Justice

473 Pages·1996·0.93 MB·English

by  Faye Kellerman

Faye Kellerman
Justice
A Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Mystery
To my own teenagers, my tweener and my toddler.
Please G-d, just keep them safe.
Contents
Prologue
He saw the flash before he heard the pop. The… 1
1
Pages 7 and 8 of the paper were missing. National… 3
2
The red Trans Am was following me. I’d known
something… 9
3
In school, Chris stayed with his crowd, I stayed
with… 19
4
The next evening, as soon as I walked inside
Chris’s… 29
5
The trips had become so routine, he wondered why
he… 35
6
Rina realized the bed was empty. Not an infrequent
occurrence… 40
7
In the dead of night, I wrote letters to my… 44
8 59
And it was exactly like before. Chris stayed in his…
9
Over the weekend I had second thoughts. By
Monday, I… 69
10
Stepping across the door’s threshold, Decker caught
the photographer’s flash. 79
11
North valley was a bust. 89
12
The apartment house was an iffy—one of those
buildings that… 96
13
Running down the list of Cheryl’s friends, Decker
underlined the… 103
14
From the Volare’s radio, Decker heard his unit
number and… 115
15
Since crime didn’t work a forty-hour week, the
Detectives squad… 123
16
The error was so egregious, he couldn’t understand
how it… 133
17
Arriving before sunrise, Decker had free access to
the computer. 143
18
School let out at two-thirty today, ostensibly to give
us… 150
19
The elevated view room was separated from the
larger interview… 161
20
“He passed.” 174
21
Upon entering the sixth hour of nonstop
questioning, James Moody… 190
22
Under the yellow glow of his porch light, I fell… 195
23
Sleep had been an elusive lover—a series of brain
buzzes… 205
24
She spoke behind a closed door. And even when
she… 228
25
Still pale, but at least she was conscious, trembling
with… 243
26
Flipping through the sketch pad, Oliver let go with
a… 253
27
The bail was set at a half million on a… 265
28
Another bad night’s sleep coupled with a nagging
piece of… 272
29
Erica said, “You push this button here when you’re
ready. 286
30
Seeing his uncle, Whitman suddenly realized how
short the man… 297
31
Without ever seeing the man before, I knew instantly
who… 308
32
Time passed quickly, time dragged its heels. An
overcast June… 315
33
She stood up when he came in, said she was… 329
34
“I’m going to be working late,” Decker said. “But
I’ll… 338
35
The house was dark and quiet. At one in the… 349
36
First came the shot of staticky music followed by
hyperspeed… 359
37 373
As expected, Oliver was already at his desk. Decker
had…
38
Decker managed to squeeze in dinner with Rina
and the… 382
39
Decker put on his seat belt and started the
Plymouth’s… 399
40
Decker had originally planned to jail Ashala until
the search… 408
41
This time Decker bypassed Davidson and went
directly to Strapp. 418
42
The lieutenant’s office was not a big one, but it… 426
43
He was surprised to see me because that wasn’t
the… 437
44
The autumn flower arrangement practically covered
his desk, the card… 448
45
She looked burdened but somehow that only added
to her… 452
About the Author
Praise
Other Books by Faye Kellerman
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher