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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

‘If they paint me as this woman scorned, that’s motive, Lucy. That, and this lawsuit business. It all adds up to a hell of a lot. So yes, of course, it figures. It’s the easy conclusion. It means they aren’t doing their jobs.’ Her voice wavered. ‘It means no one is working to find out what actually happened to John. Find out who hurt him, who killed him.’

I stared at her then – at my protector, my friend. For a split second, I found myself wondering again. Could the rumors about Claire be true? Could Vera have somehow seen John and me together – and that was the last straw? Gone to the cabin that morning, pretending she only wanted to say goodbye one more time, and just – lost it?

No. If Vera wanted to leave John, she could have, so many times. She’d stuck by him through thick and thin, through a miscarriage she didn’t even know I knew about, through his very public fall from grace – everything. I’d seen the way they nuzzled together. Yin and yang. She’d even stuck by him when her duty as a woman required her to believe a certain sort of rumor. When Rachel, his friend and colleague, hadn’t. She loved him. I knew this deeply. Even if she was angry, she wouldn’t have hurt him. Not like that.

Her eyes caught mine. ‘Do you really believe John was unfaithful to me?’

A vision of him in my bed. Of John’s lips pressed against mine. ‘No,’ I said, and it was only half a lie. ‘No, of course I don’t. But Vera,’ I said, knowing I had to chance it, ‘maybe you’re looking at this all wrong.’

Her eyes narrowed – angry? – and for an awful second, I wondered if she suspected me. Then her gaze softened, and I knew it was okay. If the thought had entered her mind, it had left just as quickly. ‘What do you mean?’

‘They asked specifically about Claire Alby,’ I said. ‘Maybe Sam is the main suspect. Wouldn’t that make sense? I didn’t tell the police anything about him, because I knew you already had and I didn’t want to make it seem like I knew too much in case they put together what we were trying to do, but surely they know. You’ve made reports before.’

Vera nodded, like she only half believed me.

‘Maybe this is actually a good thing,’ I said, clinging to the hope that Davis hadn’t done it, that it wasn’t my fault. ‘Maybe they’re looking exactly where they need to be looking. Sam must’ve known where the studio was, since he was so concerned about his daughter being there alone with John. Maybe he heard about the accident, went there, found John, and –’ I couldn’t bear to finish the thought.