Read Remains Silent for Free Online

Harrigans eyes. Jake, I
     
     
Go on.
     
     
I miss her, is all. I miss my wife Dolores.
     
     
Thats not all, Jake thought. Not by a long shot. But if his friend didnt want to talk, there was no way to force him. Pete had always been secretive, sometimes revealing what he wanted Jake to know only by leading him to that knowledge indirectly. Ill find out the rest when hes ready and not until then. Be patient.
     
     
    * * *
By Sunday night, Jake was back home reviewing autopsy photos and witness statements in preparation for testimony he had to give in a murder trial the next morning. If it hadnt been for the court appearance, hed have stayed in Turner and taken his first vacation day in God knows how long to keep working with Harrigan.
     
     
But the truth was theyd done just about all they could do for the time being. Theyd photographed the skeletons, concentrating on the broken vertebra, cracked ribs, and skull defect. Theyd collected samples of the soil where the stomachs would have been in hopes of discovering what the decedents had eaten a wild chance, they knew, but Harrigan would send it to the lab all the same, along with the hair for toxicology. When Jake finally drove off around seven, Harrigan was still at the hospital, x-raying the bones.
     
     
    * * *
Jake didnt hear from Harrigan again until Tuesday afternoon. It was already past three, and Jake still had two more autopsies ahead of him. He was sorting through messages in his office, putting aside everything that wasnt marked Urgent, when the phone rang.
     
     
Have a minute?
     
     
Maybe two, but thats all. Whats up?
     
     
Theres been a breakthrough, but its a good-news/bad-news situation. There was tension in Petes voice, but at least it was strong.
     
     
Go on.
     
     
The good news is we know where the bodies came from. The bad news is everyones so happy with the answer, theyre about to restart work on the mall.
     
     
Slow down. Howd you find out about the bodies?
     
     
I didnt. Marge Crespy did. Remember the initials on the elastic?
     
     
Of course.
     
     
Turns out they stand for Turner Mental Hospital. As long as Ive lived here, its been called the Turner Psychiatric Institute, but Marge is the historian and knew the earlier names it began as a home for the feebleminded. Anyway, I got in touch with Hank Ewing Henry Ewing, Nobel laureate, dean of the Catskill Medical School, once head of Turner, friend of mine and he filled me in on the places history. Ill tell you when we see each other. The point is, they treated nearly ten thousand people over the decades, among them hundreds of indigents.
     
     
And Ewing says that when they died they were buried in the field ? Jake asked.
     
     
Its not far from the hospital which is closed down, by the way. I guess they ran out of crazies in Baxter County, or it got too expensive to keep them. Marge found no record of its being a potters field, and as far as Sheriff Fisk and Mayor Stevenson are concerned, the case is closed. Indigents. Untraceable. The backhoe rides again at dawn.
     
     
The queasy feeling returned to Jakes stomach. Corruption. Theyre going too fast, he said. They should at least wait until you have the tox and DNA results.
     
     
Right. And I need to reshoot the X-rays on the Skeleton Two humerus. Something went wrong with the film.
     
     
But Fisk and Stevenson dont want to hold up construction.
     
     
Harrigan sighed. You know, Id just as soon let em go on. I have to live in this town, and Im not a big fan of crucifixion.
     
     
Jake felt a surge of anger. Quitting?
     
     
Not really. He sounded suddenly very tired. I went over to the site again Monday, looking for the plate from the skull of Skeleton Three. God knows, Fisk wasnt going to do it. Anyway, I found it. Fits perfectly. You can take a look tomorrow.
     
     
Pete, theres no way I can get there. Ive got a months work here to be finished by Friday.
     
     
But who else is going to help me identify the other three