“Of the most dangerous kind. This kind of criminal enters people’s lives unsuspectingly and steals them easily. She has no conscience, is manipulative, and can gain someone’s trust easily. It’s anyone’s guess how many identities she’s stolen. Hell, she herself probably doesn’t even know who she really is. Chameleons, that’s what this type of psychotic is called. It’s so rare to catch them. Val, you’re damn lucky to have escaped her.”

“Thomas was well enough to travel home yesterday,” Jack said on the way to the airport. “He should be resting for a few more weeks, but if I know him, he’ll be at it by tomorrow. We have a case waiting for us when we return.”

“Is there a time when you two never have a case?” Gwen asked jokingly.

“When the time comes, that’s the time to retire,” Jack said. “I will say, this one with Colin was one of the more challenging in a while. We couldn’t have done it without you, Val.”

“That’s because I had some very good teachers,” Val said. “What about Colin? How is he adjusting to what happened?”

“He might not be behind bars anymore, but he will be captive in other ways. He’ll be in quite a financial hole for some time. He’s still responsible for all of “Julia’s” debt, though he’s fighting it. Thomas and I have been partially paid, but I doubt if we’ll see the rest of it. He’s going to file for bankruptcy. Oh, by the way, Lauren left him.”

“I’ll bet that’s the smartest thing she’s done in a while,” Val said.

“So, Dr. Knight, what lies in store for you after your recovery? Are you eager to get back to your job at the medical examiner’s office?” Jack asked.

“With my job, I’ve been attacked, battered and then stabbed. Yes, I’ll have lovely stories for my grandchildren.” Val smiled when she added, “I can think of safer professions to have, but none quite as challenging. So, what’s in store for you and Thomas? You mentioned that you had a case waiting for you.”

“We received a phone call a couple of days ago to continue an investigation we were working on just before we came here.”

“What happened in this one?”

“We were looking into the possible murder of a man killed by arsenic poisoning. But, the levels of arsenic found were consistent with levels in the soil and in the drinking water. They weren’t high enough to kill him, or really make him sick for that matter. Only now the dead man’s adult son went missing last week and small bits of him were found just this morning in plastic bags floating in the local river.”