Revenant in Death

Chapter 04

by Technomad

Eve Dallas was busier than a one-armed paper-hanger, getting ready for the Nixie Swisher Fund annual fundraiser on top of her other duties. She was just finished with preparing her latest lecture for another fresh-faced group of young Police Academy recruits. She shook her head. She couldn't quite believe how young they all looked to her these days. Her own academy days didn't feel like all that long ago, but compared to the current crop of cadets, even Trueheart now seemed like a grizzled veteran.

Thinking of Trueheart, she smiled to herself. She had coached the young man for his examination for promotion, and when he'd won detective's rank, he had asked that she be the one to pin his new badge on him. She had been flattered and proud to accept, and her friends in the force had cheered her loudly (with a wolf-whistle in there that she was sure was Peabody's) when she'd stood up out of her wheelchair to do so. That was a memory she loved to revisit in her mind.

She put thoughts of the academy aside, since she was consulting with a couple of prominent, influential women to make sure that the fundraiser would be a roaring success. She looked around the room. Vera Charles, one of the biggest stars of the screen and stage, was lolling in her chair, languidly sipping at a martini glass. It was early in the day, but Ms. Charles was well-known to run on a diet of alcohol.

So, for that matter, was her best friend, Mame Dennis Burnside. Mame Burnside famously believed that the day began with the first cocktail, and went through her day with at least a slight buzz on, but that didn't make her less shrewd as an investor. She had married her money originally, but had increased it exponentially after her husband's untimely death. And she had helped Ms. Charles invest the money she made on-stage until she was up there with the wealthiest women in New York, if not the country. Eve didn't share their drinking habits, but since they made it work for them, she didn't figure it was worth making a fuss over. And she needed their goodwill and cooperation. Mame was easy to get along with, but Vera was trickier to handle, and Eve was glad Mame was there to help deal with her.

Mame Burnside sipped daintily at her drink. "Jane, darling, could you be a love and hand me my datapad?" Her new assistant stepped forward, handing her the device before returning to her place just behind Mame's chair. Mame began tapping at the keypad, her eyes sharp and focused despite the drink she had taken aboard.

"You have her well-trained, Mame," drawled Vera. "Best be careful, or I'll hire her away from you!"

Mame put down her datapad, narrowing her eyes. "I found her first, Vera Charles," she said, her voice low with menace. "You keep your mucky fingers to yourself!"

Eve rolled her eyes. She knew that Vera Charles and Mame Burnside were inseparable friends, but that never stopped them snapping at each other and quarrelling, sometimes bitterly. She privately thought that they were too similar in many ways to really be able to get along.

Mentally, she contrasted their relationship with her partnership with Peabody. They had had the structure of the police department to keep it clear who was dominant, and they were too different in many ways to really clash. She smiled to herself, thinking of the times when they'd been confronted with something "girly" like a store selling fancy upscale (impractical) shoes, and she'd been unmoved while Peabody had all but drooled with lust. She felt that was a source of strength; what one of them might not notice, the other would be likely to spot. And what one of them knew, they both knew.

"Ladies?" That was Summerset. Eve had long since concluded that Summerset had his uses, mainly in keeping order at this sort of gathering. Many society matrons who would bristle at Eve trying to exert dominance, even in her own home, would snap-to instantly at one word from Summerset. Eve had long since given up trying to figure this out, and just happily took advantage of it. "Can we concentrate on the subject at hand? I'm sure that you can arrange to share Miss Mollenbeek's services."

Chastened, Vera and Mame got back to planning the Nixie Swisher Fund fundraiser. Vera had quite a few connections in the entertainment world, and she grinned wickedly as she said: "I've got a little list of who I want to see showing up, and if any of them give me any trouble…I know more than enough about them to make them wish they had!" Their previous spat already forgotten, Mame laughed and patted Vera's hand. Unobtrusively, Summerset refreshed their drinks, and Eve noticed that he used a fairly light hand. They didn't need these ladies drunk, just a little high.

Eve had to admit, Vera Charles was far better at wrangling show business people than Mavis was. She had been around the business long enough to be an institution, and had actually trained and mentored many of the people who were currently stars of stage and screen. She was also sharp and shrewd, and took no nonsense from them. Even though she was a longtime star in her own right, Mavis was still enough in awe of a lot of her fellow stars to not be able to handle them.

And Mame Burnside knew everybody who was anybody, financially or socially, in New York and its environs. She was ruthless about using what she knew about their peccadillos to get them to dig down and contribute to the Fund. Of course, she was also generous with good publicity and public praise for those who were particularly generous, which didn't hurt. She had always struck Eve as erratic, rushing from one enthusiasm to another, but under it, there was a great heart. No matter what had captured her attention, she would always be willing to help those in need. Besides the Nixie Swisher Fund, she was the driving force behind many other charitable organizations, and she kept a sharp eye on them to make sure that they stayed on-focus, instead of mainly worrying about paying their employees generous salaries.

Mame's employees were famously loyal to her. She'd never had trouble with one of them stealing from her or betraying her. Many had been with her for years, or even decades. All too many rich people had to deal with turmoil among those who served them. One factor that Eve thought kept Mame's subordinates loyal to their mistress was the fact that Mame was very generous with both salaries and other benefits.

When Mame had shown up with a new assistant, Eve had been a little startled. When Mame had explained that her previous assistant had been given an opportunity to study dance in Paris, Eve had shrugged her shoulders and accepted it. She wouldn't have been a bit surprised to find that Mame Burnside had had a hand in that invitation. Mame was a happy person, who enjoyed every bit of her life, and she wanted other people to be happy.

As the ladies discussed the details of the fundraiser, Eve found herself looking carefully at Mame's new assistant. She'd never met Jane Mollenbeek before, but there was something…something indefinably familiar…about her. Had she been involved, even peripherally, in a case that Eve had dealt with? Had she been a witness, or even a victim? Eve discreetly made a note to herself to look the woman up in her files. Eve's memory for faces and people was retentive, and she didn't like not knowing where she might have known this woman from.

Once they had hammered out the details, they adjourned to the terrace, where the ever-efficient Summerset had prepared a collation of cold cuts, snacks and drinks. Sampling the punch he had set out, Mame and Vera quickly pronounced it "strong enough," and ladled cups full for themselves. Ms. Mollenbeek turned down the offer of a drink, but did tuck into the food with good appetite. Eve smiled to herself to see the ladies all chowing down. It reminded her of the old days, when she'd get her colleagues into the mansion to work with her on a case, and they would eagerly eat the delicious food that Roarke always provided.

The ladies had just left when Eve's comm sounded, with the ring-tone that meant that Roarke was calling. She picked it up, smiling. "Hello, darling. How went your business meeting?"

"Oh, well enough. I've acquired yet more property, and at a knockdown rate. I take it you're up to your eyes in getting ready for the Nixie Swisher fundraiser?" Roarke grinned at her. "How are the lovely Mesdames Burnside and Charles? Dare I hope that they stayed sober and focussed on the subject at hand?"

Eve laughed. Roarke had known both women long before she had made their acquaintance, and she knew that while he liked them both, he could not believe how much they could drink and still function. He said, jokingly, that he suspected both of them of being at least part Irish, since he had never seen such capacity in women of any other national background. "Yes, dear. Mame has a new assistant, but she looks to be fitting right on in."

"Ah, that's good to hear. I'd heard that her previous assistant had gone on to pastures new. Mame was telling me about it. Proud as a peacock, that woman was; to hear her, she'd personally shaped the woman into the person she needed to be to grab that opportunity." Roarke winked. "Many another rich person would be unhappy about losing someone they depended on, but Mame was happy that she was going to be able to spread her wings and do more with herself." Eve nodded; that did sound like Mame Burnside. "She's one of the most generous people I know."

"You know, darling, there is something about her new assistant. Something I can't put my finger on. It's almost as though we've met before, or had dealings with each other, but I'd swear that was impossible." Every so often, Ms. Mollenbeek had done something that just tickled the edge of Eve's perceptions, or for a second, an expression would flash across her face that didn't seem to quite belong. There was something there, but Eve couldn't pin it down.

"It's not impossible that you've met at some time, and just forgotten it, darling. Have you talked to Mavis yet?"

"No, dear, but I will. As soon as I can." Mavis was planning a lot of the entertainment for the fundraiser, and as usual, was running in every direction at once. She was, in Eve's view, having the time of her life.

"Then I'll get off this line. I'll be home as soon as I can, darling." With that, the line went dead, and Eve spent a minute missing her husband. She always felt more complete, more herself, when he was nearby.

Just then, Summerset's voice broke in on her thoughts. "Miss Belle is here, Eve."

Eve smiled. "Send her on in, Summerset." She watched as Summerset showed Mavis' daughter on in, his face wreathed in a smile that looked unnatural on him. But all of Roarke's household loved Belle, and she loved them all right back.

"Thanks, Summerset. You're a sweetie. Hello, Auntie Eve! You're looking chipper today!" Belle bounced up and gave Eve a kiss. Normally, Eve was not much on kisses or caresses save from Roarke or Sean, but she made an exception for Belle. The girl's personality was like a ray of sunshine, and she was impossible to dislike. Even the most crabbed, cynical cops of Eve's acquaintance unbent around her, and she brightened up any room she was in.

"Hello yourself, love. How've you been?" Rather to her mother's and Eve's surprise, Bella had no interest in the performing arts. She'd gone in for science instead, winning honors and a prestigous scholarship, to the delight and puzzlement of her mother. Mavis said, laughingly, that she sometimes wondered whether her daughter was really hers…but that she loved Belle anyway "even if she did disappoint her poor old mother."

"Great! My job's incredibly interesting!" Belle launched into a description of her new job, which involved complicated multi-disciplinary research into several different fields, that left Eve slightly bewildered. If it had had something to do with police work, like forensics or the like, she'd have likely understood, but this was beyond her. She thought Roarke might have had a better chance of understanding what their honorary niece was up to, but between Belle's enthusiasm and her fast speech, Eve was floundering, hoping that she nodded and smiled at the right places in the monologue.

Finally, Belle ran down. "But enough about that," she said. "Tell me about what you've been up to! Are you taking care of yourself?" She gave Eve a stern look. Belle had appointed herself as Eve's unofficial minder and therapy coach, and monitored her well-being as carefully as Roarke himself could have wished. "Have you been exercising? What have you been eating?"

"I swim regularly, darling. And I just got done with helping plan the Nixie Swisher Fund fundraiser. You remember that, don't you?"

Belle lit up. "Of course! Mom and I are already planning what we'll wear!" She went off on a tangent about some clothes and shoes that Mavis and Belle were drooling over, and Eve gave herself a rueful shake of the head. Some things never changed. "Will Mame Burnside be there?"

"She was just here. You just missed her. Why do you ask, love?"

"My research needs some funding, and I thought that I could ask her for ideas about where the money could be found. You know that she's good at that sort of thing." Eve admitted to herself that Belle's idea was very good. Mame Burnside, for all her spaciness, had a sharp incisive mind, and took a close interest in scientific research. If she thought that Belle's line of inquiry looked good, she could probably fund it herself and never miss the money, or get others who were knowledgable in on it.

"Well, you'll see her at the fundraiser. In the meantime, what would you say to dinner?" Belle's eyes lit up, for all the world like Peabody smelling food, and she happily followed Eve out to the dining area where the ever-efficient Summerset had set out food for them. Tucking in, Belle said "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you: I got a message from Sean. He got that off-planet scholarship he wanted. I'm so happy for him!"

"He's happy about it, too, and I'm sure he'll want to hear all about your research." Eve drank a long gulp of coffee, savoring the flavor.

END Chapter 04