Page 46 of Passions in Death
“Where were you last night?’ Eve asked Greg, and his eyes widened.
“Wow. I guess I walked into that one.”
“Oh, Lieutenant, Greg would never—”
“It’s okay, Shauna. Seriously, I get it. And thorough’s important. I manage On Trend. A downtown men’s shop. Since Becca was going out, I took closing last night. I’d say I was out of there about seven, seven-fifteen. I walked over to Tippler’s, met a friend for a beer and some bar food. Clint Wetz. He’s with Jodi of the party fame. She’d have been at the party last night. I guess we were at Tippler’s a couple hours. Clint called it because he had a breakfast meeting today, and since it was a nice night, I walked home.”
“You bought me flowers,” Becca reminded him. “Tiger lilies.”
“Right, how could I forget? A stall still open on the way home. Came home, put them in some water. I figured to watch some screen, and crashed on the living room sofa. I don’t know what time, but before eleven. I was streaming… what the hell was it?”
He shut his eyes as if to think back, then with a shake of his head, opened them again.
“Sorry, some science fiction thing, aliens. I just went out, and was out until Becca tagged me about Erin.”
“He wanted to come.” Becca rubbed Greg’s shoulder. “But I said no. I didn’t know how long we’d be, and I’d stay with Shauna, how she’d need him more today.”
“Okay. Thanks, that covers it. We’ll get out of your way. Detective Peabody will send you a list of grief counselors. When you’ve scheduled Erin’s memorial service, please let us know.”
“Isn’t there something else?” Shauna asked. “Anything else?”
“Erin’s our priority. You can be sure of that.”
“I want you to tell me whenever you know something, or think something. I want you to ask me whatever you need to ask me whenever you need to ask. I want what Erin would want if she was sitting here and I was gone. I want you to catch the son of a bitch.”
“That’s what we’re working for.”
When they stepped out, Peabody glanced back. “Not everyone has that much real support. If she’s lucky on any level, she’s lucky there. The intern checks out,” she added as they started down the stairs. “She was on until after one A.M. And Glenda Frost’s shuttle should be landing in New York right about now. She booked the flight just after nine this morning.”
“Do a deeper dive on no-alibi Rierdon. And we’ll take a look at Rogan and Lopez. Could be one of them was more serious than Erin.”
“I wonder how I’d feel if McNab hung around someone he’d flitted with.”
“You flitted around with Charles and hang around with him now.”
“Did not! I flitted around the flitting with Charles, but we didn’t actively flit. Ever. Maybe I let McNab think we actively flitted, but he was being a jerk.”
Then she shrugged. “And I was being a jerk, but we worked all that out. You actively flitted with Webster.”
“One bang is not a flit. Add I didn’t hang out with Webster. He was on the job, that’s work.”
“And now he’s living off-planet with Darcia, and Charles and Louise are married. Life rocks and rolls.”
“And some flit their way through it.”
Eve stepped outside, put on her sunshades. “Greg Barney and Becca DiNuzio’s address?”
Peabody pulled out her PPC to look it up. “Gotta take a look at half The Couple from high school.”
“That’s right. Shauna would trust him, no question. Can’t say if Erin would have, but we’ll take a look. No alibi for the time in question, so we look.”
“And given his address, he could’ve made it work.”
“Plug it in,” Eve ordered, and got in the car.
“Plus, who’s to say when he picked up the flowers, or where? I mean, that’s a pretty good add, right? I bought flowers on the way home. But he could’ve bought them after he killed Albright, or earlier in the day.”
Digging into it, Peabody sat back. “Say, on his lunch hour, and since he lives close to work, he runs them home.”
