A Conspiracy of Bones (Temperance Brennan #19)(92)

“What is it you want?”

“The truth.”

“That a man used snus?”

“Felix Vodyanov died from a fentanyl overdose.”

A woman appeared on the path. She wore teal scrubs and looked like she’d been up for a month. We both watched her trudge the pavement, face lowered and flushed with the heat. A moment of fumbling in a shoulder bag, then she entered a battered Camry and drove toward the exit.

“I think Vodyanov killed himself,” I said. “And I think you know why.”

Yuriev’s eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the windshield. His face gave away nothing.

“He wasn’t being treated for taphophobia, was he?”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Felix Vodyanov had Huntington’s.”

Huntington’s disease is a progressive brain disorder. Typically, signs of HD first appear in midlife. Weight loss. Changes in coordination. Fidgety movements that can’t be controlled. Slowness or stiffness. Trouble thinking through problems. Depression or irritability.

As the disease advances, often over a span of decades, symptoms worsen. Sufferers may drop things, fall, experience difficulty speaking or swallowing. Many have trouble staying organized.

“Here’s my take. Vodyanov’s HD was beginning to interfere with his day-to-day life. He was exhibiting abnormal movements he could no longer hide. Stumbling or banging into things. Having memory issues.”

“How could you know this?” Yuriev’s tone had softened a notch.

“I studied autopsy photos. Vodyanov’s body had bruises in varying stages of healing. I’ve seen notes he wrote to himself. Information he feared he might forget.”

“Such a condition is never the patient’s fault. Why hide it?”

“My take, again. And admittedly, this part is speculation. Vodyanov worked for his brother, Nick Body. I suspect you’re aware of him?”

Yuriev’s jaw muscles bulged, but he said nothing.

“Given your training, I’m sure you know that HD is caused by a mutation in either of an individual’s two copies of a gene called HTT or huntingtin. That while some spontaneous mutations do occur, in most cases, HD is passed on from a parent. That since the gene is dominant, the child of an affected person has a fifty-fifty chance of inheriting the disease.”

“I am quite cognizant of the hereditary nature of Huntington’s. What does this have to do with Felix and his brother?”

“For years, Body’s been hawking the theory that HD is caused by a microbe. That it’s contagious and can pass between people.”

“That’s preposterous. You can’t catch HD from another person.”

“Of course it’s preposterous. But Body and his confederacy of wackos insist that the answer to solving HD is to study it like an infectious disease. They say other scientists know this and are hiding the information.”

“To what end?” Somewhat less vehement.

“Either out of embarrassment that their theories are wrong or for various more nefarious reasons.”

“Nick Body is an unusual man.”

“Let me take my speculation one step further. I think Body wanted proper care for his brother but couldn’t let it be known that he was following accepted medical protocol. If that came out, he’d look like a fraud. Now, here’s where you come in.”

Yuriev still refused to make eye contact.

“I’m guessing Vodyanov checked in at Sparkling Waters periodically under the alias F. Vance. Not for taphophobia, for Huntington’s. My question to you. Why agree to a cover-up?”

“Celebrities often check into hospitals and hotels under assumed names. It safeguards their privacy. It is not illegal.”

“Is that it? Compassionate confidentiality? Or were your motives slightly less pious?”

“How dare you?” Finally swiveling to face me.

“In the course of our investigation, the rude detective and I found evidence suggesting Vodyanov was harming children. Perhaps at the direction of his brother.”

“For what purpose?”

“To inflame fear and drive followers to Body’s podcasts and blogs. Maybe you knew about it. Maybe—”

“No!”

“Did you know that Vodyanov tried to contact several people before he died? He stalked a man demanding info on kids who’d vanished or been murdered. He pursued me, perhaps to share information about a missing child. He may have visited an old lady, posing as a cop. I think he was feeling terrible guilt. I think the HD was making his life unbearable. He knew that it would only get worse. I think before committing suicide, he wanted to make amends.”

Silence crammed the small space.

After a very long moment, Yuriev spoke.

“You have it all wrong.”

It was then he produced the missing piece of the jigsaw.





32


“It wasn’t Felix.”

The sun was skimming the horizon, painting the car’s interior a soft tangerine. “It was the brother.”

“Body had Huntington’s?”

“No. No. You were correct on that point.” Yuriev’s face looked like a sandstone mask. “But then, I don’t care about Nick Body.”

“Very compassionate.”