“Niles Renquist,” she stated. “Thirty-eight. Married, one child. Brit citizen with residences inLondon andNew York. Currently chief of staff for the U.N. delegate fromBritain,MarshallEvans. Got yourself digs onSutton Place, don’t you, Niles. Fancy stuff. No criminal on you either, but you’re worth a look-see.”

She sipped coffee, thought vaguely about food.

“PepperFranklin. What the hell kind of name is Pepper? Actress? Of course you are. Brit actress currently starring in Broadway revival of Uptown Lady. No criminal. Nothing but squeaky-clean on this list.”

It was a little depressing.

But she hit with Pepper Franklin’s cohabitation partner,LeoFortney.

Sexual assault, indecent exposure, sexual battery. “Bad boy,”Eve reprimanded. “Bad and busy boy.” WhenPeabody came back,Eve already had her list in order of priority and was shrugging back into her jacket. “CarmichaelSmith,ElliotHawthorne, Niles Renquist, and Pepper Franklin are all inNew York, or reputed to be inNew York at this time.”

“Suit up. We’re going to go pay some of our English friends a visit.” She started out. “Is the U.N. in session?”

“U.N.? As in United Nations?”

“No, U.N. as in Unidentified Numbskulls.”

“I recognize sarcasm when I hear it,” Peabody said with some dignity. “I’ll check on it.”

It irritated her to jump through hoops. Every time she cleared one, there was another stack to hurdle. No amount of reason, demand, or threat got her through the maze of assistants, staffers, coordinators, and personal attendants toCarmichaelSmith or Niles Renquist.

She was forced to settle for appointments the following day.

Which might have made her slightly less than diplomatic with the blonde touting herself asMr.Fortney ’s social secretary.

“This isn’t a social call. See this?”Eve all but pressed her badge to the woman’s nose. “This means I’m probably not feeling particularly sociable. This is what we NYPSD people like to call an official inquiry.”

The blonde set her face into stern lines and succeeded in looking like a cranky baby doll. “Mr.Fortneyis very busy,” she said in an indignant lispEve just bet some brainless guy found sexy. “He can’t be disturbed.”

“If you don’t tell your boss thatLieutenantDallas of the NYPSD is out here waiting to speak to him, everyone in this building’s going to be disturbed.”

“He’s unavailable.”

Evehad taken that line on Smith, who might very well have been at his health center having a complete physical workup. And she’d taken it on Renquist, who quite possibly had been in back-to-back meetings with various heads of state.

But she wasn’t taking it from some actress’s bimbo companion.

“ Peabody,” she said without taking her eyes off the blonde, “call for an Illegals sweep. I believe I smell Zoner.”

“What are you talking about? That’s just silly.” Obviously incensed, the blonde danced on her four-inch platforms that had her impressive breasts bobbing like soccer balls. “You can’t do something like that.”

“Oh, I bet I can. And you know what happens sometimes, on an Illegals sweep? It leaks to the media. Especially when there’s a celebrity type involved. I betMs.Franklin ’s going to be a little annoyed about that.”

“If you think you can intimidate me into-”

“Illegals team will be here within thirty, Lieutenant.” Peabody tried her cold cop voice. She’d been practicing. “You’re authorized to lock down the building.”

“Thank you, Officer. That was quick work. With me.”

“What?” The blonde clattered after her asEve strode out of the office. “Where are you going? What are you doing?”

“I’m going to lock down. Once a sweep’s been authorized, no one is allowed to enter or leave the premises.”

“You can’t- Don’t.” She grabbedEve ’s arm.

“Oh-oh?”Eve paused enough to look at the lily-white hand with its baby pink nails that clutched her sleeve. “That might be construed as assaulting an officer, and an attempt to obstruct a police investigation. Since you seem a little dim to me, I’ll just cuff you instead of knocking you on your ass, then cuffing you.”

“I wasn’t!” The blonde droppedEve ’s arm as if it had burst into flame, and scrambled back. “I didn’t! Oh, damn it, okay, okay, o-kay! I’ll tellLeo.”

“Hmm. You know, Peabody.”Eve took another testing sniff of air. “I don’t think that’s Zoner after all.”

“I think you’re right, Lieutenant. I think it’s gardenia.” Peabody let the grin spread as the blonde rushed back into the office. “She must be dim if she thinks you can call for a sweep that way.”

“Dim or guilty. Bet she’s got a little goodie stash in here. Who did you call?”Eve asked.

“Weather. It’s hot, and it’s going to stay hot. In case you wondered.”

Chin up, the blonde stepped out again, and announced in her best lisp, “Mr.Fortneywill see you now.”

Evefollowed in the wake of the woman’s intense dislike.

Fortney was set up in one of the five office suites. The area appeared to have been decorated by the color-blind or the insane-possibly both-as evenEve ’s casual sense of style was bombarded with the clashing colors and patterns that dominated walls, floors, ceiling.

Fortney’s space had taken it one step further by adding animal prints that ran rampant over the walls in a jungle madness of leopard spots, tiger stripes, and splotches of unknown wildlife. Clear tables fashioned of glossy plates atop oddly phallic columns were used as accents.

His desk was a larger version of the tables, with the penis-like columns painted a virulent red. He was pacing behind it as they entered, talking rapidly into a headset.

“We need to move on this within twenty-four. Up or down, no in between. I’ve got the outline, the projections, and the Q-factor. Let’s wrap it up.”

He gave a come-ahead gesture with a hand glittering with gold and silver bands.

While he continued to talk and pace,Eve sat in one of the tiger-striped chairs and studied him. He was posing for her, she had no doubt of it. So, she’d accommodate him.

He was artfully dressed in a tunic-jacket and pants, both the color of green grapes. His hair was a dark magenta, worn long and sleek around a narrow, deeply carved face. His eyes too closely matched the shade of his suit to be natural.

Like his fingers, his ears glittered with gold and silver bands.

About six two,Eve judged-with the heeled sandals-and well turned out for his type. Took his body seriously, she imagined, and enjoyed showing it off in fancy duds.

Since he was working hard to show her what a busy and important man he was, she assumed he was neither.

He removed the headset, smiled at her. “I’m so sorry,LieutenantDennis. I’m just swamped today.”

“ Dallas.”

“ Dallas, of course, Dallas.” He made a little ha-ha sound and walked to a long counter, bent down to the minifriggie beneath. He continued to speak in his rapid-fire style, in a accentless tone that said West Coast toEve. “It’s just madness around here, my mind’s going a thousand directions at once. Parched. Just parched. Drink?”

“No, thank you.”

He took out a bottle of something orange and frothy and poured it into a glass. “Suelee tells me you were very insistent about seeing me.”

“Suelee was very insistent I wouldn’t see you.”

“Well, ha-ha, just doing her job. Don’t know what I’d do without my Suelee guarding the gates.”

He beamed, sat in an I’m-a-busy-but-personable-son-of-a-bitch style on the edge of his horrible red desk. “You’d be amazed how many people try to get in to see me on any given day. Comes with the territory, of course. Actors, writers, directors.” He threw up a hand, waved it dramatically. “But I don’t often have an attractive policewoman looking for a meeting.”

His smile glittered, white and perfectly even. “So, tell me, what’ve you got? Play, vid, disc book? Cop drama’s cooled off recently, but there’s always room for a good story. The girl cop angle’s good. What’s your pitch?”