Read Online Jupiter's Bones by Faye Kellerman - Free Book Online Page A

Pluto has been with Jupiter for years. Why now ?”
    “Because Jupiter was out cold from the vodka. The perfect opportunity presented itself.”
    Decker conceded Oliver some points. He said, “Even if the path report comes back with drugs and booze in Jupiter’s system, we’ll still have no way of knowing if Jupiter’s death was suicide or homicide. Not without other overriding evidence. If you have something up your sleeve, Scott, I’m all ears.”
    “No direct evidence,” Oliver answered. “Just twenty years experience.”
    “I don’t discount that,” Decker said. “But we can’t open a murder case based on your experience.”
    “Can I put in my two cents for suicide?” Marge asked.
    Decker said, “Let’s hear it.”
    “Venus said that Jupiter hadn’t been himself lately. That he hadn’t been exactly ill, but…how’d she phrase it?” Marge consulted her notes. “He hadn’t been his usual spirited self. He’d been drained of his energy, he held his head a lot…like he had headaches. But when she asked him about it, he assured her that this was all part of the process.”
    “What process?” Decker asked.
    Marge let out a small chuckle. “Well, here goes nothing.” As Marge recounted the leader’s supernatural ideas, they sounded even stranger than the first time she had heard them.
    “So he was receiving radiation from all these parallel universes.” Oliver gave her a sneering smile. “Well, why didn’t you just say so. That explains everything.”
    “I’m not giving credence to her hypotheses, Scott. I’m just saying maybe he was ill with something serious and he decided to mask it in quasi-scientific theory.”
    “Why would he do that?” Oliver asked.
    “So as not to upset his followers,” Marge said. “Maybe he decided to go out with dignity rather than suffer an agonizing death.”
    “What makes you think he was suffering from a physical illness?” Decker asked. “To me, it sounds more like psychosis…voices telling you to do strange things.”
    “Or like a drunk after imbibing a fifth of vodka,” Oliver put in. “I’ve heard those kinds of voices before. They sound a lot like my buddies egging me on.”
    “I’m serious,” Decker said.
    “So am I,” Oliver retorted. “If Ganz drank a lot, I’ll bet he heard voices.”
    Marge said, “To hear Venus describe Jupiter…he sounded like a man with something on his mind.” She tapped her foot. “There’s more to Jupiter’s illness than what Venus told me. I feel it in my gut.”
    “I’m sure you’re right,” Decker said. “But I can’t base a case for suicide on your gut feelings any more than I can base a homicide on Oliver’s experience.”
    “So what do you suggest?” Oliver asked. “We keep poking around until we find something that throws us to one side or the other?”
    “Exactly. And you can start with Nova. Find out what on earth possessed him to sign a death certificate. Even if he is a doctor and it’s not strictly illegal, it’s a gross irregularity.” Decker looked up at the sky. “Let’s keep the files on the Jupiter/Ganz case open for a while, if for no other reason than to look after the Order’s kids. I don’t want this death paving the way for another Heaven’s Gate or Jonestown.”
    “Absolutely,” Marge said. “With Jupiter gone, who knows what they’re thinking.”
    Decker said, “Meanwhile, there are loose ends that we can clear up, the first being who told Ganz’s daughter about her father’s death. When I asked Pluto about it, he claimed he didn’t know. Seemed pissed about the leak, grumbling something about the chain of command beingbroken. The guy does walk around like he has a ramrod up his ass.”
    “You don’t like him either,” Oliver said.
    “I don’t like lots of people,” Decker said. “But not all of them are criminals.” A pause. “Just a high percentage.”
    Marge smiled. “Venus doesn’t know who called Europa either,” she said. “She