J D Robb - Vengeance in Death

The business of murder took time, patience, skill, and a tolerance for the monotonous. Lieutenant Eve Dallas had them all.

She knew the act of murder required none of these. All too often a life was taken on impulse, in rage, for amusement, or simply out of stupidity. It was the last of these, in Eves mind, that had led one John Henry Bonning to throw one Charles Michael Renekee out a twelfth-story window on Avenue D.

She had Bonning in Interview and calculated that it would take another twenty minutes tops to shake a confession out of him, another fifteen to book him and file her report. She might just make it home on time.

Come on, Boner. It was her veteran cop talking to veteran bad guy. Level ground, her turf. Do yourself a favor. A confession, and you can go for self-defense and diminished capacity. We can tie this up by dinnertime. I hear theyre serving pasta surprise in lockup tonight.

Never touched him. Bonning folded his oversized lips, tapped his long, fat fingers. Fucker jumped.

With a sigh, Eve sat down at the little metal table in Interview A. She didnt want Bonning to lawyer himself and gum up the works. All she had to do was keep him from saying those words, steer him in the direction she was already heading, and she had a wrap.

Second-rate chemi-dealers like Bonning were invariably slow-witted, but sooner or later hed whine for a representative. It was an old shuffle-and-dodge, as timeless as murder itself. As the year 2058 stumbled to an end, the business of murder remained basically unchanged.

He jumpeda quick gainer out the window. Now whyd he do that, Boner?

Bonning furrowed his ape-sized forehead into deep thought. Because he was a crazy bastard?

Thats a good guess, Boner, but its not going to qualify you for round two of our stump-the-cops sweepstakes.

It took him about thirty pondering seconds, then his lips stretched out into a grin. Funny. Pretty funny, Dallas.

Yeah, Im thinking of moonlighting as a stand-up. But, going back to my day job, the two of you were cooking up some Erotica in your porta-lab on Avenue D, and Renekeebeing a crazy bastardjust got some hair up his ass and jumped out a windowright through the glassand dived twelve stories, bounced off the roof of a Rapid Cab, scared the living shit out of a couple of tourists from Topeka in the backseat, then rolled off to leak his brains onto the street.

Sure did bounce, Bonning said with what passed for a wondering smile. Whoda thought?

She didnt intend to go for murder one, and figured if she went for murder two the court-appointed rep would bargain Bonning down to manslaughter. Chemi-dealers greasing chemi-dealers didnt make Justice flip up her blindfold and grin in anticipation. Hed do more time for the illegals paraphernalia than he would for the homicide. And even combining the two, it was doubtful hed do more than a three-year stretch in lockup.

She folded her arms on the table, leaned forward. Boner, do I look stupid?

Taking the question at face value, Bonning narrowed his eyes to take a careful study. She had big brown eyes, but they werent soft. She had a pretty, wide mouth, but it didnt smile. Look like a cop, he decided.

Good answer. Dont try to hose me here, Boner. You and your business partner had a falling out, you got pissed off, and you terminated your professional and personal relationship by heaving his dumb ass out the window. She held up a hand before Bonning could deny again. This is the way I see it. You got into, maybe dissing each other over the profits, the methods, a woman. You both got hot. So maybe he comes at you. Youve got to defend yourself, right?

Mans got a right, Bonning agreed, nodding rapidly as the story sang to him. But we didnt get into nothing. He just tried to fly.

Whered you get the bloody lip, the black eye? How come your knuckles are ripped up?

Bonning stretched his lips into a toothy grin. Bar fight.

When? Where?

Who remembers?

Youd better. And you know youd better, Boner, after we run the tests on the blood we scraped from your knuckles, and we find his blood mixed with yours. We get his DNA off your fat fingers, Im going for premeditatedmaximum lockup, life, no parole.

His eyes blinked rapidly, as if his brain was processing new and baffling data. Come on, Dallas, thats just bullshit. You aint gonna convince nobody I walked in there thinking to kill old Chuckaroo. We were buds.

Her eyes steady on his, Eve pulled out her communicator. Last chance to help yourself. I call my aide, have her get the test results, Im booking you on murder one.

Wasnt no murder. He wanted to believe she was bluffing. You couldnt read those eyes, he thought, wetting his lips. Couldnt read those cops eyes. It was an accident, he claimed, inspired. Eve only shook her head. Yeah, we were busting a little and he... tripped and went headlong out the window.

Now youre insulting me. A grown man doesnt trip out a window thats three feet off the floor. Eve flicked on her communicator. Officer Peabody.

Within seconds Peabodys round and sober faced filled the communicator screen. Yes, sir.

I need the blood test results on Bonning. Have them sent directly to Interview Aand alert the PA that I have a murder in the first.

Now hold on, back up, dont be going there. Bonning ran the back of his hand over his mouth. He struggled a moment, telling himself shed never get him on the big one. But Dallas had a rep for pinning fatter moths than he to the wall.

You had your chance, Boner. Peabody

He came at me, like you said. He came at me. He went crazy. Ill tell you how it went down, straight shit. I want to make a statement.

Peabody, delay those orders. Inform the PA that Mr. Bonning is making a statement of straight shit.

Peabodys lips never twitched. Yes, sir.