Jupiter's Bones

Author:Faye Kellerman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

21

Sergeant Deputy Kirt Johannsen was a terse man. “What big picture am I missing?”

Decker started his story while Johannsen snapped gum. Talking outside in almost complete blackness, the only illumination being nickel-colored light coming from the shack’s dusty side windows. The sergeant appeared to be in his early fifties—six-two with a stomach bordering on a beer gut. Round face, thick lips, a ruddy complexion, blue-white eyes that were almost transparent and a scalp glazed with white, thin hair. He wore sheriff khakis and held a wide-brim brown hat. After he had given the sectioned corpse a single glance, he had suggested they get some air.

Decker had gotten halfway through the saga when one of Johannsen’s men approached. He was a freckle-faced kid with a gaping mouth, making him look stupid even if he wasn’t.

“Sir?”

“What?” Johannsen had been listening intently, and was irritated by the interruption.

Freckles blushed. “The little guy over there…the one named Pluto, yellin’ more than talkin’—”

“Get to the point, Stoner,” Johannsen interrupted.

Stoner fidgeted. “Well, sir, he says we can’t take Benton to jail till his lawyer gets here.”

Johannsen sneered. “I don’t need nobody’s permission to arrest a man who has body parts in his kitchen cupboard. Take Benton in and lock him up in the A cell.”

“What about…Pluto?”

Johannsen gave a near-smile. “Since Abner ain’t sleeping one off tonight, you can put Pluto in the B cell.” He turned to Decker. “What’s his part in all this?”

“He’s a high-ranking member of the Order of the Rings of God. Just like Nova was.”

“Nova’s the guy in the cabinet?”

Decker nodded.

“What’s Pluto’s part in all this?”

“I don’t know. I’m not saying he couldn’t have done it, but he’s been with my detective for the last nine hours.” Decker pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit one for Johannsen and then for himself. “I know you have to detain Pluto for questioning. And you probably have grounds to book him, too. But he’s feisty. He won’t go down without a fight. And the Order type of fighting is lawsuits.”

Johannsen growled, “Damn weirdos. I told Horace and Mary Jane not to sell to them.” He sucked in nicotine. “Not that I blame them. They got a real good price.”

“The Order’s complaints wouldn’t stand up in court.” Decker took a drag on his smoke. “But they could cause you interim grief.”

Johannsen considered his options. “Stoner, this is what you do. Are you listening?”

“Yes, sir—”

“I mean really listening.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You, Hal and Doug take Benton in and leave that weirdo Pluto feller to Lieutenant Decker’s people.” He regarded Decker. “Is that okay with you?”

“That’s fine with me.”

Johannsen said, “I’ll be at the jailhouse shortly. Keep Benton comfortable, but don’t go asking him questions. You can’t ask him anything until his lawyer’s there. All you gotta do is make sure he don’t escape. You think you can do that, Stoner?”

“Do we take the cuffs off of him, sir?”

Johannsen frowned. “No, Stoner, you don’t take the cuffs off. You leave the cuffs on him at all times.”

“Even when he’s in jail?”

“Yes, even when he’s in jail.

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