The Children's Corner

Chapter 11

Nostalgia enhances the blue of Martha's eyes as she gazes around Hayes Haven. "Helen was a remarkable woman. I only did one play with her, but she was a revelation. The way her slightest movement or change of expression could enlighten a character was unmatched. I absorbed so much just watching. The theater still misses her."

Rick reaches across the table for his mother's hand. "The stage still has its brilliance, and your light is among the brightest."

Martha snorts. "You may have been hiding behind Kate, but you want something, Richard. Out with it!"

"Martha," Craig soothes.

"Actually, it is for me," Kate jumps in. "I'm interested in a case involving Jebediah MacIver, and I was wondering if you could point me at someone who would know what he'd been into."

Martha presses a hand to her chest. "Ah, yes, the fashion importer to the stars. His death hit Variety this morning. I only met the man once, at a Tonys after-party. The lines he brought in never appealed to me, but he had an enthusiastic following. And I believe that Dagmar Lindell, who's creating the costumes for my current project, was well acquainted with him. She used his clothes in several plays she worked on. Fortunately, she only put them on supporting characters. They never took center stage. Dagmar won't answer her phone when she's working. She says it disrupts her creative flow. And I can't argue with that. However, she does return texts. I can't guarantee that she'll respond, but I can send one to her private number asking her to contact you."

"That would be great, Martha. Thank you."

"Can I do anything for you, Mother, to add my prodigious thanks?" Rick inquires.

"Pick up the check and add a prodigious tip. The servers just work here until they can snag a role. And to starving artists, every penny counts."

Rick inclines his head in a demi-bow. "Consider it done."

Coffee slops over the edge of Azra's mug as she slams it on the small table in the apartment she shares with Jack. His dark brows rise toward the white hair still thick on his head. "What's going on?"

"New active measures that we suspect are in response to U.S. attacks on the G.R.U.'s cyber forces."

"More hacking?"

Shaking her head, she wipes up the spilled liquid with a paper towel. "More insidious than that. The Russian's got their hands on a new drug. The high is incredibly seductive, but when it fades, death remains. It's already in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Chicago, and Nashville – the country's top fashion centers."

"Any idea how it's coming in?" Jack inquires.

"Not in the chatter I monitored."

"Then maybe you were looking in the wrong place." Pulling out his phone, Jack scrolls to the Metro Section of the Ledger and shows the screen to Azra. "I check here because sometime's Richard's name comes up. But this notice may connect to those active measures."

"Jebediah MacIver found dead," Azra reads. "According to a department spokesman, the N.Y.P.D. is investigating the death of the fashion importer to the stars. Its brief statement indicates that the investigation is in its early stages. According to a source familiar with the case, MacIver's death has unusual aspects. But when asked, lead detective Javier Esposito merely replied, "No comment."

"MacIver would have been an ideal, if possibly unknowing conduit," Jack points out. "But if he asked too many questions, the Russians wouldn't have thought twice about terminating him."

"Using MacIver is a plausible scenario," Azra considers. "But given the interstate nature of any inquiry, the F.B.I. would be involved. The D.E.A. and Customs would also get into it. And your agency and mine would both have eyes on the situation. Our people could keep our activities under wraps, but those other hulks would leave deep footprints. And the Russians would love to plant threads all over social media about the ineptitude of our law enforcement agencies. I'm not about to risk passing this up the chain based on pure conjecture."

"Neither am I," Jack agrees. "But I happen to know that Detective Esposito works out of the 12th Precinct with Kate. She may be on leave now, but she and Richard won't be able to keep their noses out of this. And neither of them will back off until they uncover something. I should monitor their progress to make sure the wrong information isn't released."

"A mission which gives you the perfect excuse to spend your time looking in on your family," Azra teases.

"It could work out that way," Jack admits. "But that doesn't make the mission any less valid."

"Sure, Jack. See if you can get some good pictures of the babies."

Kate sticks her head into the doorway of Rick's office. "I know you're writing, but can you take care of the twins for an hour or two?" Cindy has class most of the day, and Dagmar Lindell agreed to talk to me if we can do it at the theater. I should be back in time to nurse the boys, but if not, there's enough breast milk in the fridge."

"No problem," Rick agrees, "provided you fill me in on every detail you learn. But if you come up with something, Ryan and Esposito, especially Esposito, will be pissed that you didn't pass off a possible lead to them."

"They'd also be pissed if I sent them on a wild goose chase. Anyway, if Dagmar gives me a lead they can use, they'll get over it."

"When are you leaving?"

"Jake and Reese are both asleep. So I was thinking now."

"Fine, but," Rick points to baby drool on Kate's shoulder, "if you're going to be talking fashion, you might consider changing your top before you go."

"Good catch, Babe. Wish me luck."

"Good luck. But the formidable Kate Beckett won't need it."

Flipping back purple and silver-streaked hair, Dagmar takes a seat in a canvas chair opposite Kate. She gestures at the flurry of backstage activity. "Never a dull moment preparing for a show. But I suppose Martha's told you that."

"It's come up a few times. But right now, the N.Y.P.D. isn't having many dull moments either. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"The passing of Jebediah MacIver?" Dagmar prompts.

"That's right. How did you…?"

"The fashion world is a small place, Detective, particularly when it involves the theater. I noticed a change in Jebediah's operations. I received a dress I ordered as a costume two days later than expected. Jebediah was never late. He couldn't stop apologizing. But he also said he thought an outside party was disrupting his business, and he was going to look into it."

"When was that?" Kate asks.

"About a month ago. And when the Ledger broke the story that Jebediah was dead but held back on details, I knew something had been going on."

"Do you know if MacIver ever had anything to do with drugs?"

Dagmar slaps a hand to her face. "God, no! He wouldn't even allow anyone to smoke weed in the same building with his clothes. He said you could never get the reek out. The man didn't even drink coffee."

"Did he say anything else about his shipments?" Kate probes.

"Only that he had one coming in on a transport, and he was going to take a boat out to inspect it before it hit Customs. You know, I think it was due right around the time he was murdered. Does that help you, Detective Beckett?"

Kate pushes out of her chair. "You have no idea how much."