Jupiter's Bones (29 page)

She hugged herself. “That’s me! Always a sucker for the underdog. The kind of kid who brings home stray cats and baby birds.” The girl looked away, her face still holding sadness. “I can’t stop thinking about the other kids.”

“Join the club,” Marge said. “Did you know the dangers going in?”

Lauren shrugged. “Reuben pretty much gave me the details. He told me
not
to do it. He told me how dangerous the Order could be. He told me that Pluto’d be watching my every step. He told me if I stepped out of line, I’d be physically punished. He told me that Bob would come on to me because I was young and cute. He told me that I’d have to sleep with him and if I didn’t, I’d pay dearly. He told me there was a very good chance I’d
never
get out. He told me he couldn’t help me—no one could—because the Order was impenetrable. He told me to think it over…not for days, but for months. And I did.”

“But you went anyway,” Decker said.

“I don’t think I believed Reuben. The arrogance was a good thing. Because if I had really known…” She looked away. “I had worked with poor kids—kids in the
inner city—much to my mother’s horror.” She looked at Decker. “Did you meet
Mom
?”

Decker shook his head no.

“A mini Ceese. See, I grew up in a family who thought that people should only be vanilla-flavored. When I realized that chocolate had lots to offer, I got to thinking about Maureen’s kid. No one else in the family was interested in saving her…charity begins at home.”

A tear rolled down her cheek as she stared at the bunkers.

“It eats me up. There’re
good
people inside, sir. Decent people who’re looking for God in all the wrong places. It’s not
them
. It wasn’t even
Jupiter
. Yeah, he was psycho, but more into his visions than into power. It’s the mad four below him—Pluto, Nova, Venus and Bob. You don’t know the half of it.”

Oliver took out his notepad. “Apparently not if you’re telling us that Nova was a pedophile.”

She focused in on Oliver’s face. “Chester the Molester.”

“He seemed like a wimp.”

“Most pedophiles are,” Lauren snapped back. “How’d he die?”

“Exsanguination, most likely,” Decker said. “Someone carved him up and stuffed him in one of the kitchen cabinets at the Order’s ranch. The local law is holding the ranch hand named Benton for the murder. Does his name ring a bell?”

Lauren shook her head no. “I wasn’t even aware that the Order owned a ranch.”

“Jupiter owned it. Now it probably belongs to his daughter, Europa. Benton runs the place, although
I
don’t think he popped Nova. I think Bob did it.”

“Sounds logical,” Lauren said. “After Our Father Jup—After Emil Ganz died, Bob moved in like a cockroach.”

“I always picture Pluto as the roach,” Oliver said.

“Pluto’s more like a T-rex. He destroys what gets in his way.”

Bob as the roach and Pluto as T-rex
. Like Oliver, Decker would have thought it was the other way around.

Marge asked, “Why would Bob kill a wimp like Nova? Was he a threat to Bob’s power base?”

Lauren gave the question some thought. “Not really. Nova was the weakest of the four.”

“So why would Bob kill him?” McCarry asked.

“Because Bob enjoys killing people,” Lauren said.

No one spoke.

“Even so, there
has
to be more.” Decker stopped for a moment, his mind flipping through the file of the original case. Back to the very beginning. A spark in his brain ignited. “Jupiter was found dead at around five in the morning. Nova was writing out the death certificate a half-hour later. And Europa called the police shortly after that.” A pause. “Some woman from the Order called Europa to tell her that her dad had died. It
wasn’t
Venus.”

Decker looked at her pointedly. Lauren bit her lip.

“C’mon, Lauren. You couldn’t have called without help because only gurus had phones. Someone instructed you to
make
that call. Process of elimination tells me it
had
to be Nova.
Why
would he want you to call up a violator?”

“He was frightened by Jupiter’s death. Bob and Pluto had wanted to bury Ganz on the grounds like the others—”

“The
others
?” McCarry said. “What
others
?”

“The others that had ‘expired’ along the way,” Lauren answered. “No doubt they were murdered—”

“You know that as a
fact
?” McCarry asked.

“I know that rebellious members had a way of disappearing—”

“Jesus!” Marge muttered.

Decker asked. “What else did Nova confide in you, Lauren?”

“He said Ganz’s death was too big to hide. That Ganz
was too famous and he had children. He was worried about Europa, the daughter. Ganz had kept up contact with her. This time, Nova wanted to go through proper channels. He said if we didn’t call the police in now, it would be big trouble later on when Europa found out about her father’s death. Everything and everyone would be investigated. That would have been the death knell for us…for them…the Order.”

“Thinking he could waylay us before we dug too deep,” Oliver said.

Lauren nodded. “He told me to phone Europa even if it meant breaking the vows and overstepping the chain—”

Decker blurted out, “Overstepping the
chain
…breaking the vows.” He tapped his foot. “I’ve heard that expression before.”

“It’s one of the Order’s most basic laws,” Lauren said. “‘Never break your vows and never overstep the chain of command.’ The gurus used to lecture it to us over and over and over and over.”

Decker hit his forehead. “Oh, my Lord!”

“What?” Oliver asked.

“When I first met Pluto, I asked him about the phone call to Europa. He said whoever did it would have to be
addressed
because he had overstepped the chain, and had broken his vows.”

He made a face.
T-Rex here we come
.

“It was
Pluto
who killed Nova. He was
addressing
Nova’s insubordination. That little motherfucker knew all along that he’d carved up Nova. He knew it when you two went up there. And he knew you’d find the body. But he didn’t care because he knew we’d arrest Benton!”

“Loo,” Oliver said. “Ms. Bolt just said that it was
Bob
who enjoyed killing people.”

“Bob kills for sport—for pleasure. Pluto killed to keep his power base absolute. He couldn’t have men like Nova—who overstepped the chain and broke vows—get away with colluding with violators. Especially since Nova
was a privileged attendant—a
guru
. That position demanded complete loyalty to the Order. And since Nova couldn’t be trusted anymore, Pluto killed him.”

“Then why did Bob kill Pluto?” McCarry asked.

“Because Bob knew his power base was finished. While Jupiter was alive, but zonked out from arsenic, Bob pretty much had free rein. Even though Pluto was second in command, Jupiter still ran things. But once Ganz died and the free ride had ended, Bob knew he had no constituency. Better to die a leader than live under a little totalitarian putz like Pluto. And after Nova’s death, maybe Bob figured he was next on the chopping block anyway.”

“So who killed Jupiter?” McCarry asked.

Marge said, “The place housed two homicidal lunatics and a child molester. Take your pick.”

Lauren took a swipe at her eyes. “I keep seeing the
children
—obeying whatever they’re told.” The young girl bit her lip. “We’ve got to do something. They do terrible things. They made us watch.”

“You witnessed murder?” Decker asked.

“Punishments,” Lauren said softly. “They claimed they served as purification as well as warnings for the rest of the Order.”

“What kind of punishments?” Decker asked.

“Burning iron pokers on the stomach and soles of the feet, branding the back with the six-six-six of the devil. If it was a second offense, Pluto would amputate digits—fingers, toes.”

There was silence. Oliver thought of the little man hacking off a chicken head. He asked, “And if it was a third offense?”

This time when Lauren bit her lip, she drew blood. “There wasn’t a third time. The offenders would…disappear.”

“Was Jupiter present during the punishments?”

“You know, I never remember seeing him at the rites of purification.” A sob escaped her throat. “The sadism always came from his underlings.”

“What about Nova? Did he participate?”

“He’d take the atoner’s…the victim’s vital signs. To make sure the punishment didn’t go
too
far.”

“Like the Spanish Inquisition,” Decker said. “The torturers always had a doctor present during the process to make sure the victim didn’t actually die…so the person could be tortured again.”

To Lauren, Marge said, “The victims were given only two chances?”

“Yes.”

“And no one protested?”

Lauren said, “You know, I found out real quick that protest is an invention of a free society. Everyone was
terrified
! No one said a word!”

More silence.

Lauren went on. “Pluto had convinced the congregation that the process was necessary for atonement. If the victim didn’t undergo the torture, he’d die a violator and never reach the next level. Venus led them in chant while Bob or Pluto performed the horror.
Everything
was ritualized.”

“How’d you get around them?” Marge asked.

The young woman’s face was full of pain. “I played up to Bob.” She threw up her hands. “Hey, placating the enemy with sex is a time-honored tradition.”

Immediately, Decker’s thoughts turned to the prophets, specifically a Jewish woman named Yael who lived in the time of the Judges after a Jewish victory. The enemy general, Sisera, escaped to her house for shelter. Yael wore him out to complete fatigue by bedding him. Afterward, when he had fallen into a deep sleep, she drove a tent peg through his brain. “How
did
you escape, Lauren?”

Lauren blinked. “Used a time-old tradition of convicts. I tunneled my way out. I started digging on day one.” A shrug. “I always had my fingernails. On good nights, I had a spoon.”

Along with the others, Decker was stunned. All that for
a little girl she had never met. Someone should study her superior morals and ethics.

Lauren brushed strands of hair from her face. “I did what I had to do.”

“Anyone else from the Order know about your tunnel—”

“Maybe that’s the hole in the fence,” Oliver interrupted.

“What hole?” Lauren asked.

Marge explained the phone call.

“I didn’t dig out midway between any fence. I came out way
beyond
the fence, in the middle of the wooded area behind the compound. I would never have dug in the open. Way too vulnerable. Reuben and I talked about it before I went in. He said to dig out in the mountain brush where there was plenty of cover. I don’t know what hole your caller’s talking about.”

“You think the call is a trap?” McCarry inquired.

“Depends who called. If it was Terra, no, it’s not a trap. She’s
terrified
of Bob.”

Decker nodded. “If you met up with her again, you’d think she’d be on your side?”

“Well, she’s terrified of Bob. But she’s also terrified of defying him.”

“If Venus had made the call, would it be a trap?”

“I don’t know. I will say that she has a lot invested in the Order, so I don’t see her trying to bring it down. Venus also commands respect. You don’t mess with her. People have tried and things have happened to them.”

“What things?” McCarry asked. “Don’t tell me
she’s
a serial killer.”

Lauren was pensive. “Like I said, I never
saw
anything. But her enemies, like the enemies of Bob and Pluto, had this way of disappearing.”

“Talk about declining populations,” Marge said. “It’s a wonder the Order didn’t murder itself out of existence. It’s unbelievable!”

“Not at all,” Lauren said. “When there are no absolutes and
people
make up the rules, anything is fair
game.” A pause. “I’m not a big one for organized religion. But God has its good points. If the Ten Commandments were given by the Ultimate Creator, then those rules have to be
immutable
. And that’s not bad. Because when human beings
change
the norms, they always fuck things up.”

McCarry snapped her out of her musings. “Tell me more about this tunnel.”

She told them all she knew. How she chose her spot—in the teens’ classroom. Because the gurus weren’t the least bit concerned with the kids. And the classrooms were always empty at night. She’d sneak off and dig. She’d time her digging with the cries from the infant nursery next door. Every night, she’d scratch away. She was lucky. Out here, in the valley, the soil was loose. Not like the clay soil that held up most of the city of L.A.

“We should contact SWAT,” McCarry said. “I’d play it like this. We lead the Order into thinking that we’re looking for an imaginary hole—”

“It may be real,” Lauren said. “Maybe someone else was trying to dig out. I’m just saying it isn’t part of
my
tunnel. Its location doesn’t even sound like one of my red herrings.”

“Red herrings?” Decker asked.

“I dug some fake holes outside. Also Reuben’s idea. In case I’d make an escape and get discovered midway, my pursuers wouldn’t know which hole was real and which one was a dead-end. I dug two fake tunnels while I was at the Order. They don’t lead anywhere. One goes about twenty feet and dies, the other’s about forty.”

Decker was flabbergasted. “Can I harness your ingenuity and market it?”

“I was trying to save my life…Lyra’s, too. Incredible how creative you become.”

McCarry said, “If we look for this imaginary hole in the fence midway between somewhere, we can draw Bob into thinking we’ve fallen for his trap. In the meantime, SWAT will tunnel—”

“Uh, there’s a problem with a raid,” Lauren said. “My tunnel was barely big enough for me. It’s all belly-crawling. Can’t lift your head more than six inches off the ground. At some points, I really had to contort to make it through. You’ll
never
get your
regular
men through there. A small man would even be doubtful.”