. We’ll handle it.”
“No interviews unless I clear it.”
It took only that for Nadine to look and sound more like herself. “You have heard of a little constitutional amendment we call the first?”
“If someone did this to her, wouldn’t it just bring on a happy dance if they found their ugly little deed all over the celebrity gossip channels? Her name was Jenna. Let’s keep her and your person away from that until we can’t.”
“You’re right, and I wasn’t going to do interviews. I just don’t like being told I can’t. Here they come. Roarke’s a goddamn rock, Dallas.”
“I know that, too. Take Jake home. He’s coming in tomorrow morning for a follow-up. With some luck and Morris, I’ll have a COD by then.”
She glanced back at the club. “And with a shitload of luck, maybe a suspect tonight.”
“What about the rest of the band? He’ll want to know. They’re family.”
“I need to talk to them, then they can go. It’s a process, Nadine. And there’s Peabody with McNab. Take Jake home,” she repeated, and headed in the opposite direction to meet her partner and her partner’s person.
In his striped baggies and neon-pink tee, Detective McNab, one of the Electronic Detectives Division’s stars, looked like he should be riding a unicycle and juggling.
His earlobe glittered with studs and tiny hoops; the tail of his long blond hair swung as he pranced her way.
Peabody clumped in her pink boots. She may have worn more sedate black trousers and quietly pink shirt, but she still sported those red streaks through her dark, and currently all flippy, hair.
“We’ve got a dead teenage girl in the alley waiting for the dead wagon. Inside,” Eve continued, “we’ve probably got a hundred or more teenagers currently being stalled by the rest of Avenue A. There may be closer to two hundred with staff, any parents or guardians.”
“How’s Jake?” Peabody asked.
“He’s holding up. We’ve got to start carving through the people inside, releasing them—and Child Services hasn’t shown up yet. The victim’s parents need to be notified. I have to take that now. Peabody, tag CS again, and tell them to get somebody’s ass over here or I will fry any number of asses. Until that ass or asses are here to represent the rights of the minors, stick with adults, or with minors in the company of a parent or guardian.