Reunion in Death

He turned his attention to Eve. His hair was dark like his wife's and waved around a strong, handsome face. «Walt was making a toast. Sentimental and sweet. He was a sentimental and sweet man. Bambi was at his right side. Sherry was next to her and I was at her right. Wally was directly at his left, with Nadine beside him. When he finished his toast, he took a drink of champagne. We all did. Then he began to choke. I believe Wally slapped him on the back, the way you do. Bambi grabbed at him when he staggered. He pulled at his collar as if it was too tight, then fell forward.»

He glanced at Wally as if for confirmation.

«He was gasping,» Wally continued. «We turned him over on his back. Peter Vance, he's a doctor, pushed through the people who'd crowded around. And my father he had some sort of seizure. Peter said to call the MTs. Nadine ran to do so.»

«Was he able to speak to any of you?»

«He never said anything,» Sherilyn answered. «He looked at me.» Her voice cracked again. «He looked right at me just before he fell. Everyone was talking at once. It all happened so fast, there wasn't time to say anything.»

«Where did he get the drink?»

«From a tray, I suppose,» Wally said. «The caterers had been passing champagne since guests began to arrive at seven.»

«No.» Sherilyn shook her head slowly. «No, one of the servers handed it to him. She wasn't carrying a tray, just the one flute. She took his nearly empty glass and gave him a full one. She wished him happy birthday.»

«That's right,» her husband confirmed. «The little redhead. I noticed her. She had rather stunning green eyes. I paint,» he explained. «Portraits primarily. I tend to notice faces and what makes them unique.»

«What did she do after she gave him the drink?»

«She, ah, let me think. Walt called for everyone's attention. Most of the guests were in the riving area at that time. Conversations quieted down while he began to speak. She stepped back. She was listening to him, just like the rest of us. Smiling, I think. Yes, I recall thinking she was very personable, and how she seemed to take an interest in what Walt was saying. I think I smiled at her when Walt finished his toast, but she was watching him. Then we all drank, and I didn't notice her once Walt began to choke.»

«I think I saw her.» Nadine lifted a hand to the long triple string of pearls she wore. «When I ran out to call for help, I saw her in the foyer.»

«What was she doing?» Eve asked.

«I think, well, she must have been leaving. She was walking away, toward the door.»

«None of you had seen her before tonight?» When they all looked at each other, a sort of baffled head-shaking, Eve went on, «Does the name Julie Dockport mean anything? Maybe your father mentioned it.»

«I never heard him mention that name.» Wally glanced around as the rest of his family shook their heads again.

«Do you know if he was concerned about anyone, or anything? A business deal, a personal problem.»

«He was happy,» Sherilyn said quietly. «He was a happy man.»

«A happy man,» Eve stated after she released the family, «loved by one and all doesn't get poisoned on his birthday. There's something under this pretty picture, Peabody.»

«Yes, sir. The officers who went to Dockport's address report that she's not there. Her across-the-hall neighbor told them she moved out that morning. Claimed she was moving to Philly.»

«I want sweepers over there, now. I want that place combed. They won't find anything, but I want it done.»

«Sir?»

«Looks like we've got ourselves a pro.»

*** CHAPTER 4 ***

Though it was after one in the morning when she got home, Eve wasn't surprised to find Roarke in his office. It was rare for him to sleep more than five hours a night. Rarer still for him not to wait up until she was home.

The work fueled him, she knew. More than the obscene amounts of money he made every time he wheeled a deal, it was the deal itself the planning, the strategizing, the negotiating, that engaged his interests and energies.

He bought because things were there to be bought. Though she often thought of the companies, the real estate, the factories, the hotels he acquired as his toys, she knew he was a man who took his toys very, very seriously.

He'd broadened her focus considerably since they'd been together. Travel, culture, society. Somehow he managed to carve out time for everything and more. The money was nothing to him, she thought, unless it was enjoyed.

The man who ruled a business empire with a scope beyond reason sat at a desk at one-fifteen in the morning with a brandy at his elbow, a fat, purring cat on his lap, and his sleeves rolled up while he worked at his computer like any lowly office drone.

And, she thought, he was enjoying it.

«Are you in the middle of something or are you playing?»

He glanced up. «A bit of both. Save data and file,» he ordered the computer, then sat back. «The media's already got your homicide. I was sorry to hear about Walter Pettibone.»

«You knew him?»