Free The Case of the Killer Divorce by Barbara Venkataraman Page B
Authors: Barbara Venkataraman
in reverie. Everything had gotten so complicated lately, and nothing was what it seemed. I'd thought Becca was a victim, and now it looked like she was the bad guy. I'd thought my father had abandoned me, and it turned out he didn't even know I existed. I'd thought I could reach out to him if I found him, and now I had to consider his wife's feelings. I'd thought he might need my help, but now it seemed like he had everything under control. Maybe I should just stop thinking so much. Maybe I was just tired from my mediation. Maybe a nice, relaxing pedicure was just what I needed.
It turned out that it was.
***
I t was Saturday morning and I was trying to decide what one wears to go horseback riding. After perusing the limited selections my closet had to offer, I opted for a short-sleeved shirt, jeans and sneakers. I was way too wired and excited to eat, so I drank some coffee and pocketed a granola bar for later. It was only 11:30 and we weren't meeting at the park until one, so I had some time to kill. Suddenly I remembered that Joe's funeral had been that morning, which made me think about their little girls. Poor things!
My cell started ringing , which snapped me out of it. Why was Duke calling? We'd just spoken the day before.
"Have I got a story for you!" h e said, as soon as I picked up.
"Hello to you, too."
"Man, Jamie, that was a hell of a funeral!"
" You went to Joe's funeral? Why would you do that?" I was flabbergasted.
"I'm an investigator, aren't I? All of Joe's and Becca's friends and family were in one place--can you think of a better way for me to get some answers?"
"I guess that makes sense in a weird way. Crashing funerals seems a little over the top to me, but, hey, that's why I'm not an investigator."
" So, listen to this, I'm chatting with Joe's friends before the service--they think I'm his cousin from Louisiana--and they tell me some interesting things…"
"Go on."
"They say the reason Becca and Joe split up was that Joe was sick of her pill popping. She really loves her mother's little helpers--Xanax, Valium, Ambien, you name it. Whatever she could con her doctor into giving her."
"That would explain her tendency to turn into a zombie, but why is it important?"
"I'll tell you why, young lady. Because even after she told Joe she'd quit the pills, she kept taking them, and she didn't want him to know."
"So?"
"So, she would hide them like a squirrel in winter. I think I know one of her hiding place was…see if you can guess."
"No!! An aspirin bottle!"
"Bingo!"
" So, when Joe got home Thursday night after drinking too much, he took two Ambien thinking they were aspirin, and never woke up."
"Oh-my-God! But we still don't know how the bottle got there."
" No, we don't."
"Wow! I 'm blown away by that. What else did his friends say?" I asked.
"Well, they said boyfriend Charlie ha d an alcoholic mother and that he always had to pick up the pieces after her."
"That explains a lot. He's co-dependent--that's why he takes care of Becca and never complains ."
"Yup. Now, ask me what happened next." Duke said, suddenly serious.
"What happened next?"
"Becca went nuts--screaming and crying and carrying on, not making any sense, and then she collapsed and someone called 911. When the paramedics got there, she went nuts again. They had to sedate her to get her into the ambulance. I heard they were gonna Baker Act her, whatever that is."
" That's an involuntary psych evaluation where they can hold you for up to 72 hours. What do you think's going on with her--is it guilt, or is it grief?"
"There's no tellin '. Could also be mental problems or drug abuse. Or all of the above."
" What a mess! So, where are her kids now?" I asked.
"They went home with Joe's parents. I already called Susan Doyle and told her what happened. She asked me to keep digging around, try to find out how the aspirin bottle ended up at Joe's house."
" Makes sense. I wish I could be there when Nick hears his prime
It turned out that it was.
***
I t was Saturday morning and I was trying to decide what one wears to go horseback riding. After perusing the limited selections my closet had to offer, I opted for a short-sleeved shirt, jeans and sneakers. I was way too wired and excited to eat, so I drank some coffee and pocketed a granola bar for later. It was only 11:30 and we weren't meeting at the park until one, so I had some time to kill. Suddenly I remembered that Joe's funeral had been that morning, which made me think about their little girls. Poor things!
My cell started ringing , which snapped me out of it. Why was Duke calling? We'd just spoken the day before.
"Have I got a story for you!" h e said, as soon as I picked up.
"Hello to you, too."
"Man, Jamie, that was a hell of a funeral!"
" You went to Joe's funeral? Why would you do that?" I was flabbergasted.
"I'm an investigator, aren't I? All of Joe's and Becca's friends and family were in one place--can you think of a better way for me to get some answers?"
"I guess that makes sense in a weird way. Crashing funerals seems a little over the top to me, but, hey, that's why I'm not an investigator."
" So, listen to this, I'm chatting with Joe's friends before the service--they think I'm his cousin from Louisiana--and they tell me some interesting things…"
"Go on."
"They say the reason Becca and Joe split up was that Joe was sick of her pill popping. She really loves her mother's little helpers--Xanax, Valium, Ambien, you name it. Whatever she could con her doctor into giving her."
"That would explain her tendency to turn into a zombie, but why is it important?"
"I'll tell you why, young lady. Because even after she told Joe she'd quit the pills, she kept taking them, and she didn't want him to know."
"So?"
"So, she would hide them like a squirrel in winter. I think I know one of her hiding place was…see if you can guess."
"No!! An aspirin bottle!"
"Bingo!"
" So, when Joe got home Thursday night after drinking too much, he took two Ambien thinking they were aspirin, and never woke up."
"Oh-my-God! But we still don't know how the bottle got there."
" No, we don't."
"Wow! I 'm blown away by that. What else did his friends say?" I asked.
"Well, they said boyfriend Charlie ha d an alcoholic mother and that he always had to pick up the pieces after her."
"That explains a lot. He's co-dependent--that's why he takes care of Becca and never complains ."
"Yup. Now, ask me what happened next." Duke said, suddenly serious.
"What happened next?"
"Becca went nuts--screaming and crying and carrying on, not making any sense, and then she collapsed and someone called 911. When the paramedics got there, she went nuts again. They had to sedate her to get her into the ambulance. I heard they were gonna Baker Act her, whatever that is."
" That's an involuntary psych evaluation where they can hold you for up to 72 hours. What do you think's going on with her--is it guilt, or is it grief?"
"There's no tellin '. Could also be mental problems or drug abuse. Or all of the above."
" What a mess! So, where are her kids now?" I asked.
"They went home with Joe's parents. I already called Susan Doyle and told her what happened. She asked me to keep digging around, try to find out how the aspirin bottle ended up at Joe's house."
" Makes sense. I wish I could be there when Nick hears his prime
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