Page 38 of Fury In Death

Reynolds did the look-coolly-down-the-nose thing, then nodded.

“Gretta Dolbey, Martin Frieze.”

“Take Frieze,” Eve said, “down that end of the table. I’ll take Dolbey.”

Gretta Dolbey, a small, thin woman, had eyes reddened from tears. Eve figured she’d have had a tough time beating anyone to death even armed with a steel bat.

“Have a seat. I’m Lieutenant Dallas. How long have you known Lawrence Chu?”

“Almost twelve years.”

“Describe your relationship?”

“He was my director, my colleague, a friend. I liked him very much, and respected his work and his leadership. And I . . . I can’t believe this happened. He was in such a good mood when he left the lab yesterday. He had some work to take home, then he and Rae were going out to a fancy dinner with friends. He was looking forward to it.

“He said—when he left, he said: ‘Guard the fort, Gretta! I’m off duty.’ I think I said he wasn’t off duty until he finished those budget reports, and he laughed.”

She let out a sigh. “He laughed.”

“You’ll take his position now.”

“Acting. I’ll stand in as acting director. He—he recommended me for assistant director five years ago. I know Director O’Brian questioned the promotion, as I was only thirty-six, and I had a toddler at home, but Larry went to bat for me. I may take his position, temporarily or permanently, but I could never take his place.”

“What about friction in his department, work-related or personal?”

“Larry runs—ran—a smooth ship. It was important to him. Harmony and cooperation, teamwork produces better results. He was a finder of solutions, in all aspects. You could go to him with a problem, in the work, in your life, and he would try and help.”

“Transfers, terminations for cause?”

“Certainly there have been some of both over the years, but nothing recent.”

“Did he ever come to you with problems? Personal or work-related?”

“Work-related, certainly. We’d put our heads together, or if he felt I had a better handle, he’d pass something to me. Personal, oh, just the sort of thing between old friends. He had a very stable family life, a good circle of friends. Could he get irritated or impatient, yes. But he wasn’t one for drama or conflicts.

“Here, the work ruled all. What we do saves lives, makes lives better, and he believed to do that vital work, and do it well, efficiently, required a cooperative workplace.”

Eve took her through more questions, then moved on to the next, and the next.

When they’d finished, Eve sat at one end of the conference table, Peabody at the other.

“They liked him,” Peabody said. “And if I didn’t get real like, I got plenty of respect.”

“Yeah, I’m not seeing it coming out of the lab. And yet.”

Eve pushed to her feet. “I think we’re done here for today.”

They stepped out to find Mae sitting in the corridor working on a PPC.

She closed it down, stood.

“Is there something else I can arrange for you?”

“Not at this time, thank you. We’re on our way out.”

“I’ll escort you to the elevator and clear you down to the garage level.”

“Pretty tight security.”