Page 146 of Fury In Death

“Now you’re rewriting history, as at the time you agreed he wouldn’t be bribed. A dreamer, you called him, naive and staunchly moral. You agreed with Delgato and with me he needed to be eliminated, and in a way that couldn’t and wouldn’t be traced back to us. You also agreed the Rainmaker project was all but complete, and Chu, Dent, and Delgato could easily finalize it. Your mistake, Jacob, and a costly one.”

He sipped from the cup in his hand. “Who would have thought the virtuous moron would destroy his own discovery, all that work, wipe all that progress? My regret? The pussy-whipped son of a bitch went out to buy ice cream. Taking that building down turned out to be a waste of good money. He should be dead. Long dead. If he’s not, and you’re correct, well, he soon will be.”

“I want that every bit as much as you, but I’m not willing to risk my life. And I’m not going to prison over this. That bitch of a cop is breathing down our necks.”

“She’ll be dealt with. Again, your mistake was going to the police chief, the mayor. I intend to have a word with Hawley, among others. What’s the point in having a United States senator in our pocket and not using him to flick away an annoying gnat like this Eve Dallas?”

“You know who she’s married to?”

“I’m aware.” Banner smiled thinly. “It’s time that Irish upstart learned a lesson from his betters. It’ll be handled, Jacob. Now, I want you to keep the machine running, and smoothly, and not panic like that fool O’Brian.”

“Redman—”

“If alive, maybe the annoying gnat will kill him for us. Or he’ll take care of her. But one way or the other, all this will blow over inside a week. This won’t touch us. We’re too rich and too important. Do your job; I’ll do mine.”

The recording ended.

“Well, well, fucking well.” The huge smile made her lip sting, but she couldn’t stop it. “The annoying gnat’s going to buzz straight into his ear tomorrow morning. Maybe the Irish upstart wants to observe.”

“Oh aye, that he fecking does.”

“I need to write my report, including all this. Whitney has to hold off the media conference until I’m finished in the box. Senator Hawley from where?”

He’d already checked. “Alabama.”

“Yeah? I believe that mention warrants a conversation with the FBI. Teasdale’s going to love this.”

“Feeney’s fond of an occasional glass of the Irish.”

“Yeah, so?”

“I think a case of the best of it’s in order.”

“He did his job,” Eve began, then nodded. “Sure, why not?”

“For now, I’ll see to your board.”

“This is turning into a really good day.”

He touched his fingers to her bruised and swollen jaw. “You would think so.”

She considered contacting Whitney directly, but figured that would bring more comments about her face. She opted for a minutely detailed report, the request for the media conference to follow her interview with Banner, and the request to schedule that at oh-eight-thirty.

No real need to go to the morgue. The adjustment gave her time, enough time, just enough, to work things out with Peabody and Reo.

“Bath,” Roarke decreed. “Blockers, wanding, rest.”

“Just let me—” She got up, because he had her hand, didn’t give her much choice, but stood, looking at the board he’d updated.

“It’s all right there,” she said. “You can see it all now. Redman confides in Chu—friend, colleague. Chu’s working on Rainmaker, too, so he confides. Chu, bottom-lining it, wanting to avoid trouble, goes to Wyst, maybe O’Brian, but it all moves to Wyst.

“Wyst calls for a conference, so one night thirteen years ago, Banner, Wyst, maybe O’Brian, Delgato, possibly Dent, get together and decide the best way to protect their bottom line, keep the project moving forward, to keep Redman from blowing the horn—makes more noise than a whistle—is to kill him. An accident, a big, tragic accident. One among many, so who’d look at them? Hire Cruz on Delgato’s recommendation. You can follow it all, from then to now, on that board.”

Procedure, she thought. It mattered.

“You hope by telling Redman, through the media, Banner and O’Brian will be tried, will face justice, you’ll save him.”

“Stop him.”