Page 80 of Passions in Death
“After I bounced on her a time or two.”
“A time or two?”
“Three or four—who counts?”
“How did she feel about Erin and Shauna?”
“How the fuck would I—” He broke off, frowned. “Shauna’s the redhead, right? The one Erin was going to make it legal with?”
“That’s right.”
“Great hair. Catches the eye.”
“How did ChiChi feel about them, together, about to make it legal?”
“What do I care?”
“She never talked about it to you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Shit.”
He shoved at his hair again. “So she didn’t like the redhead, figured she’d just screw with Erin, then dump her ass. Wanted to know how often the redhead came into the studio. I couldn’t say, so I bounced on her to shut her up. Who needs the drama?”
Then he frowned. “You think ChiChi killed Erin?”
“Routine questions, Mr. Carver.”
“She’s got a mean streak in her. You can see it in her eyes, even the way she moves. Get her pissed enough, yeah, she could do it. But if she wanted the thing back with Erin, it makes more sense to do it to the redhead.”
Then he shook his head. “Shit. Now I’m awake all the damn way. I might as well go to the studio. Nobody’s going to be there. Is that it?”
“One more.” Eve pulled out her ’link, brought up Greg Barney’s photo. “Did he ever come to the studio?”
“I couldn’t say. Not when I was working. Everybody’s all-American. Good bone structure. Looks boring. Look, I’m sorry about Erin, right? She was okay. But none of this has anything to do with me.”
“I guess it doesn’t. Thanks for the time.”
“Don’t come looking for more of it.” He opened the door. “But if you see the redhead, you can tell her I wouldn’t mind painting her—from the back. The hair catches the eye.”
“Right.”
As they started down the steps, Peabody blew out a breath. “Challenging fits. He doesn’t give a baby rat’s ass about anybody.”
“Run his alibi again. He’s big, strong. Big and strong enough to have done it. I don’t see him caring enough to kill anybody, but run it again.”
“He liked her a little bit. As much as he seems capable.”
“Yeah, a little bit. And he liked bouncing on Lopez. And Lopez bounced on him to try to get what she could out of him on Shauna. He’s probably smart enough to know that, but liked the bounce. Was any of Erin’s work on his walls, since you have a good eye?”
“My good eye says it was all his. But yeah, he’d know the business of art, he has access and could pick his way through the paintings she has in the studio. When he says her work’s decent, that’s high praise from him.”
“Agreed. And if she told him she had plans for the money, maybe she—what he said—bubbled out the rest. Maybe she pissed him off about something. Maybe ChiChi talked him into helping her. It doesn’t click nice and tight, but he’s confirmed ChiChi didn’t like the idea of Erin and Shauna together. She has a mean streak—I saw that myself. So we’ll push some.”
At the lot she got back in the car. “And if he never saw Barney in the studio, it doesn’t mean Barney wasn’t there. During the day, or when Carver wasn’t there. Harder to believe he never went in at least once or twice in the last year.”
She pulled out of the lot. “We’ll head into Central. I want some thinking time.”
“Before thinking time, I need two minutes on the Great House Project. I’ve held it in,” Peabody continued before Eve could respond. “I’ve shown heroic restraint. Pin-a-medal-on-me restraint.”
