Read In Death Collection: Books 16-20 for Free Online Page A

dead already, or he killed her there—I’m betting he did it there—bandaged her so she didn’t bleed through the shirt, then he posed her, took his shots. He transports her again and dumps her in a recycler across the street from where she worked.”
    She began to pace. “So maybe her killer’s from the neighborhood. Somebody who sees her every day, develops an obsession. Not sexual, but an obsession. He takes pictures of her, follows her around. He comes into the store, and she doesn’t think anything of it. She’s friendly. Probably knows him by name. Either that or someone from college. Familiar face, trusted face. Maybe he offers her a ride home, or a ride to school. Either way, he’s got her.
    “She knew his face,” she murmured, looking down at Rachel, “just as well as he knew hers.”
     
    Mildly refreshed by a spin in the detox tube at the morgue, Eve pulled up at the curb in front of Professor Browning’s high-dollar building.
    “I thought teachers got paid worse than cops,” she commented.
    “I can do a standard run on her financials.”
    Eve stepped out of the car, then cocked her head and her hip as the doorman rushed over.
    “I’m afraid you can’t leave . . . that here.”
    “That is an official vehicle. This,” she added, flipping it out, “is a badge. Since I’m going in there, on police business, that stays out here.”
    “There’s a parking facility very nearby. I’d be happy to direct you.”
    “What you’re going to do is open the door, go inside with me, and inform Professor Browning that Lieutenant Dallas, NYPSD, is here to speak with her. After that, you can come out here and direct people to Morocco for all I care. Clear?”
    It appeared to be as he scuttled to the door, coded through security. “If Professor Browning was expecting you, I should’ve been informed.”
    He was so prim and pompous about it Eve gave him afierce grin. “You know, I’ve got one just like you at home. Do you guys have a club?”
    He merely sniffed, and danced his fingers over a keyboard. “It’s Monty, Professor. I’m sorry to disturb you, but there’s a Lieutenant Dallas at the desk. She’d like clearance to come up. Yes, ma’am,” he said into his earpiece. “I’ve seen her identification. She is accompanied by a uniformed officer. Of course, Professor.”
    He turned to Eve, lips so thin they could have sliced paper. “Professor Browning will see you. Please take the elevator to the fifteenth floor. You will be met.”
    “Thanks, Monty. How come doormen always hate me?” she asked Peabody as they moved to the elevator.
    “I think they sense your disdain, like pheromones. Of course, if you told them you were married to Roarke, they’d immediately fall to their knees and worship you.”
    “I’d rather be feared and hated.” She stepped inside. “Fifteenth floor,” she ordered.

Chapter 3
    The elevator opened on fifteen where a domestic droid was waiting. He had black hair slicked back over a round head, and a thin mustache over his top lip. He was dressed in a formal suit, the kind Eve had seen characters wear in some of Roarke’s old videos. It had a jacket with a short front and long tails at the back, and the shirt beneath looked stiff and impossibly white.
    “Lieutenant Dallas, Officer,” he said in a fruity voice, heavy on the Brit. “Might I trouble you for identification?”
    “Sure.” Eve pulled out her badge, watched a thin red line shoot through the droid’s eyes as he scanned it. “You’re topline security?”
    “I am a multifunction unit, Lieutenant.” With a slight bow, he offered the badge back to her. “Please follow me.”
    He stepped back to let them exit the elevator. There was a kind of lobby, or entrance area with white marble floor tiles, glossy antiques topped with urns that were elegant with flowers.
    There was a tall white statue of a nude woman, with her head tipped back and her hands in her hair as if she were washing it. There were