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Back One White Lie Save as PDF
Chapters (59)
  1. COVER
  2. About the Author
  3. DEDICATION
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. FIFTY
  54. FIFTY-ONE
  55. FIFTY-TWO
  56. FIFTY-THREE
  57. FIFTY-FOUR
  58. Acknowledgments
  59. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Vera shrugged. ‘And if you don’t, no big deal. We’ll just eat too much and drink too much and it will be all your fault.’ She nodded down the road. ‘I’m going for a run. Don’t give me your answer now. I’ll hopefully see you at eight thirty.’ She turned and headed off, and I watched as her walk quickly broke into a jog. She was captivating, that’s for sure, an enigma of a woman. Still, I shouldn’t get too friendly with anyone right now. I didn’t know who I could trust anymore.

Dusty pulled, trying to go after her, but there were things I wanted to do today, things that needed checking, arranging. I tugged at the leash and turned on my heel.

I jumped. A gray-haired woman stood there, lines etched at the corners of her mouth, eyes deep-set and deep brown, eyes that had most certainly been considered beautiful once. ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘You startled me.’

She wore a maroon sweater that had to be too hot for this weather, and faded jeans – she looked to be in her late sixties. A medium-size dog, about twice the size of Dusty, was tethered to her; he bounded toward us and sniffed at Dusty’s nose.

‘This is Dusty,’ I said, the usual protocol.

‘Did she bother you?’ She pursed her lips, like she’d tasted something bitter.

‘Huh?’

She pointed up the road to where Vera was still in sight, running, her pace quick, purposeful. ‘About the dog. I saw that he went on her lawn and all. She really doesn’t like dogs. She’s never been friendly to Pepper, at least.’

‘Oh,’ I stammered, pulling Dusty a little closer to me. ‘She didn’t seem to –’

‘If she bothers you, you just let me know,’ the woman said. ‘I’m Maggie, I live down the road. Next door to you, I believe. Neighbors have to look out for each other, you know.’

‘Lucy,’ I managed. I took her hand in mine; it was clammy and cold. She smiled, and I noticed one of her teeth was gray – dead.

‘You should watch out for them,’ Maggie said suddenly.

I pulled my hand away and took a quick step back. ‘What?’

‘Vera and John can be very charming,’ Maggie said. ‘But they only really care about themselves.’

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THREE

At first, only the tiniest things seemed to go missing.