The Theory of Death
Read The Theory of Death Online
Authors: Faye Kellerman
Tags: #Fiction, #Mystery & Detective, #General, #Thrillers, #Suspense
HarperCollins
Publishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
Published by HarperCollins
Publishers
2015
Copyright © Plotline, Inc. 2015
Cover layout design © HarperCollins
Publishers
2015
Cover photographs © Ayal Ardon/Arcangel Images (female figure); Kasia Baumann/Getty Images (background scene);
Shutterstock.com
(female head, mathematical formulas)
Faye Kellerman asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2015 ISBN: 9780007517725
Version: 2015-09-24
As Always: For Jonathan
And welcoming Judah
Contents
I
NEED A FAVOR.”
Nothing by way of introduction, but then again phone etiquette—or any kind of etiquette—had never been the kid’s strong suit. Decker knew who it was. McAdams had been calling him off and on since he left Greenbury PD for Harvard Law, mostly to bitch and moan. His complaints rarely centered on school studies. Instead, they had way more to do with his schoolmates and people in general.
“Shoot.”
“It’s reading period up here. Finals are in two weeks. Can I crash at your place and study down there?”
“Sure, you can come here. But I can’t guarantee how quiet it’ll be.”
“I can use the libraries at the five colleges. And there is an invention called earplugs. In any case, I need to get out of here.”
“Is everything okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m just sick of the place. You know me. I’m not a good team player.”
“Not one for study groups?”
“Weren’t you the one who said that groups were only as good as their weakest link?”
“I might have made that remark.”
“There are a lot of weak links around here, Old Man. I’m better off away and on my own.”
“How long were you thinking of staying?”
“Ten days to two weeks. I promise to behave myself. No complaining.”
“You know what they say about making promises you can’t keep.”
“Yes or no?”
“You’re always welcome, Tyler. When would you like to come down?”
“I’m on a bus.”
“A bus?”
“I didn’t feel like making chitchat with a limo driver.”
“Aha. I didn’t figure you for slumming it.”
“God forbid. It was a last-minute decision. I figured if worse came to worst, you’d kick me out. And even if you kicked me out, Rina would just invite me back in. So actually this call is a mere formality.”
Decker smiled. “Well, thanks for the heads-up.”
“Can you pick me up?”
“I’m at work, Tyler.”
“What about Rina?”
“She’s working today as well.”
“Surely someone can cover for you to pick up a fellow officer who was shot in the line of duty.”
The bus station was over a half hour away in Hamilton. Not that Decker was doing much. A long silence ensued. “I suppose I could send someone.” An even longer silence. “Or I suppose I could pick you up myself.”
“You just want to hear me say ‘please.’ ”
“Go for it, kid.”
“Please.”
“What time are you getting in?”
“In forty-five minutes. And don’t be late. I’m a stickler for punctuality.”
THE SKIES WERE
gray and threatening with temperatures in the high thirties. The highways had been cleared of snow from the last storm, but there were still pockets of ice on the asphalt. Still, it was good to get out of the station house. The new heating system was far from perfect. Most of the time it was stifling hot except for a few areas that were still freezing cold. The winter had been milder compared to last year, but in the Northeast that still meant the usual white landscape against dark tree trunks and ice in the woods and lots of bare hard ground and dead grass in backyards. Rina had planted an indoor garden of herbs and tomatoes that she lovingly tended to in their sunroom. Lately she had been talking about getting a dog—a Pug or a Papillon. Something portable so when they visited the kids and grandkids, they could cart it around. Decker was a little more hesitant, but something small would be doable. He liked animals as long as they had four legs. In his decades working for law enforcement, he’d had enough of the biped kind.
Decker pulled up to the station just as the bus was arriving. He stretched as soon as he got out of the car. Being cramped behind the wheel of a compact for a half hour took its toll on all six feet four inches of his body. That and being older, although he felt in good shape. He still had a headful of white hair, his bushy mustache still held hints of its original red color. His spine was straight and his brain was working: What more could he ask for?
Although he talked to the kid almost weekly, he hadn’t seen him in five months. When Tyler got off the bus, Decker immediately noticed changes. He was still a slender guy, but he appeared as if he had been working out. His chest was broader and his neck seemed to have grown in diameter. His dark brown hair sat a few inches above his shoulders, long but not coiffed. He needed a haircut. His intense hazel-green eyes scanned the platform, and as soon as he saw Decker, he managed a hint of a smile.
When Tyler had left Greenbury last August, he had healed from his gunshot wounds. But even so, there were remnants of what had happened. Tyler walked with a small limp, discernible but only if you looked for it. Given enough time, it would disappear. The memory of what he had gone through was another thing. Decker relieved him of his duffel.
“Welcome home.”
A full smile. “If this is home, I’m in trouble.”
Decker threw his arm around the kid. “Well, then how about ‘welcome back.’”
He let go with a deep sigh. “Man, I feel better already. Like I can actually take a breath without it being debated. How’s Rina?”
“I haven’t spoken to her yet.”
“Oh.” He made a face. “She won’t mind my sojourn?”
“Relax, Harvard. You’re among friends.”
“First time in a long time. How’s Greenbury been doing in my absence?”
“Humming along. And after last winter, I’d like to keep it that way.”
“True that.”
The two men stopped at the car. Decker unlocked the doors and Tyler threw his knapsack in the back. He slipped into the passenger seat. “So nothing interesting?”
Decker started the ignition and turned the heat on full blast. “We were called to a death, but it was natural causes: an eighty-one year old man who died of a heart attack. The daughter phoned it in. She hadn’t heard from him in a few days. It wasn’t a pretty scene.”
“Poor guy.”
It was the first time that Decker ever heard Tyler express sympathy. “Yeah, it was kind of sad. How have you been?”
“All right.”
“Been doing any target practice?”
“A little. I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to go to the range. Law school takes up a lot of time.”
“The first year is the toughest.”
“Tedious. It does require an attention span. Some parts I actually like. That was surprising.”
“What interests you?”
“Criminal law … what else. But to really understand criminal law, you need to really have a good grasp of tort law, and that is bor-ing. And that’s most of first year. Ah well, it’s just hurdle jumping.” He turned to Decker. “Good to see you in the flesh, Old Man. You’re looking well for your age.”
“No need for the qualifiers. You’re looking good as well. You’ve been working out.”
“It gives me time to unwind.” He raked his hair with his fingers. “I know. I need a haircut. I’m thinking of shaving my head.”
“Whatever for? You’ve got a good mop. There’s time enough for being bald.”
“It’s a pain in the ass to get haircuts. I suppose I’d have to shave my head regularly to keep it looking smooth. I hate doing maintenance on myself. If it wasn’t for social convention, I’d be walking around in torn pajamas, wearing newspaper on my feet.”
Decker laughed. “Then it’s good you have the money to be labeled as an eccentric rather than a nutcase.”
“Yeah, that is the only difference, right?”
A call from the station house came through the car’s Bluetooth. Decker depressed the button and the speakerphone kicked in. Mike Radar’s voice.
“Where the hell are you?”
Decker said, “What’s going on?”
“Where are you?” Radar’s voice was still tense but it dropped in volume.
“I went to pick up Tyler McAdams from the bus station. He’s in town for a few weeks.”
“Hi, Captain.”
“Hi, Tyler. You doing okay?”
“I’m doing fine.”
“Good. Decker, how far are you from the Elwood exit off the highway?”
“Around ten minutes. What’s up?”
“I’m gonna give you the directions that were given to me and I’ll meet you there. The kid can come as well.”
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve got a dead body, that’s what’s going on.”
WITH ALL THE
turns and U-turns and the missed forks in the dirt road, it took about a half hour to get to the remote spot in the forest. Once Decker found the clearing to park the vehicle among the other police vehicles, it took Tyler and him a few minutes to hike through the copses of bare trees to the crime scene spot.