Page "Kay Scarpetta" Paragraph 6

Lucy is first introduced in Postmortem as a precocious 10 – year – old, the only child of Kay's sister who is presented as flighty, irresponsible, narcissistic, the last of which is common to Scarpetta.

She has a natural aptitude for computers and easily learns UNIX, which she later uses while working for the FBI.

She looks to her Aunt Kay for stability and understanding, and although she is frequently sulky in her adolescence, she shapes herself into a very strong woman with Kay's model to follow.

She enters the FBI at 18, but is not well accepted due to her suspected sexual orientation and her genius IQ.

Lucy has a habit of establishing long-term romantic relationships which last a few books and are then ended with little explanation.

For example, Jo is last seen taken home ( in The Last Precinct ) by her parents following an underground operation that went bad during which Lucy shot her.

She also has several one-night stands — even a few with men — and engages in other risky behaviors with firearms and various high-speed vehicles.

At one point, she gets drunk and wrecks Kay's new Mercedes-Benz.

She also gets into a firefight between two helicopters, using handheld firearms.