Naked in Death

“You--Roarke.” Eyes watering, Mavis reached for more tissue. “Jesus, Eve. Jesus Christ, you never sleep with anybody. And you’re telling me you slept with Roarke?”
“That’s not precisely accurate. We didn’t sleep.” - Naked in Death

Naked in Death
Naked in Death 2nd Edition US Cover
Book Number	1
Release Date	July 1995
Publisher	Berkley
ISBN	ISBN 0-425-14829-7
Publication order
Previous	Debut Novel
Next	Glory in Death

Plot Summary

In the early part of the year 2058, Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s New York Police and Security Department is called in to investigate the brutal murder of a high-profile Licensed Companion. The investigation is complicated by the fact that the victim is the granddaughter of a powerful Senator. Further complicating matters, the main suspect is the enigmatic Irish billionaire, Roarke, whom Eve finds herself reluctantly drawn to. Her cop’s instincts warn her not to get involved with a man who could potentially be a murderer. But the attraction between her and Roarke is too strong for her to deny.

Map

Please reference the Naked in Death Map for locations or approximate locations of sites listed here.

Spoiler warning! This article contains plot details about an upcoming episode.

Timeline

Story Start Date: February 13, 2058 (p. 18)]

Story Dates: February 13-22, 2058

Day 1 - February 13, 2058

Chapter 1

• Dawn – Homicide Lieutenant Eve Dallas awakens in her bed, still shuddering from the nightmare she had; the previous night, she had to kill a man who had murdered a little girl. Eve is haunted, not by the man, but by the child she was unable to save. She knows she faces mandatory psychological Testing at headquarters for terminating (killing) a person.
• While breakfasting, she is contacted by her commander, who assigns her to a Code Five case.
• The case is at 27 West Broadway, in an area known as Prostitutes’ Walk. Upon arrival, Eve is pleased to see her old partner, Ryan Feeney, who is now head of the Electronics Detectives Division (4).
• The victim is Sharon DeBlass, granddaughter of Senator Gerald DeBlass, the “gentleman from Virginia,” extreme right, old money. Sharon DeBlass has been working the past few years as a Licensed Companion in New York. The political connection makes it a very sensitive case (5).
• Looking at the wounds on the victim, Eve is stunned to realize that they are bullet wounds – three of them. Since guns have been outlawed for years, it is the first time Eve has ever seen them. The gun, a thirty-eight Smith and Wesson Model 10 blue steel, has been left at the scene (7).
• Eve learns that the killer reported the murder to Cop Central, via video ’link, showing the dead victim, no audio (8).
• Feeney examines the victim’s palm computer, whistles at all the high-powered names he finds. Lots of money involved. One prominent name Feeney recognizes is Roarke. Eve has never heard of Roarke. Feeney tells her Roarke is very wealthy and powerful, collects art and antiques, including guns. He warns her to tread carefully (9).
• Beneath the body, Eve finds a piece of paper, on which is hand-printed “ONE OF SIX” (10).
• Eve interviews the victim’s neighbors and then visits Sharon’s exclusive beauty salon (Paradise Salon), where she meets Sebastian, Sharon’s stylist. Eve learns that Sharon was at odds with her family, especially her grandfather, the senator. The senator was trying to make prostitution illegal, and opposed the gun ban. Sebastian last saw Sharon two days ago, when he prepared her for her date with Roarke, to whom she was very attracted (15).

Chapter 2

• Back at her office, Eve reviews the autopsy report. The ME found no sperm, no DNA except for the victim’s. Forensics has found nothing (15). The security discs (taken from 2-12-58 6 am) have been tampered with: the image blips and shifts from 12:05 am to 02:46 am (18). The autopsy puts the victim’s death at two a.m. February 13, 2058.
• When Eve discovers that Roarke owns the apartment building that Sharon lived in, she runs a computer check on him (19). Aside from information about his business interests, the only personal information is his birthdate (10-06-2023) and a description of him: black hair, blue eyes, 6 feet, 2 inches, 173 pounds (20). Eve looks at his picture; he’s almost ridiculously handsome. She decides she needs to talk to him very soon (21).
• Arriving at home, Eve finds a sealed disc just inside her door (21). It’s a video of Sharon teasing, and then being shot. Eve reviews it twice, then calls her commander to tell him. He tells her to come to his office at 07:00, and bring the disc (21-24).

Day 2 - February 14, 2058

• 3 a.m. – Eve has another nightmare that night (25).
• Eve arrives at Commander Whitney’s office promptly at 07:00. Eve outlines what she has done so far (25). The commander tells her that Senator DeBlass is on his way in; he wants to talk to the investigating officer – Eve. Eve objects, as it’s a Code Five (confidential) case. The commander sympathizes, but is unable to prevent the meeting (26).
• Senator DeBlass demands to know what progress has been made, demands to have access to confidential evidence (28). He warns that if his demands are not met, he will see that Eve is demoted. After he leaves, his aide, Derrick Rockman, tries to smooth things over.
• Eve spends the next five hours running the names in Sharon’s address book, calling Sharon’s clients for interviews (29).
• Eve then returns to Sharon’s apartment building to interview the next-door neighbor, Charles Monroe.
• Charles is a licensed companion, charming and handsome. Sharon and Charles were friends who sometimes got together; they were fond of each other, and sometimes talked shop, sometimes had sex. Charles informs Eve that Sharon was not averse to violent, kinky sex, and that she was very bitter towards her family (33).

Day Three - February 15, 2058

Chapter 3

• Eve travels to Virginia to attend Sharon’s funeral. In the church, she watches the family: Senator DeBlass, his aide (Rockman); his wife (Anna); his son (Richard DeBlass); his son’s wife (Elizabeth Barrister); his daughter (Congresswoman Catherine DeBlass); his daughter’s husband (Justin Summit); their son (Franklin).
• Eve also recognizes Roarke from the picture she saw of him; he is standing alone (34). As she watches him, he turns his head and looks directly into Eve’s eyes. They stare at each other for a moment, and then people move between them (35).
• Eve shivers with cold at the cemetery. She has a loose button on her gray suit; her toes are icy cold (36). She encounters Rockman and asks for his alibi. Rockman says he was in East Washington with the senator until nearly midnight; he spent the night in the senator’s guest room (37).
• Eve watches Roarke speaking with the family, and follows him as he walks towards his limo (38).
• After Eve tells him that she’s been trying to reach him for an interview, Roarke invites her to ride back to NYC with him in his private jet. Eve accepts. Inside his limo, she accepts his offer of coffee, and is amazed and delighted to discover that it is real coffee, not the synthetic stuff she‘s used to (40).
• Once aboard his jet, Eve learns that Roarke has known Beth and Richard for several years, but did not meet Sharon until a few days ago, at a party. He acknowledges that he took Sharon to his Mexican Villa, but denies a physical relationship. He also admits that he owns a thirty-eight Smith and Wesson Model 10 (42). He details his movements from the time he left Sharon at her apartment until after her death (he was alone during the time Sharon was killed). He also tells her that he uses his guns, and is an excellent shot (44). When he invites Eve to his house for a demo the next night, she accepts.

Chapter 4

• At home that evening, Eve sits in front of her computer, contemplating the file she has on Roarke. He has no alibi and she believes he’s quite capable of cold violence, but she can’t think of a motive (48).
• Her best friend, Mavis, whirls in, reminding Eve that they had planned a night out (49). Seeing how tired Eve is, Mavis suggests they stay in and order Chinese food, and Eve gratefully agrees. During the evening, a package is delivered; Roarke has sent a gift of real coffee (53). Mavis thinks it’s a stupid gift, but Eve grins and sighs with pleasure.

Day Four - February 16, 2058

• Feeney is waiting in Eve’s office the next morning. He has run a full check on the DeBlass family and Rockman (the senator’s aide). Rockman once belonged to a paramilitary group. Feeney also checked Charles Monroe, who’s apparently clean (55). Feeney comments that he’s having difficulty finding data on Roarke due to all the walls of security surrounding him. After he leaves, Eve keys in her own address, discovers that Roarke owns her building (55).
• Lola Starr has been a licensed companion for only three months; she’s eighteen years old (55). Tonight she has a new client. When he arrives, he sets up a video system and films their activities together. Afterwards, he pulls out a SIG 210 with silencer, and shoots her three times (60).

Chapter 5

• Eve stops at a little deli owned by Francois, a rude Frenchman who hates Americans (61). Instantly, she realizes a robbery is in progress; the thief is desperate and has a homemade boomer. She scuffles with the thief, takes a few blows, shouts for Francois to hit the alarm, and manages to grab the boomer (63). The beat cops arrive and Eve takes the candy bar she originally came in for, leaving Francois shouting that she didn’t pay for it (64).
• It’s 7:10 p.m. when Eve arrives at Roarke's Mansion, a four-story, two hundred-year-old mansion of stone behind a security gate, near Central Park (65). He has a butler named Summerset, who looks down his nose at her.
• Roarke offers her an expensive wine (Montcart '49) and questions her about the bruise on her face (received in her scuffle at Francois‘s deli). They have a steak dinner (68) and discuss the investigation, then adjourn to examine Roarke’s gun collection. Eve is stunned to see he has an entire museum of weapons in a locked room; some of the weapons are over a thousand years old (72).
• Roarke hands over the .38 and Eve seals it as evidence. She goes rigid when he puts his hand on her, and then lets him kiss her (74). It turns unexpectedly explosive for both of them, and she pulls back. He furiously snaps out that he didn’t kill Sharon, and Eve realizes that she believes him, but still, she resists. Her communicator goes off, summoning her to a case, and she leaves. Roarke stands alone, fingering the gray fabric button that he found in his limo - the button that had fallen off Eve’s gray suit (76).

Chapter 6

• Eve spends the rest of the night investigating Lola Starr’s murder. She’s angry when she finds the antique gun at the murder scene, cradled in the arms of a teddy bear (79).

• Eve stayed up all night investigating Lola Starr’s murder. She searched the IRCCA (International Resource Center on Criminal Activity), but found nothing (79). She shows Feeney the piece of paper she found: “TWO OF SIX.” She breaks the news to Lola’s parents, then does a follow-up interview with Lola’s landlord (81).
• Eve has been awake for more than thirty-two hours when she arrives at Roarke’s midtown office building. His assistant escorts her to Roarke’s office (83).
• Roarke has no alibi for the night before last between 8:17 and 10 p.m. (85) He acquired a Swiss handgun, SIG two-ten circa 1980 about six weeks ago (86). He tells Eve he wants to see her tonight; Eve declines (88).

Chapter 7

• Eve visits Charles Monroe again, gets his alibi, and warns him about taking on new clients (90).
• Eve stops back at Sharon DeBlass’s apartment, finds that her shoes have been reorganized in the closet since she was last there (91). Eve tells her commander and asks to have the apartment swept again (92).
• When she arrives home, Eve discovers Roarke is waiting for her inside her apartment (93). She also finds another disc, this one detailing Lola Starr’s murder (98). Roarke has had dinner brought to Eve’s apartment. They talk about the case, and about the stress Eve is under (99).
• Eve tells Roarke that next time she would prefer if he waited until she is home before he comes in. “Progress! You accept there'll be a next time.”

Day Five - February 17, 2058

Chapter 8

• Eve and Feeney review the videos the murderer sent them; Feeney tells her they were made on a Trident MicroCam, and that Roarke Industries owns Trident (103).
• After briefing Commander Whitney, Feeney and Eve have to visit Senator Gerald DeBlass in East Washington, to update him on their progress. DeBlass has heard about Lola Starr’s murder. After the briefing, Eve sees DeBlass signal Rockman, his aide, and mutters to Feeney that they’re going to be followed (108).
• Eve ditches the tail and heads for Elizabeth Barrister’s home. She can see that Elizabeth is deeply grieved by the death of her daughter, but she’s open to discussion. Although she loved Sharon, she and her husband (Richard DeBlass) were estranged from her. Richard’s sister, Catherine DeBlass, also tried reaching out to Sharon, but failed. Elizabeth mentions that Sharon kept diaries. She also mentions that she had asked Roarke to reach out (116). Eve ponders the diaries, wondering about blackmail.

Chapter 9

• Back at Cop Central, Feeney tells her that he reversed Rockman’s tail from East Washington. Rockman made a couple of calls, including one to NYPSD Chief Simpson, who is apparently “pushing buttons for DeBlass” (119). Eve is told to report to Testing. She wonders if Sharon had a safe-deposit box where she kept the diaries, and tells Feeney to search the banks in Manhattan while she’s in Testing (120).
• Testing is rough and forces her to re-live the events where she had to kill a man. The tests are followed by an interview with the staff psychiatrist, Dr. Charlotte Mira, who offers her a cup of herbal tea. Eve has nothing personal against the woman, but still dislikes the process. Dr. Mira knows about the child who was murdered; she asks Eve if she sees the parallel between the child and herself. Eve does not want to discuss her childhood because she was abused, physically, sexually, and emotionally, and abandoned when she was eight (125). Eve has no memory of her first eight years. Between the ages of eight and ten, she lived in a communal home while her parents were searched for, and then placed in foster care (126).
• Shaky and crabby after Testing, Eve spends an hour working in her office, then tries calling Roarke. He’s not available, so she leaves an e-mail. She heads to the Blue Squirrel, where her friend Mavis has a gig, and orders a strong drink. Between sets, Mavis talks to Eve, then goes back to the stage (130).
• Roarke shows up, sees the state she’s in, takes the drink away from her, and pulls her up. She’s still crabby; he kisses her, puts her in her car, and drives her to his house. At first she refuses to go inside with him but then he asks her if she wants to shoot the kind of weapon that was used to kill Sharon and the other, and that changes her mind.

Chapter 10

• They practice shooting his antique guns in the target room, and talk. He knows, through his contacts, that she went through Testing today. Eve tells him that she knows he isn’t the murderer, but that he knows something. He acknowledges that he has been asking around. They talk about the Senator, the politics involved.
• They end up making love and it’s unlike anything either has ever experienced before, totally consuming them (148).

Chapter 11

• Afterward, Eve wants to leave, but Roarke persuades her to spend the night, and they make love the entire night (152).

Day Six - February 18, 2058

• Roarke joins Eve in the shower the next morning and they make love again (154). Afterward, he lends her a silk shirt to replace the one he tore off her the previous night, and they have breakfast. He tells her he’ll be off-planet for a few days, on FreeStar One, discussing the Olympus Resort he’s creating, and asks her to keep this information to herself, as it’s confidential. He wants to see her again and tells her to call Summerset (the butler) if she needs to reach him (156).
• Driving to work, Eve discovers he had her car’s faulty heater repaired, which pleases her (157). She arrives at her office two hours early, and gets right to work. Feeney stops in to her office just before nine and they discuss the case. Feeney tells her they have to meet with Chief Edward Simpson, in Commander Whitney’s office.
• Chief Simpson has political aspirations (162). Eve, Feeney, and Whitney despise him. The meeting is hostile. Simpson orders Eve to be at City Hall at noon for a press conference; then he asks her how it will look when it comes out that she spent the night with a suspect (164). He leaves, and Whitney rips into her for sleeping with Roarke. Eve and Feeney leave Whitney’s office, and then Feeney rips into her for sleeping with Roarke (165).

Chapter 12

• At the press conference, Channel 75 reporter Nadine Furst asks about the link between the DeBlass case and Lola Starr’s murder. Simpson insists that there is no link and then makes Eve take over answering the questions (168). After the press conference, Nadine follows Eve. She wants a deal: in exchange for an exclusive on the arrest, she will give Eve information she has received from her source (170). Eve agrees and they go to the Blue Squirrel and discuss details. Afterward, Eve goes backstage and chats with Mavis, who is nursing a cold (173). Eve blurts out that she slept with Roarke. Mavis is amazed and delighted for her friend. Eve tells her that her career is on the line: if she doesn’t solve the case, she’ll probably lose her job (175).
• It’s after ten when Eve gets home. She finds a video message on her machine: it’s the official department record from the scene where she had to kill a man, the man who had murdered a little girl.
• Her neighbor, Mr. Hennessy from apartment two-D, knocks on her door to tell her there’s trouble in the Finestein apartment: Mr. Finestein is dead. Eve calls in to report an unattended death and goes to the Finestein apartment. Joseph Finestein is in the kitchen, slumped dead over a custard pie. Mrs. Finestein found him that way when she arrived home from playing mah-jongg. Eve takes notes, investigates, and interviews Mrs. Finestein.
• It’s midnight when she gets to bed. Roarke calls her, tells her to rest up for their next encounter. After the call, Roarke wonders why she matters so much to him.

Day Seven - February 19, 2058

Chapter 13

• Eve continues looking for Sharon DeBlass’s safety deposit box, finds one in Newark, New Jersey.
• Three hours later, she briefs Commander Whitney, tells him there must be another safety deposit box. The one they found had money and a blackmail list, with Simpson’s name on it, along with other leading citizens. Eve points out that Roarke’s name was NOT on the list (183).
• Eve gets the medical examiner’s report on Mr. Finestein’s death, and goes back to talk to Mrs. Hetta Finestein. Hetta admits she made the custard pie, admits that she put synthetic cyanide compound in it, but points out that she repeatedly told her husband not to eat the pie (186). She knew, though, that he would eat it.
• Back at her office, Eve files her report about Mrs. Finestein, then receives an anonymous video-call, showing a dead woman with the message THREE OF SIX imposed over the body. She traces the address (156 West 89th Street), has Dispatch send a unit to the apartment, with instructions not to enter, and heads over.
• The dead woman is Georgie Castle, licensed companion, dead from gunshot wounds. Eve also finds a fat gray cat (189), which she feeds. Georgie’s daughter, Samantha Bennett shows up, and Eve has to break the news that her mother is dead. Samantha tells Eve her parents are divorced; her dad lives in Westchester, and still loves her mother. Eve has an officer take Samantha home to her husband.
• An hour later, Eve arrives at Commander Whitney‘s office, with the cat. Feeney is there. She briefs them on the latest murder. Feeney has already run the murder weapon, a Ruger P-90: it’s registered, and was purchased last fall through silent auction at Sotheby's, by Roarke (195). Eve suspects it’s a plant. When Whitney tells her to pick him up for questioning, she tells him that he’s on FreeStar space station. At Whitney’s order, she contacts Roarke, and Feeney runs a trace, confirming that Roarke is indeed on FreeStar. Eve tells Roarke that he has to come in for questioning; he says he’ll make arrangements (197).

Day Eight - February 20, 2058

Chapter 14

• Eve visits Dr. Mira. At Eve’s request, Dr. Mira has prepared a profile on the murderer. They discuss the profile (200); Dr. Mira tells Eve that the killer is studying her (Eve), which concerns Dr. Mira. That morning, Eve found the video-disc of the murder in her morning mail.
• Eve visits Whitney’s office to drop off the psychiatric profile, and finds Roarke with the Commander (202). He has come without an attorney. Hating the task, Eve takes him to interview Area B.
• Under questioning, Roarke denies having known Georgie Castle, but says it’s likely he owns a Ruger P-90. However, he was in Tokyo on October 2 of last year, which is when the murder weapon was purchased from Sotheby’s (204). He never takes his eyes off Eve; Eve believes that he is done with her. Feeney summons Eve from the interview, tells her the evidence shows it’s unlikely Roarke purchased the murder weapon, and that the Commander says to let him go (205). When Roarke lashes out at Eve, Feeney jumps to her defense, tells Roarke that she’s in danger of losing her job because she slept with him. Eve tells Feeney to shut up and leaves. Roarke turns to Feeney and demands details, and Feeney fills him in (206).
• Eve is home consoling herself with the cat when Roarke coolly disengages the locks on her door and walks in. They argue, she hits him, drawing blood, and he invites her to hit him again. They talk, make up, and Roarke ends up spending the night (210).

Day Nine - February 21, 2058

Chapter 15

• The next morning, Eve comes into her kitchen to find Roarke making coffee. They talk; she’s unnerved when he tells her he thinks he’s in love with her (216). He asks her to come to him when she goes off duty, and she agrees.
• DeBlass and Rockman are in her office, wanting an update, when she arrives. The senator is concerned with protecting his family’s reputation. Tempers run high. When the senator leaves, Rockman tells Eve that the senator’s wife has had a breakdown (222).
• Eve calls Charles Monroe, asks if he knew Georgie Castle. Charles did, and says Sharon did, too. Eve asks if he knows where Sharon kept her diaries; Charles assumes they were in her apartment (224).
• It’s sunset when Eve arrives at Roarke’s. She wants to do a computer run on Chief Simpson, but knows the minute she digs, she’ll be flagged. She wonders if Roarke has a secured, unregistered system (which is illegal) that runs without alerting CompuGuard. Of course he does.
• In the way to the computer room Roarke tells Eve about his childhood running grifts.

Chapter 16

• Roarke easily hacks into Chief Simpson’s financial and IRS records. He sets the computer to search for foreign accounts and makes love to Eve while the system searches (236). Afterward, they examine Simpson’s illegal accounts, which show withdrawals that match the numbers Eve found on Sharon’s blackmail list: she was clearly blackmailing him (239). Roarke suggests, they anonymously send the data of Simpson’s illegal accounts to the media. Eve tells him to send it to Nadine Furst, reporter at Channel 75 (240).
• Eve returns home to sleep. That night she has a vivid nightmare about her father sexually abusing her.

Day Ten - February 22, 2058

• The story about Chief Simpson’s illegal accounts hits the news at 6:00 a.m.

Chapter 17

• Eve is summoned to Cop Central to be on the team that interrogates Simpson. Simpson admits that he was paying Sharon DeBlass and his lawyers immediately intervene.
• After the interrogation, Eve returns to her office, again reviews the video discs of the murders (246). She wonders if it’s possible two murderers are involved (248). Charles Monroe calls; he has remembered that he has a safe-deposit box that Sharon used, signing as his sister (250). Eve is about to head over to his apartment when she receives an anonymous transmission from an upset woman, saying she was raped, and that “he raped her, too. Then he killed her.” Eve traces the address, recognizes it. She calls Feeney, asks him to pick up Charles Monroe and go get the safe-deposit box (251). Then she calls Roarke, asks if she can use his plane for a quick trip to Virginia; Roarke immediately consents.
• Roarke meets her at the airport and (after an argument) they fly to Virginia together (252). En route, Eve calls Feeney, who found the diaries in the safe-deposit box. Eve and Roarke head for the DeBlass home.
• Eve questions Roarke about Richard DeBlass’s relationship with his father (254). Elizabeth Barrister opens the door, denies making the call to Eve’s ’link and says it must have been Catherine, who is distraught (256). They go into the parlor where Catherine DeBlass, obviously upset, is being comforted by her brother, Richard DeBlass. Eve asks her who raped her, who raped Sharon, which shocks everybody. Catherine bursts out “My father” (257).
• Catherine tells of how her father sexually abused her for years as a child, until she went away to college. She got married, told nobody about the abuse. She realized her father was then abusing Sharon DeBlass, and insists that he killed Sharon. She had once overheard Sharon threaten the senator with exposure, saying she had documented all of the abuse (261).

Chapter 18

• Eve tells Richard about the senator’s alibi: Rockman says he and the senator were in East Washington. Richard states that Rockman will say whatever Senator DeBlass tells him to; Roarke points out that shuttle logs can be altered (263).
• Roarke and Eve leave. Eve asks him if he had suspected, and Roarke acknowledges that he did, but didn’t want to say anything to Eve “because I didn’t want to hurt you” and had no proof. He had figured out that Eve was also abused as a child (265). She doesn’t want to talk about that. She checks in with Feeney, who tells her that everything is documented in Sharon’s diaries. The commander wants Eve to pick up the Senator.
• Eve goes to the Senate building, waits for the senator to finish his speech about morals, then steps forward and arrests him in front of the crowd (268). Rockman is furious, but Eve tells him she’s going to work on charging him as accessory after the fact. When Eve rejoins Roarke, he tells her he no longer thinks he is in love with her, and now knows he is.
• Roarke takes her back to his plane, where she throws up in the head. On the flight back, she tells Roarke about how her father abused her, beat her, and raped her. She was found beaten and bleeding with a broken arm in an alley in Dallas when she was eight; she has no memory of how she got there. She tells Roarke that she’s not a good bet, as she has “some bad stuff inside.” Roarke comforts her, tells her he likes long odds (271).

Chapter 19

• Back at Cop Central, Eve interrogates DeBlass, who has his lawyer. DeBlass gets shaky and gray, and Eve ends the interview, sending for medics to care for DeBlass.
• Two hours later, Eve leaves the office, heads for Roarke’s. Feeney calls her while she’s driving, tells her DeBlass has been released on his own recognizance. When she arrives at Roarke’s house, Summerset tells her that Roarke is not at home (278). They exchange barbs and Eve leaves.
• At her apartment, Eve feeds the cat and heads for her bedroom. Rockman steps out from behind the door with a Colt .45 aimed at her heart. Rockman tells her he watched the senator commit suicide less than two hours ago, at his office in East Washington (282). Eve secretly turns her ’link on while Rockman tells her that he was waiting in the car when the senator killed Sharon. Rockman helped him cover up the murder, and then killed Lola Starr and Georgie Castle to muddy the waters (285). While threatening Eve, the cat sneaks in, brushes against Rockman, who jerks, and Eve attacks.

Chapter 20

• Feeney stops into his office and sees/hears the transmission from Eve. Realizing what’s happening, he calls Dispatch (287).
• Roarke is entering Eve’s building when Feeney and a dozen cops come flying in. They hear the gunshot and break down Eve’s door. Eve is beating Rockman, and Roarke and Feeney pull her off. (290). Roarke hits Rockman, and Feeney has his men carry Rockman down to an ambulance. Feeney realizes Eve has been shot; Roarke steps in to take care of her as Feeney leaves. (291). Eve pets the cat and decides to name him Galahad. Roarke cleans her wounds, then carries her off, the cat following close behind.

Character List

List of Main Characters Appearing in this Book

• Eve Dallas
• Roarke

List of Secondary Characters Appearing in this Book

• Ryan Feeney
• Mavis Freestone
• Nadine Furst
• Galahad
• Charlotte Mira
• Lawrence Summerset
• Jack Whitney

List of Recurring Characters Appearing or Mentioned in this Book

• Elizabeth Barrister
• Richard DeBlass
• Caro Ewing
• Charles Monroe
• Anna Whitney (Commander Whitney’s wife)

List of Minor Characters Appearing in this Book

• Officer Banks
• Samantha Bennett
• Anna DeBlass
• Catherine DeBlass
• Gerald DeBlass
• Denise
• Diana
• Hetta Finestein
• Francois
• Mr. Hennessy
• Officer Prosky
• Sergeant Riley
• Derrick Rockman
• Sebastian
• Edward Simpson

List of Peripheral Characters Appearing or Mentioned in this Book

• Tony Bennett
• Caruso
• Georgie Castle
• Colby
• Sharon DeBlass
• Joseph Finestein
• Mrs. Hennessy
• Darleen Howe
• Mandy
• Annie Monroe
• Madeline Montmart
• Lola Starr
• Franklin Summit
• Justin Summit
• Richard Troy

Deaths

Victim	Cause of Death	Weapon	Perpetrator
Sharon DeBlass	shot in head, chest & groin	Wikipedia:Smith_&_Wesson_Model_10 Smith & Wesson Model 10	Gerald DeBlass
Lola Starr (Alice Williams)	shot in head, chest & groin	Wikipedia:SIG_P210 SIG 210, 1980	Derrick Rockman
Georgie Castle	shot in head, chest & groin	Wikipedia:Ruger_P_series#P90 Ruger P90	Derrick Rockman
Gerald DeBlass	gunshot	Magnum .357	suicide
Joseph Finestein	poisoned	cyanide in cake	Hetta Finestein

Memorable Quotations

“It took more than discipline and intelligence to rise so high so young. It took ambition, and to Eve’s mind, ambition was a flammable fuel.” - Eve about Roarke

“Being poor is ... uncomfortable. I like comfort.” - Roarke to Eve

“It interests me, what humans have used to damage humans through history.” - Roarke to Eve about his weapons collection

Roarke: “I acquired my first handgun when I was nineteen - from the man who was aiming it at my head.”
Eve: “I guess he missed.”
Roarke: “Fortunately, he was distracted by my foot in his crotch. It was a nine-millimeter Baretta semiautomatic he’s smuggled out of Germany. He thought to use it to relieve me of the cargo I was delivering to him and save the transportation fee. In the end, I had the fee, the cargo, and the Baretta. And so, Roarke Industries was born out of his poor judgment.”

• “Serve and protect -- it’s not just a phrase, it’s a promise. If I can’t keep my word, I’m nothing.” - Eve to Roarke

• “You’re work, lieutenant. A great deal of work.” - Roarke to Eve

• “Whatever my crimes, and they are undoubtedly legion, they don’t include murder.” - Roarke, but not true

Roarke: “I haven’t yet figured out why the intense, driven, and prickly type appeals to me so unexpectedly.”
Eve: “That isn’t flattering”
Roarke: “It wasn’t meant to be. Though for someone who must have a very poor-sighted hairdresser and doesn’t choose the standard enhancements, you are surprisingly easy to look at.”

• “When she opened her car door, she noticed the electronic memo on the driver’s seat. Scooping it up, she got behind the wheel. As she headed toward the gate, she flicked on the memo. Roarke’s voice drawled out. ‘I don’t like the idea of you shivering unless I cause it. Stay warm.’ Frowning, she tucked the memo in her pocket before experimentally touching the temperature gauge. The blast of heat had her yelping in shock. She grinned all the way to Cop Central.”

Other Covers

Additional covers here

US Hardcover edition	cover]] ]]	UK edition cover	BR edition cover	Italian edition cover
US Hardcover edition	US 1st edition Blue Lady cover	UK edition cover	BR edition cover	Italian edition cover	Audio Book cover

Other Releases

BrillianceAudio (Abridged), Dec 2000, ISBN 1-58788-195-0
Thorndike Press large print, March 2000, ISBN 0-7862-2415-0
Nova Audio (Abridged), Jan 2001, ISBN 1-58788-080-6
e-book, Berkley, Feb 2002, ISBN 0-7865-2232-1
Adobe Reader e-book, Berkley, Feb 2002, ISBN 0-7865-2233-X
Putnam hardcover, March 2004, ISBN 0-399-15157-5

YANNIs

• Lola Starr’s age:
  • She turned eighteen and received her license only three months ago (her license was barely three months old); later listed as four months ago.
• Roarke lied to Eve when he told her, “Whatever my crimes, and they are undoubtedly legion, they don’t include murder.”
• Derrick Rockman and his disc delivery system:
  • Nadine Furst had a disc delivered to her by a source (Derrick Rockman). The disc showed the murders of DeBlass and Starr, and provided copies of the police reports, including autopsies on both victims.
  • Mira stated that Rockman’s opinion of women is low. He debases and humiliates them after death to show his disgust and his superiority. Women are not his equals; a prostitute is beneath his contempt. Eve said that it was the shrink’s opinion that he didn’t have a high opinion of women and that it must burn his ass to have a female leading the investigation.
  • Later, Rockman said it was always a mistake to give a woman authority and mocked Eve as a woman who believed she could think like a man. He said women have their uses, but under it all, they’re whores.
    • Based on the low opinion of women demonstrated by Rockman throughout Naked in Death, it is an item of interest that Rockman chose a female reporter (as Nadine and Eve were not friends at this time) through whom to leak information to the media.
• Georgie Castle’s murder:
  • She had been shot three times; once in her head, once in her chest, and once in her genitalia. The weapon (a Ruger P-90) had been left between her legs and was described as a combat weapon, “fully automatic.”
  • A weapon that is fully automatic will expel several rounds with one pull of the trigger. It would be remarkable if a fully automatic weapon could produce the three distinct wounds suffered by Georgie. The weapon should have been described as semi-automatic as, with a semi, one bullet is fired each time the trigger is pulled - the gun automatically “re-cocks” each time a bullet is fired. (Find more information here.)
• Audio Difference - Susan Ericksen version only (audio matched text in the Cristine McMurdo-Wallis version):
  • In Naked in Death it read, “Then Georgia yawned delicately, turned to fluff the pillows.”
    • On audio, “Then Virginia yawned delicately, turned to fluff the pillows.”