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“Because?”

“He’s a fine actor Was,” she corrected, sed hard before she drew one last tiarette “He wasn’t a particularly fine hu Oh, that sounds vicious, horrible” Her hand lifted to her throat again, fingers restless against flesh “I feel vicious and horrible saying it, but I—I want to be as honest as I can I’m afraid I’m terrified you’ll think that I meant this to happen”

“At theI want you to tell me about Richard Draco”

“All right All right” She drew in a breath, sucked on the cigarette as if it were a straw “Others will say it in any case Richard was very self-interested and egocentric, as ainst him And I jumped at the chance to ith him in this play”

“Are you aware of anyone else who, believing hiainst him?”

“I iine Richard insulted or offended everyone attached to this production at one tiertip to the inside corner of her eye, as if to relieve sos, coes That’s theater”

• • •

The theater, as far as Eve was concerned, was a screwy business People wept copiously, gave raues when any half-wit laould have advised them to say yes, no, and shut the hell up They expounded, they expanded, and a great ed to turn the death of an associate into a dra role “Ninety percent bullshit, Peabody”

“I guess” Peabody crossed the backstage area, trying to look everywhere at once “But it’s kind of cool All those lights, and the holoboard, and there’re so costu to be standing out front and having all those people watching you?”

“Creepy We’re going to have to let so about their civil rights”

“I hate when that happens”

Eve s an interesting picture of the victim Nobody really wants to say so, but he ell disliked Even when they don’t want to say so, they do anyhile they dab tears fro to look around back here Go ahead and have the uniforms cut these people loose Make sure we have all pertinent data on the Set up interviews for tomorrow”

“At Central or in the field?”

“Let’s keep it light and go to them For now After you’ve set theht hundred”

Peabody shifted her feet “Are you going home?”