“Yes. She lived in Florida for almost ten years. She’s only in town because of the will. She’s leaving for South Africa early next week.”

Ten years? The same amount of time I lived in Florida? Val swallowed hard. “She’s here? In Buffalo?”

“I think she’s staying in Ellicottville actually.” Gavin took a look at a pad on his desk. “Yep, Ellicottville.”

Val couldn’t help but notice an address and phone number written on Gavin’s pad. She took note of them, and then made an excuse about needing to return to work. As she turned to leave, he had one more announcement.

“Oh. They finally found out what species of bacteria is causing Lauren’s infection. It’s Vibrio vulnificus . The doctors are pretty shocked because it’s so unusual. Given her circumstances, they have no idea how she would get something like this,” he said. “Anyway, they’re giving her a new antibiotic and it seems to be working. They think she’s going to pull through.”

“What antibiotic are they giving her?” Val asked, waiting anxiously for the answer, sensing what it would be.

“High doses of doxycycline.”

37

“Val, we should wait for Jack to return. This isn’t a good idea,” Gwen said. She couldn’t hide the uncertainty in her voice.

“We can’t bother him, not with the condition Thomas is in,” Val replied, fighting hard to hold everything together both mentally and physically. She hadn’t slept in two days and felt like someone had rubbed sand in her eyes, grating them to the point of rawness. Fear and paranoia grabbed control of her judgment.

“Gavin told me that Molly Dolan’s going to be leaving the country soon. Once she’s gone, she could go anywhere. We may never have the upper hand like this again. We don’t know when Jack’s coming back. We know where to find her right now. I’m going there, with or without you.”

“I have no intention of letting you do this alone,” Gwen said, and then let out a deep sigh. “Val, I’m on your side, I really am. I just don’t see why you’re so suspicious of her. Honestly, you could be wrong, very wrong about this. And if you are, things are going to get bad.”

Val was borderline hysterical, her voice shrill. “I’m not wrong. She knew that I lived in Florida. How did she know that?”

“Julia obviously told her,” Gwen said in a calm and even tone. “She was her friend, a friend who was also from Clearwater. It must have come up in conversation.”

“But she wanted Gavin to tell me. She wanted me to know this. She said that ‘I’d understand.’”