
"Patsy, Taj was happy you were content to stay home with the children. He was so proud of them and of you."
"I can't-Chad." She pulled her hands free, pressed them to her face. "How can I tell him? How can we live without Taj? Where is he?" She dropped her hands, looked around blindly. "I have to go see him. Maybe there's a mistake."
It was, Eve knew, her time. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Kohli, there's no mistake. I'm Lieutenant Dallas. I'm in charge of the investigation."
"You saw Taj." Patsy got shakily to her feet.
"Yes. I'm sorry, very sorry for your loss. Can you talk to me, Mrs. Kohli? Help me find the person who did this?"
"Lieutenant Dallas," Roth began, but Patsy shook her head.
"No, no. I want to talk. Taj would want me to. He'd want… Where's Jilly? Where's my baby?"
"I, ah…" Feeling sticky again, Eve gestured to the hamper.
"Oh." Patsy wiped tears from her face, smiled. "She's so good. Such a love. She hardly ever cries. I should put her in her crib."
"I'll do that for you, Patsy." Clooney rose. "You talk to the lieutenant." He gave Eve a quiet look, full of sorrow and understanding. "That's what Taj would want. Do you want us to call someone for you? Your sister?"
"Yes." Patsy drew in a breath. "Yes, please. If you'd call Carla for me."
"Captain Roth will do that for you, won't you, Captain? While I put the baby down."
Roth struggled, set her teeth. It didn't surprise Eve to see the annoyance. Clooney had essentially taken over, gently. And this wasn't a woman who liked taking orders from her sergeant.
"Yes, of course." With a final warning look at Eve, she walked into the next room.
"Are you with Taj's squad?"
"No, I'm not."
"No, no, of course." Patsy rubbed her temple. "You'd be with Homicide." She started to break, the sound coming through her lips like a whimper. And Eve watched with admiration as she toughened up. "What do you want to know?"
