I was surprised to realize I hadn’t read Faye Kellerman’s “Justice.” It is one of her early Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus books. The complicated story centers on students at Central Valley High School. Teresa McLaughlin narrates it.
I can only give a thumbnail sketch but it is a gripping read. Foremost is Peter Decker’s commitment to justice.
Terry’s mother died when she was born, and she now lives with her father, stepmom and little stepsister. She earns cash by tutoring. The quiet teen is nervous when the hottest guy in school offers a ride home.
Chris Whitman is tall, blond, handsome and plays the cello like a pro. His only negative is the way his eyes can go from warm to cold and dead in an instant. Instead of being part of the “in” crowd, he hangs with wilder kids. He tells her that he misses a lot of school due to playing out of town gigs, and he wants to hire Terry to help him catch up, but he’s actually in love with her.
Chris has his own apartment, has plenty of money and treats her like a princess, so it is no surprise that quiet, shy Teresa would easily fall in love with him. Chris often opens up to her. He says his father was murdered, his mother died of breast cancer and he was raised by his uncle, a vicious mob boss, and he’s engaged to marry the daughter of a rival mob boss. Chris is also a talented artist and convinces Terry to pose nude by promising to keep the sketches hidden.
When Chris’ mood swings frighten her, Terry decides to take a break in the relationship. Chris then ignores her completely and dates one of the wild girls, Cheryl Diggs.
Things take a terrible turn after the prom. Cheryl has traded sexual favors for rooms for the group. They drink, dope, and have sex with abandon. The next morning Cheryl Diggs is dead. She’s bound to the bed with a tuxedo tie. Since Chris was the last person with her and his DNA is on condoms found with her, they assumed he strangled her, too.
Decker’s boss, Lt. Davidson, insists on arresting Chris. Decker knows the coroner found pubic hairs from another man, but Lt. Davidson refused to allow testing and focused on convicting Chris. Once Chris realized that his sketches of Terry would become public, he protects her by quickly confessing to killing Cheryl.
The case was closed, but it still bothered Decker and he digs on his own time and looks into the murder of a young woman. The DNA from that case matches the DNA found in Cheryl Diggs. With the help of local police, he finds the real killer.
Things get even more complicated after that.
AT A GLANCE
BOOK: Justice (Decker-Lazarus Book 8)
AUTHOR: Faye Kellerman
Publisher: Harper
Year published: 1995
Number of pages: 560
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