“You really ought to brush up on your client communication skills,” Troy said. He drew to a stop at an intersection, flipped on his blinker to make a right into a Chick-Fil-A parking lot. “I’m pulling over now so I can review it.”

“Before we get to that, my chef sister looked at some of those recipes you’d sent over,” Sullivan said.

“The ones in Grace’s old book,” Troy said. “What’d she find?”

“Whatever cakes and other crap this woman is preparing, she’s certainly not following any standard recipes, my sis said. Using a lot of unusual herbs. Some of them are even poisonous.”

Troy thought about the chocolate cake that had rendered him unconscious, the creams that had fill his mother’s head with lurid hallucinations.

“It’s what she does,” Troy said. “She seems to have a deep knowledge of that sort of thing, no idea where it comes from.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that you or your family eat anything else she prepares.”

“No shit.” Troy laughed. “Oh, and before I forget—the clock spycam you gave me? Ugly, and worthless.”

“It didn’t work?”

“I got hazy footage of Grace climbing into the bed with my wife and burrowing under the sheets next to her. I didn’t see anything else. I need to know what she’s doing under those covers. Something tells me she’s not snuggling.”

“Doc, it’s a camera, not an X-ray,” Sullivan said. He paused. “You get my report?”

“Just came in. Let me take a look.”

The LCD display on the dashboard provided a view of the home page of Troy’s Gmail account. The email from On the Move Investigative Services, with an attachment, sat in the inbox. Troy opened the attached PDF.

He had initially sent Sullivan photographs he had taken of Grace’s journal: names of women, addresses, and dates spanning a wide range. Sullivan had researched each entry Troy had provided and given notes on each.

Viola Easley – June 14, 1947

1752 Arthur Lane

Los Angeles, CA 90287

September 5, 1987 – September 16, 1987

Viola Easley died on September 17th. She was born on June 14th—at the time of her death she had recently turned forty. She was adopted. Cause of death unknown.

A fuzzy color picture of Viola Easley was included.

Troy was stunned. The woman looked remarkably similar to Monica. She had a Jheri curl, but the two women looked enough alike to pass for sisters.

“This is incredible,” Troy said.

“Keep looking,” Sullivan said.

Mary Jackson (Williams) – December 5, 1924

22543 Cumberland Avenue

Boston, MA 54319

April 20, 1963 – May 1, 1963

Mary Jackson died on May 3rd. She was born on December 5th—at the time of her death she was approaching forty. Adoption status uncertain. Cause of death unknown.

There was a black-and-white photo of Mary Jackson, too.

Different hairstyle, again, but she bore an uncanny resemblance to Monica.

Charlene Johnson (Trice) – August 27, 1968

909 Williams St, Apt 3

Milwaukee, WI 45102

October 5, 2007 – October 18, 2007