Page 124 of Devoted in Death

She rose, pulled out her signaling ’link. “Santiago, give it to me.”

“We rounded up the warden, a couple of guards, the head waitress from the place Parsens worked, her former landlord, and just to top it off, the midwife who delivered her baby. We corralled them, boss.”

“You’ve been out there too long.”

“Oh yeah.”

“Sum it up. You’re on screen,” she said as she walked back to her office, ordered the open transmission. “Talking to the room.”

“Yo, room. Wish I was there. According to all reports, James kept his head down and his nose clean during his incarceration. Took some classes in e-work, did well. Worked in the mechanics shop, did exceptional. He was, in fact, recommended for a job at a local garage here, but requested permission to return home after his early release, stating he and his woman wanted to go home, where their baby was being tended by family. Said permission was granted. He never reported in.”

“They took off, heading east.”

“The guards on his block said he was affable and easy. Did a lot of reading on his time in, talked about his woman, who visited him every week. They took advantage of every scheduled conjugal. According to Parsens’s supervisor at the bar, she wasn’t what you’d call a self-starter, didn’t get along well with the other staff, and was suspected of offering sexual favors on the side. Her landlord adds to that. She brought men home, but none of them stayed above an hour, usually less. She left without notice, and owing back-rent. She drove the pickup, had it serviced a time or two—and it’s believed paid for service with service.”

“No surprises there.”

“The midwife? She says definitely imbibed during pregnancy—but she could never prove it. Caterwauled—that’s a quote—during delivery that, according to the source, was as easy as a cat having kittens. I can’t speak to that, never having had kittens or a baby, for which I remain eternally grateful.”

“What is that noise?”

“It’s cows, Lieutenant. Or steers. I think there’s a difference, but I’m not going to ask. There are... members of the cow/steer/cattle family in the trailer Carmichael opted to park next to. I really don’t think they like it in there.”

“You should get away from there, in case they get out.”

“I’m thinking that.” Glancing over his shoulder, he walked a few paces away. “You’ve been off-planet, right, LT?”

“Yeah.”

“I haven’t, but I think this is something like it. Anyway, the midwife stated Parsens’s labor was textbook and quick. No interest from Parsens in the kid after. The midwife was concerned enough, she went back twice a day, on her own time, to check on the baby, make sure it was clean and fed. Bottle and store-bought milk, earning said midwife’s stern disapproval. Parsens said—quote—she wasn’t having her tits ruined from some baby sucking them dry.

“When Parsens took off with the kid, came back without her, the midwife was worried enough to do some digging—again on her own—came up with Parsens’s mother, contacted her. She ascertained the baby was there, but didn’t reveal her connection to Parsens or Parsens’s location, as she could’ve lost her license for it. But she needed to be sure the kid was alive and well. She believed Parsens capable of dumping it somewhere, or even infanticide.”

“Infanticide’s a serious leap.”

“Midwife said Parsens was a lot more concerned about getting her body back in shape than the kid. Claims she saw actual hate in Parsens’s eyes once when the baby was crying, and the midwife tried to get her to take care of it.”

Eve said nothing to that as the image of her mother’s eyes, the hate in them when she herself had been a child, flashed into her mind.

“Mostly indifference, but that look she claims to have witnessed had her awake at night worrying. She didn’t have anything to go to the authorities about, just that sick feeling.”

“Okay.”

“All over it? People tend to like James well enough. People seem not to like Parsens.”

“James does, and that’s all it took. Come home, Santiago. This time I mean it.”

“Gracias a Dios. And when I think in Spanish I’m verklempt.”

She had to laugh. “Write it up on the way, make sure Mira’s copied. Report to Central at oh-eight-hundred because by Dios we’re going to have a net around these two tomorrow.”

She clicked off, nodded as she noted Roarke and McNab had come back in. “You catch all that?”

“Enough of it.”

“Peabody and Banner are writing summaries from their deep background. You can read them if you want, but they’re mostly going to be useful in the trial phase. They further cement the pattern and profile of each, and confirm predilections, pathology, and some of the movements. I’ve carved off another block, eighty percent probability, using my own parameters.”

“We can maybe help you there.” McNab picked up Peabody’s fizzy, took a slurp. “We got lucky on a couple of store cams, and caught sight of James heading away from the hardware store—the roll of plastic over his shoulder, shopping bag in hand. Heading north.”