Spider bones: a novel by Kathy Reichs

Author:Kathy Reichs [Kathy Reichs]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Policier
ISBN: 9781439197158
Published: 2010-08-14T07:00:00+00:00

“HI, SWEETIE.” I WAS FOLLOWING DANNY TOWARD A LIGHT BOX located against the left wall of the lab.

“Don’t you dare sweetie me. I can’t believe you made me do this.”

Katy’s tone was pure outrage.

“This vacation was supposed to be fun. Surfing? Diving? Aloha? Remember? Alo-Ha! I’m a friggin’ taxi service!”

I could hear traffic in the background. Something bluesy blasting from a radio.

“Where are you?”

“Heading home, that’s where I am. After cooling my heels for so long I thought I’d qualify for old-age benefits.”

I checked my watch. Four forty. Obviously the rendezvous had not gone well.

“Where is Lily?”

“No idea. Couldn’t care less.”

“You never connected?”

Behind me I sensed Ryan having essentially the same conversation.

“Oh, I found her. After sweltering in the car for almost an hour.”

How does one simultaneously swelter and cool one’s heels? I didn’t ask.

“The AC went out?”

“That’s not the point,” Katy said.

I caught a snippet of Ryan’s exchange.

“Katy, turn down the music.”

The noise level dropped a microdecibel.

“Did you leave Lily at the mall?”

“Do you have any idea how long I waited? I got there on time, early even. No Lily. I circled, thinking I might have misunderstood her instructions. No Lily. I waited some more. An hour after she told me to be there, the little bitch comes strolling out. Laughing, not a care in the world. And get this. She’s with some loser mall crawler thinks he’s 50 Cent.”

“You took off and left her?”

My gaze met Ryan’s. I could hear shrill indignation buzzing through his handset.

“As far as I’m concerned, Miss Island Diva can spend the rest of her life shopping her little black ass off.”

“Katy!”

“Ex-cuuus-ay-moi! Lily’s a prima donna junkie and everyone coddles her. Ask me, she’s heading for a smackdown.”

“Are you finished?”

Silence.

“Here’s what you will do.”

More silence.

“Are you listening?”

“Like I have a choice.”

I do not react well to histrionics. To me, drama queen displays are a waste of time and energy. My tone reinforced what my daughter already knew.

“Turn around. Go back to Ala Moana. Now.”

“Traffic is sick. It will take me forever.”

“You should have thought of that.”

“You’re down there, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“You could pick her up.”

“Yes, I could.” Weighty pause. “Go back. Get Lily. Drive her to Lanikai.”

Ryan was laying parallel directives on his daughter.

“She won’t—”

“She’ll be there.” Sharp. “Ryan and I will be home at five thirty. At which time we will all have a nice little chat.”

I clicked off and looked at Ryan. He merely wagged his head.

Danny had 1968-979’s X-rays arranged beside the X-rays we’d just taken from Xander Lapasa’s file.

One glance told the story.

In both, a small white glob glowed in the first upper left molar. Though truncated on the postmortem film, the glob that remained in the molar was nearly identical to the top half of the glob on the antemortem film.

“Looks like Illinois,” I said.

“With everything south of Springfield broken off.” Danny pointed his pen at one of the bitewings. “And lookee here.”

I did.

An opaque line crossed the right mandibular ramus, near the junction of the vertical and horizontal parts of the jaw.

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