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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:

“Not sure, but this isn’t the way I’d go. Drowning is painful. Plus, to be successful at it you have to secure weights to yourself before the plunge. Once you do that, you’re at the point of no return. It’s kind of like the person who jumps off the roof of a building. If you have a change of heart there’s nothing you can do on the ride down.”

Val moved around the body, getting all of the X-rays. Taking dental X-rays was something she knew how to do. She was uncomfortable with the maggots at first, but by the end she realized they would stay on top of her gloves.

“We already have a presumptive ID on this guy. His wallet was in his back pocket when he was found. That’s what we call a clue.” Howie raised one eyebrow in an exaggerated manner. “We already have X-rays from his dentist. These are called ante-mortem X-rays because they were taken before death.”

They compared those to the victim’s post-mortem X-rays. Each filling was the same. Even a gold cap on a molar and a root canal on the front tooth were identical. “It’s a match!” Val exclaimed, proud of herself. “This is Mr. George Wolff.”

“Congrats, Dr. Knight, you just made your first dental victim ID. It’s a good feeling isn’t it? You gave him a name and now he can be returned to his family. They can have closure.”

At the end of her shift, Val was the happiest she’d been in a long time. On the drive home, she flipped through the radio channels, stopping at a station broadcasting the news. The toothless skull found in Chestnut Ridge Park was the top story. Why it remained in the medical examiner’s office, still unidentified, was the focus of the segment. The announcer stressed that Dr. Blythe had been unavailable for comment. That his conclusions didn’t seem to add up. Again.

4

It was a little before 5pm when Val swiped her ID card through the security pad at the employee entrance of the medical examiner’s office. Her second day of work was the night shift, twelve hours from 5pm to 5am. Julia wasn’t kidding when she said the shifts would be variable. With a large cup of coffee in one hand, keys and handbag in the other, Val struggled to open her office door.

Howie grabbed her before she had a chance to put her things down. “Don’t get comfortable. We’ve been called to a death scene. We’re leaving immediately.”