Rizzoli & Isles 8-Book Set

Maura had looked like alive; onceshe viewed what Maura had become, there’d be no erasing that image, no turning back the clock on the horror. Looking at her husband, she wondered how he could stay so calm.
    “Let me show you the X-rays,” said Draper. “Maybe that will be enough to convince you of my findings.”
    Gabriel said to Brophy: “It’s better if you wait here.”
    Daniel nodded and remained where he was, his head bowed, alone with his grief.
    As Jane and Gabriel followed Draper to the elevator, she felt dread bubbling like acid in her stomach. I don’t want to see this, she thought. I don’t need to see this. But Gabriel kept striding ahead purposefully, and she was too proud not to follow him. When they stepped into the morgue, she was relieved to see that the autopsy table was empty, the cadavers safely stored out of sight.
    Draper shuffled through a bundle of X-rays and clipped several films onto the viewing box. He flipped a switch, and skeletal images appeared against the glow.
    “As you can see, there’s ample evidence of trauma,” said Draper. “Fractures of the skull, multiple ribs. Impaction of the left femur into the hip joint. Because of the fire, the limbs have contracted into a pugilistic posture.” His voice assumed the matter-of-fact drone of a professional conveying data to colleagues. As if, by the act of entering this room and seeing the cool gleam of stainless steel, he had stepped into the uniform of a coroner. “I e-mailed these images to our forensic pathologist in Colorado. He concluded that this is a female between thirty and forty-five. Her estimated height is five foot five or five foot six. And judging by the sacroiliac joint, she was nulliparous. She never gave birth.” He paused and looked at Jane. “Would that describe your friend?”
    Numbly, Jane nodded. “Yes,” she whispered.
    “And she’s had very good dental care. There’s a crown here on the lower right molar. Several fillings.” Again, he looked at Jane, as though she was the one with all the answers.
    Jane stared at the jaw glowing on the light box.
How would I know?
She hadn’t studied Maura’s mouth, hadn’t counted her crowns and fillings. Maura was her colleague and her friend. Not a collection of teeth and bones.
    “I’m sorry,” said Draper. “That was probably too much information for you to deal with. I just wanted you to feel confident about the identification.”
    “Then there won’t be an autopsy,” said Jane softly.
    Draper shook his head. “There’s no reason for one. The pathologist in Colorado is satisfied with the ID. We have her luggage tag, and the X-rays match a woman of her age and height. These injuries are consistent with what you’d find in an unrestrained passenger subjected to high-speed deceleration.”
    It took a few seconds for Jane to register what he’d said. She blinked away tears and the X-ray hanging on the light box suddenly came back into focus. “An unrestrained passenger?” she said.
    “Yes.”
    “Are you saying she wasn’t wearing a seat belt?”
    “That’s correct. None of the deceased was wearing a seat belt.”
    “That can’t be right. Maura would never forget to buckle her seat belt. That’s the kind of person she was.”
    “I’m afraid this time, she neglected to do so. At any rate, wearing a seat belt probably wouldn’t have saved her. Not in an accident this traumatic.”
    “That’s not the point. The point is, something’s wrong here,” said Jane. “It’s completely out of character for her.”
    Draper sighed and flipped off the viewing light. “Detective, I know it must be hard to accept the death of a close friend. Whether she was belted in or not, it doesn’t change the fact that she is dead.”
    “But how did it happen? Why?”
    “Does it really make a difference?” Draper said quietly.
    “Yes.” Again, she felt tears prickle her eyes. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I need to understand.”
    “Jane,” said Gabriel. “It may never make sense. We’ll just have to accept it.” Gently he took her arm. “I think we’ve seen enough. Let’s go back to the hotel.”
    “Not yet.” She pulled away from him. “There’s something else I need to see.”
    “If you insist on viewing the remains,” said Draper, “I can show them to you. But you won’t be able to recognize anything. There’s not much except charred flesh and bone.” He paused and said softly: “Trust me. You’re better off not seeing