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Back A Simple Lie Save as PDF
Chapters (48)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. Acknowledgements
  46. A note from the publisher
  47. Love crime, thriller and mystery books?
  48. You will also enjoy:

“Why do you want to help me, Dr. Blythe?” she asked.

“Because she’s after me too, Val. She was reviewing my cases and, for some reason, she’s after me.”

For some reason, she’s after me. Val had the same problem. This, they shared.

40

Val put her phone down on her couch. She’d been speaking to Dr. Blythe for nearly a half hour. The last test result was finally in and he explained everything to her. Now to tell Gwen, who was in the chair opposite her, eating some dinner.

A pizza and a box of chicken wings sat on Val’s living room coffee table. She and Gwen had already polished off one bottle of wine. Val began to open the second one.

“Only in Buffalo could you find a vintage that’s advertised as going well with pizza and wings,” Gwen said. Gwen had been staying with Val for the last few days. Val lived in constant fear and until Julia was caught, she didn’t want to be alone.

“I think this is cheap crap,” Val remarked about the wine as she filled both of their glasses.

“It’s called Hot Stuff and has a picture of a chicken wing on the label. What did you think you were going to get when you bought it?”

“Hey, I’m more than likely on a murderer’s hit list. I can have what I want to drink to ease that stress.”

Gwen didn’t laugh. “Val, do you think it’s a good idea to trust Dr. Blythe?”

“Absolutely. He just gave me information that shows Julia DeHaviland and Molly Dolan must be one and the same. In fact, he’s already told Gavin about it.”

Gwen gave a skeptical look. “How did Blythe do that? DNA said they’re different people.”

“She passed the DNA test but failed the antibody test,” Val said.

“Antibody test?”

“Yes. The infection Lauren has. The species is Vibrio vulnificus. This one is a rare and virulent strain found in warm water mostly in the coastal area around the Gulf of Mexico. This bug can enter the body one of two ways, either ingestion of contaminated seafood, which makes you physically ill, or through an open wound. We know Lauren got her infection through an opening in her skin during her surgical procedure. Infection of a wound with this kind of bacteria leads to a rapidly spreading skin infection.”