Faye Kellerman - Decker 13 - The Forgotten

by The Forgotten

  The cemetery was fifteen minutes away, in the hills of the Valley, overlooking the smoggy basin. It took some time for all the cars to park and for the people to gather around the coffin hole. It was late, late afternoon, and because the sun was low on the horizon, the rays were intensely hot and glaring. Several times, Jill's balance faltered. Once, Carter swayed on his feet. As they lowered the casket into the ground, the weeping grew to wailing - loud and disturbing. The pain was so incredibly hard to bear, even for a seasoned pro. Friends and relatives took turns shoveling dirt atop the casket. This was not a Christian custom, having the mourners bury the body. But it was a Jewish custom not to leave the coffin until it is completely under soil. Since the church was Unitarian, Decker supposed that they took bits and pieces from every religion.

  There they were - boys and girls, men and women who labored in the setting sun to bury their classmate, their friend, their nephew and cousin. Finally Karl stepped up and grabbed a spade, the big, broad shoulders shaking with grief as he threw clods of earth over his brother's casket. Sweating and shoveling over and over and over.

  After a half hour, the grave was a mound of freshly turned soil. The devastated family returned to the hearse, and the procession descended the mountain. Car upon car, bumper to

  bumper. It took a half hour for Decker to get back onto the main road. Another twenty minutes for Decker to find a parking space. He had to settle for a spot a block away from the Goldings' home.

  People were tumbling out of the front door. Some were holding drinks, others were eating or talking. No one was crying; no one even looked upset. It could have been a party, except the conversation was subdued, lacking the lighthearted, tinkling laughter that usually accompanied the ingestion of alcohol.

  Muttering several ' 'Scuse me's', Decker squeezed his way through the doorway, pretending not to see the dirty looks. They viewed him like he was a grizzly rummaging through the tents. Because the house had high ceilings, it was a din of echoes, noise, chatter, and intermittent sobs. Decker used his height advantage to see over the masses, but he couldn't find Karl. He did spot Jill, weeping into a handkerchief. He saw Carter shaking hands with the minister. They were about a hundred feet from where he stood, and to get to them, he'd have to wade through many beating hearts. He wavered, then pushed his way through.

  Carter noticed him first, acknowledging him with a simple nod. Decker nodded back. There was a hesitation, then Carter spoke.

  'Reverend, this is Lieutenant Decker...' Golding paused, his lower lip trembling, then he turned his head away.

  Decker said, 'I'm in charge of the investigation.'

  'Jack Waylen.' The reverend held out his hand.

  Decker took it. 'You spoke from the heart.'

  'It was from the heart.'

  Decker turned his attention to Golding. 'It was a beautiful way to say good-bye to your son.' He sighed. 'I just wanted you to know that I'm available for you twenty-four hours a day.'

  Carter closed his eyes. 'Thank you.'

  'When things are quieter, will you tell your wife that as well?' Again Decker sighed. 'I'd tell her, but I think my appearance might upset her.'

  'It would.' Carter clasped his hands together. 'Thank you for coming.'

  The dismissal line. Decker was relieved. 'Again, my deepest condolences for your terrible loss.' He slowly turned and walked away. Moments later, he felt the presence of another body. The minister was at his side.

  Waylen said, 'Do you have any idea what's going on with the murder?'

  'I have ideas.' He faced the stocky man. 'But they're not for public consumption.'

  'This case shouldn't drag on. It would do permanent damage to your image and to the morale of the community.' 'I'm doing my best, Reverend.'

  "This isn't like The Order, Lieutenant,' Waylen said. 'This isn't some isolated sect. The Goldings are community people -loved and respected. There hasn't been a tragedy that has cut as deeply as this one since Dr Sparks was murdered six years ago. We need resolution, and we need it quickly if healing is to begin.'

  Involuntarily, Decker bristled, not from Waylen's admonitions, but from hearing the name Sparks. 'We solved that one, we'll solve this one, too.' A pause. 'Anything else?'

  Waylen said, 'If you want to tell me anything, I'm here to listen.'

  'And if there's something you want to tell me, I'm here to listen as well.' Decker looked him in the eye. 'You know how it is. Confession is the mainstay of both cops and priests.'

  The minister's eyebrows lifted. He didn't have time to respond because Karl had materialized. Instantly, Waylen went to work. He hugged the boy and held his hand as he spoke. 'What can I do for you, Karl?' 'I'm okay, Reverend.'

  'I am here for you. I want you to know that.' 'Thanks, Reverend.' The boy looked down and extracted his hand from the minister's grip. 'I appreciate that.' No one spoke.

  Karl wiped his forehead with a tissue. 'I'm tired.' Waylen said, 'Maybe you should lie down, Karl.'

  'I don't think I should leave my parents.' Karl looked beseechingly at Waylen. 'Could... could you attend to them for about a half hour? Just... just so I can change my shoes or—' 'Of course.'

  He turned to Decker. 'Lieutenant...' 'Karl...' Decker answered.

  'Maybe... you can bring me up some water?' the boy asked. 'Absolutely.'

  'I'll do it,' Waylen interjected.

  'Reverend, I think my parents... you should stay with them.' 'Go lie down,' Decker said. 'I'll get you the water.' 'Thank you.' Rapidly, Karl moved through the crowd, resisting contact with anyone. Decker retreated from the minister, then headed for the kitchen, until he spotted a table that held glasses of prepoured soda. He picked up a 7/UP and, drink in hand, he made his way to Karl's bedroom. The door was closed. Decker knocked. 'It's Lieutenant Decker, Karl.' Footsteps, then the deadbolt unlatched. 'Quick!' the boy said. As soon as Decker cleared the threshold, he secured the lock. 'I just... don't want to talk to anyone else.' 'I got you 7/UP,' Decker said. 'Is that okay?' The boy threw himself on his bed, then turned so he was lying on his back and looking up at the ceiling. 'I'm not thirsty. I just wanted an excuse to get you up here.' 'Where should I put this?' Decker asked. 'I dunno... anywhere.'

  Decker put it down on his desk. The room had been cleaned up since the last time he was here, straightened to the point of sterility. 'How are you holding up?'

  Karl didn't answer. Decker pulled out the desk chair and waited.

  'I want to kill someone,' he announced. 'Anyone in specific?' Decker asked.

  'I'd say my brother, but he's already dead.' The seconds ticked away. 'For a smart guy, he was stupid when it came to girls.' 'Most teenage boys are.'

  'No, I mean real stupid. He had a nice girlfriend, but he dumped her.'

  'Lisa Halloway.'

  'Yeah, Lisa,' Karl answered. 'Lisa was pretty, smart, and she was nuts about him. I think they were even doing it. I can't figure out why... no, I take that back. I know why he fell for Ruby Ranger.' Abruptly, the sixteen-year-old sat up, then reached under his mattress, fishing out a package. He tossed it to Decker. 'Last night, I couldn't sleep. I started cleaning up my room... 'cause... I dunno... I had to do something. I found them under my mattress. Ernesto must have hid them there.'

  'You read them?'

  'Yeah, I read them.' He wiped his eyes. 'Something weird was going on with the Baldwins. They were doing something they shouldn't have been doing, and Ruby was in on it. I have a feeling she was blackmailing them. I think Ernesto knew about it, too.'

  Decker regarded the letters - three of them and no return address. The postmarks were from Oakland, dated five, three, and two months ago. 'Do you mind if I read them here? Every minute matters.'

  'Sure, go ahead.'

  Decker started with the earliest one - dated right after the vandalism episode. No date on the letter itself. He read.

  Hey Italian Stallion:

  Believe it or not, the discipline queen has a few misguided feelings, one of them includes missing yo
u on some carnal level... specifically your delicious cock. Just thinking of it makes me all wet and ready, not to mention the fact that I just adore a man in a uniform. I wonder what little Lisa would think of my sucking and slurping with copious amounts of cum on my face...

  Decker scanned down until he found something of substance.

  Hope Dee Bee and hubby aren't being their usual sanctimonious assholes. If they give you any kind of 'tude,just remind them that you're the favorite of Ruby's boy toys, and that should shut them up. Since I know the system, lover boy, I am a dangerous person. You should remember that. What we do in the sack is one thing. Outside the physical, it's each body for itself.

  The letter was unsigned. But it had the advantage of being handwritten, rather than typed or taken off E-mail. If Alice Ranger had copies of Ruby's handwriting, they could do an analysis to make sure it matched. Also, they had a postmark -not a recent one - but maybe it would help locate the errant

  woman.

  He said, 'Have you any idea what system she's talking about?' 'No idea,' Karl said. 'But she mentions it several times.

  Obviously, Ernesto knew what she was talking about because she

  didn't explain it. Read on.'

  Decker did. The next letter was postmarked two months

  later... about a month before Ernesto was due to graduate.

  Congrats about getting into Brown - as if I didn't know you'd do it. Lucky for you that your daddy had influence and bread to pay off the judge and seal the fact that you are a very, very nasty boy who likes doing very, very nasty things.

  Then she began to get explicit again, describing sex acts in gross detail. Decker had seen the most outrageous of things. But even so, the sheer sexual content - its rawness and rudeness - made him squirm. He knew that he'd have to read it all to see if something was encrypted in it. But for now, he skimmed the smut until he hit the last paragraph.

  I cannot believe that you are actually thinking of going to that camp. It's only been two months and already you're softening like butter in the sun. Are you out of your mind? Influence is only good, lover boy, if you use it. You know you can get out of it. If

  you just hint at knowing the system, they'll fold like a bad poker hand. I'm not saying you tell them outright... that could be tricky. But surely, a guy with such a terrific prick and all that debate team experience should be able to be subtle enough about it. They'll know the score. The camp is pure shit, and Tarpin is a fucking Marine, for God's sake! You can't be weakening that fast. Maybe I'll have to come down and give you a tune-up. Just suck you dry until you remember that you make the rules, not them. If you firmly subscribe to that, you will get places. If you don't, you're sunk. And that would be a waste of a glorious set of six-pack abs not to mention a fine specimen of a cock.

  Again it was unsigned. Decker folded the paper and put it back into the envelope. 'What do you know about the Baldwins?'

  Karl shook his head. 'I was never in therapy with them. I've never been in therapy, period. I'm just Karl... the dumb jock who doesn't cause any problems. Ernie was the golden boy. Brilliant but screwed up... like a good genius is supposed to be. Me, I'm simple. I'm starting eleventh grade. If things progressed like they were supposed to, I would have seen the Baldwins for college counseling in a year. All the twelfth graders at Foreman Prep see the Baldwins. It's like a ritual.'

  'A ritual?'

  'It's getting with the program, Lieutenant Decker. We all go to the same schools, do the same activities, play on the same soccer teams, go to the same summer camps, go to the same parties, make it with the same girls, and when it's time, we all see the Baldwins. It's like the parents are afraid to break rank. Because that means that maybe someone else's kid has an edge over your kid. I love my parents. I think they've got a lot of... you know...'

  'Integrity?'

  'Yeah, integrity. But even they fall into traps. They say it's because they want the best for us. That's true, but also, they don't want us to look dumb to their friends. It would be embarrassing if we failed. So that's where the Baldwins come in.

  They prevented parents from being embarrassed. We usually got into the schools we picked, because the Bees had this knack of matching the right kid with the right school and making everyone feel happy about it. That was the point of seeing them for counseling.'

  'Anyone ever hint that they did illegal things to get the kids in the right schools?'

  'No. These letters were the first I've heard of it. But let's face it. People look the other way if they get what they want. What kind of illegal things do you think they might be doing?'

  'Maybe they had some kind of jump on the SAT'

  Karl looked blank. 'Jump?'

  'Insider's information. Maybe they knew the SAT questions in advance?'

  'Beats me,' Karl answered.

  Decker said, 'I'm just wondering if that's the system that Ruby's talking about. That they have inside information.'

  'You'd know more about that than I would,' Karl replied. He lay back down on the bed. 'I'm real tired.'

  Decker knew he should leave. But this was a one-time opportunity. He tried a different approach. 'You mentioned going to the same parties. Did Ernesto ever take you to any of the parties he went to?'

  'You mean the raves?' Karl blew out air. 'Sure. Unless you were a nerd or a wuss, everyone at Foreman went to the raves. I'd go just to be seen. But I don't like them. I don't do drugs. If you don't do drugs, there's nothing to do. It's boring to watch people getting stoned or cracked.'

  Karl wasn't the dumb jock when it came to important things. Decker said, 'Did you ever meet any of Ruby's friends?'

  'Ruby didn't come with her friends. I don't even think she had friends. I only saw her a couple of times with her brother, Doug the pothead.'

  'So she wasn't a regular?'

  'Nope. But she sure attracted attention when she came. She was really hot looking. I didn't like her, but I understand why

  Ernesto did.' He shook his head in wonderment. 'If she did half of what she writes about, I'd cut off my left nut to spend a night with her.' He scrunched up his brow. 'Well, maybe not my nut.' 'I understand what you're saying.'

  'All the boys had the hots for her. Only Ernesto was brash enough to go up to her and attempt conversation. Like really talk to her. Mostly, she just talked and guys listened. Like hung on her every word...' Abruptly, Karl stopped talking. His eyes went to Decker's face, then he averted his gaze. Decker said, 'I know that my son went to some of the parties.' 'Not for a long time.' Karl couldn't look at him. 'Really. I haven't seen him in about a year. He was real smart, you know. All the girls liked him.'

  'Except Ruby,' Decker said. 'Oh.' Karl blushed. 'He told you about that?' Decker nodded.

  'Yeah, it was pretty nasty. It was Ruby's fault. She kept sticking it to him. And Ernesto was kinda pushing her on. Finally, Jake had enough. He got her good, but it was real ugly. Actually, I think that was the last time I saw him.'

  Consistent with what Jacob had told him. Decker had one more letter to read. 'Just let me finish this letter off and then I'll leave you in peace.' 'All right.'

  The poor kid sounded so tired! Decker skimmed the contents of the letter, noticing that the tone had changed - more veiled warnings than sex.

  If you're going to be part of the cabal, you've got to know what you're doing. If it's obvious that you'll break, it's not going to carry weight. You need to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. It probably would be best if I came down for a show and tell. In the meantime, you shouldn't talk because people might take it the wrong way. The Bees can be had, but they're not total morons. You've got to tread gingerly, or not at all.

  The more I think about it, the more I think I should come

  down. It's getting boring up here. I've run through about twenty men — all of them rich dot-com nerds and over forty. It's nice because they take me places, buy me meals, and I get all the pills and ciggies I can jack. But I miss your young, studly prick. I need it inside of
me. So yeah, maybe I'll come back down and we can work the details out before you're shipped off to Auschwitz West. Because it's clear to me that we need to talk.

  Decker reread the last two paragraphs. Now it appeared that Ruby was in Los Angeles. Or maybe at least, she had been in Los Angeles. He looked up at Karl. 'Ernesto was up to something.'

  'Yeah, he got in over his head, the dumb fuck!' Karl closed his eyes. 'I loved my brother, you know.'

  'I'm sure you did.'

  'I admired Ernie a lot. But he had this way of being arrogant... it could really make you feel small. Ruby was the same way. Do you think she did it?'

  'She certainly hasn't been ruled out,' Decker said. 'Any idea where she might be?'

  'No. She never talked to me, Lieutenant Decker. Never said anything nice to me, never said anything mean to me. She didn't even waste her time sticking it to me like she did Jake. I was just this... nothing to her. As far as she was concerned, I didn't exist.'