Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
“He’s an easygoing guy,” Emma said. “I’ll pay in advance. How much is it?”
“Six hundred.”
Emma paid in cash, then lowered herself and gave Tug a crushing hug.
“I love you so much, buddy!”
Tug licked her face before she handed his leash to the girl.
Driving away, Emma brushed tears from her eyes.
She then went to Walmart, where she bought a few groceries and several disposable burner phones.
Checking her SUV’s digital dash clock, she saw she had just enough time to pick up Kayla at school.
Seventy-Eight
Eternity, Manitoba
Present day
Sitting on the sidewalk, his back against his car, Ben stared at his phone in stunned disbelief.
His stomach hardened and twisted as he raised his focus to Janie Klassyn’s duplex.
Emma…one of The Skull Sisters?
My wife…a convicted murderer?
Shaking his head, he refused to accept what Clinton Parkerfield had just revealed to him.
It’s a mistake. A computer glitch, a typo, an error, duplicate names. It’s not true. It can’t be true.
Standing, staring at his phone, Ben called Tessa Fox to double-check without telling her the reason.
“Hang on, Ben.”
He could hear Tessa’s keyboard clicking through the line.
“Yes, the name is correct: Jane Elizabeth Klassyn became Vanessa Claire Prather.” Tessa spelled out the full name and it matched what Parkerfield had given him. Then she added: “Just before you called I tracked her from Maryland to Indiana where she enrolled in Darmont Hill College. This girl seems to have changed her name more times than the others you gave me. Not sure why. I haven’t confirmed any further name changes yet but I’m working on it. Did something come up? Why did you need me to check again?”
A moment passed.
“Ben? Is something wrong?”
Ben lifted his head to the sky and gulped air before managing: “Thank you, Tessa. Keep me posted.”
Ben lowered his phone, looking at the duplex, pierced by the revelation.
It’s true. Emma changed her name so many times, re-creating herself, shedding her past each time, to hide a monstrous lie.
Who is the woman I married?
A cloud of flies hummed on a breeze, bringing with it the foul smell of the slaughterhouse, sending his thoughts swirling, dropping them on one fact: I’ve got to get back to California.
Scrolling through his contacts, Ben made a flurry of calls to airlines and travel agents, desperate to get to Los Angeles as soon as possible. It was late in the day. After checking with multiple airlines, he discovered there were no remaining flights departing for Los Angeles today, none that still had seats. He was looking at longer flights to Minneapolis, Denver and Calgary with connections to L.A.