Glory in Death

The second installment in J. D. Robb's futuristic In Death series, set in New York City in the year 2058, follows Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a homicide detective haunted by a violent childhood she can barely remember. Eve has recently begun a relationship with Roarke, a wealthy and enigmatic Irish-born businessman with a shadowy past.

The novel opens on a rainy night as Eve arrives at a crime scene in a dangerous West End neighborhood. The victim is Prosecuting Attorney Cicely Towers, a powerful woman whose throat has been slashed with a single cut. Her expensive jewelry and cash are untouched, ruling out robbery. Eve notes that Towers was dressed in a coordinated power suit, suggesting she left home deliberately. A search of Towers's apartment reveals her schedule for the day: court followed by a dinner with George Hammett, a transportation executive and her longtime lover. Nothing explains why she would have traveled to such a dangerous neighborhood.

At Cop Central, the city's police headquarters, Eve's superior, Commander Whitney, reveals that Towers was one of his closest personal friends and that his wife is godmother to Towers's son. He admits he has no objectivity and is depending entirely on Eve. The preliminary autopsy places the time of death at 1:16 A.M. from a severed jugular. Reporter C. J. Morse contacts Eve aggressively, insinuating a cover-up and dragging Roarke's name into the story through his business connections to Towers and her associates. Eve notes that Roarke has an alibi, since he was with her at the time of the murder, but she worries about the complications his name will bring.

At Roarke's estate, Eve presses him about his connections to the case. He explains that Towers, her ex-husband Marco Angelini, and Hammett all served on the board of Mercury, one of his import-export companies. To counter Morse's hostile coverage, Eve contacts reporter Nadine Furst, currently off-planet, and offers her an exclusive. Eve then interviews Hammett, who confirms he had dinner with Towers the night of her death and dropped her off around 10 P.M. He has no alibi after midnight.

Captain Ryan Feeney from the Electronic Detection Division joins the case and discovers that Towers erased the last call on her communications link before leaving her apartment, deliberately leaving no record of who summoned her. Eve and Feeney theorize she was protecting someone. Investigation reveals that Towers waited nearly an hour in a seedy West End bar called the Five Moons, then left at 1:12 A.M. carrying a purple umbrella that is missing from the crime scene, likely a souvenir taken by the killer.

Eve interviews Marco Angelini, who reveals he inherits Towers's business holdings under their divorce agreement, a substantial financial motive. She also interviews Towers's children: her daughter Mirina Angelini, a grief-stricken young woman planning her wedding, and her son David Angelini, who is hostile and evasive about his gambling debts. Eve learns that Mirina's fiancé, Randall Slade, a fashion designer, is a recovering gambling addict with a buried scandal from a gambling satellite in Sector 38, where a woman died under suspicious circumstances. Roarke owned the casino involved and sold all his Sector 38 holdings within 48 hours of Towers's murder. When Eve confronts him, he refuses to explain, straining their already tense relationship.

Meanwhile, Roarke gives Eve an extravagant diamond necklace called the Giant's Tear. She panics at the implied commitment, and a fierce argument erupts. Roarke delivers an ultimatum: He wants all or nothing. He walks out.

A second murder shatters the case open. Emmy-winning actress Yvonne Metcalf is found with her throat slashed in the same manner. The only name appearing in both victims' address books is Roarke, who confirms he and Metcalf were former lovers. A missing shoe from the scene parallels Towers's missing umbrella. Metcalf's diary reveals a cryptic midnight meeting with someone she knew but does not name.

Eve consults police psychiatrist Dr. Mira, who profiles the killer as someone who envies powerful, famous women, kills face to face with a blade, and takes souvenirs. Mira warns there will be more victims and notes that Eve herself fits the target profile. In a rare personal moment, Mira shares her own history of childhood abuse, reaching out to Eve, who is struggling with nightmares and fragmented memories of her own traumatic past.

That night, Eve goes to Roarke's home, breaks down, and tells him she loves him. They reconcile, and she agrees to move in with him. She then devises a strategy of seeking heavy media exposure to make herself a visible target, believing the killer is motivated by jealousy of famous women's public attention.

Feeney discovers that Anna Whitney, the commander's wife, secretly paid David Angelini $200,000 to cover his gambling debts. A third murder follows: Louise Kirski, an editorial technician at Channel 75, is found outside the station with her throat slashed. Eve recognizes Nadine's raincoat on the victim and realizes the killer struck the wrong target. Nadine was the intended victim. Eve interviews both Morse, who found the body, and Nadine, who is shattered by guilt.

David Angelini appears on the station's gate security footage, arriving minutes before the body was found. He admits he witnessed the murder from his car but fled without reporting it and attempts to bribe Eve, which she records. She arrests him on charges of obstruction and attempted bribery. A search of the Angelini townhouse turns up a knife, but lab results reveal it does not match the murder weapon. Marco Angelini then confesses to all three murders, but his account is riddled with inconsistencies. Eve concludes he is fabricating the confession to protect his son. Dr. Mira's evaluation confirms David's profile does not match the killer's.

Chief Tibble, the new head of the police force, orders David released and instructs Eve to keep investigating. She returns to the West End and finds a witness who saw a man on the night of Towers's murder get into a shiny new car while carrying a brightly colored umbrella. Eve also grows alarmed when Nadine disappears without explanation.

The breakthrough comes when Eve reviews Morse's recorded statements about finding Kirski's body. He described seeing the victim's face, but Officer Peabody, the uniform who secured the scene, confirms the victim's hood was covering her face when found. Only the killer could have seen it. Feeney uncovers Morse's sealed juvenile record: At age 10, he killed his teacher's dog by slitting its throat. He drives a car matching the witness's description, and his deceased mother was a demanding academic. Feeney also discovers Morse worked at the same California station as Metcalf years earlier and resented her rising success, a connection he never disclosed. Eve obtains a search warrant, and Peabody discovers a hidden compartment in Morse's sofa containing Towers's purple umbrella and Metcalf's missing shoe.

Morse has already fled. During a cocktail party at Roarke's home, he calls Eve, revealing he has kidnapped Nadine and holds a knife to her throat while broadcasting from a park. He demands Eve come alone within six minutes. She races there without calling for backup, fearing he has been monitoring police communications. Morse monologues about his murders: He killed his own mother first, then Towers, who sneered at him, and Metcalf, who received airtime he believed was his. Eve stalls, then draws a concealed weapon. Morse shoves Nadine at Eve and flees into the dark trees. Eve sends Nadine to call for help and pursues him. He circles back and attacks, slashing her collarbone and wrist. Roarke, who followed Eve after replaying the call at home, arrives and tackles Morse. In the struggle, the knife plunges into Morse's throat, killing him.

Eve and Roarke limp out of the park together, battered and bleeding. Nadine is rescued. As they walk away, Roarke asks Eve to marry him, and the novel ends with the question hanging in the air.