1st to Die (Women's Murder Club 1)

I saw Chris, and then I didn’t.

I saw who killed the brides and grooms. And then it faded away.

I felt myself falling toward the sidewalk.

Chapter 106

I FOUND MYSELF COMING TO on a wooden park bench in Chris’s arms. He held me tightly while my strength returned.

Orenthaler had warned me. It was stage three. Crunch time in my body.

I didn’t know which held more apprehension for me: going on chemo and gearing up for a bone marrow transplant or feeling my strength eaten away from the inside.

You can’t let it win.

“I’m okay,” I told him, my voice getting stronger. “I was told to expect this.”

“You’re trying to do too much, Lindsay. Now you’re talking about reopening a whole new investigation.”

I took a deep breath and nodded. “I just need to be strong enough to see this through.”

We sat there for a while. I could feel the color in my face reviving, the strength in my limbs returning. Chris held me, cuddled me tenderly. We must’ve looked like two lovers trying to find privacy in a very public place.

Finally, he said, “What you were describing, Lindsay, about Joanna, you really think it’s true?”

It could still add up to nothing. She hadn’t lied about her separation from Jenks. Or about her current relationship with both him and Chessy. Had she concealed a bitter hatred? She had the knowledge, the means.

“I think the killer is still out there,” I said.

Chapter 107

I DECIDED TO TAKE A HUGE RISK. If I blew it, it could knock the lid right off my case.

I decided to run what I suspected by Jenks.

I met him in the same visiting room. He was accompanied by his lawyer, Leff. He didn’t want to meet, convinced there was no longer a point in talking with the police. And I didn’t want to convey my true intent and end up feeding their defense arguments if I was wrong.

Jenks seemed sullen, almost depressed. His cool and meticulous appearance had deteriorated into an edgy, unshaven mess.

“What do you want now?” he sneered, barely meeting my eyes.

“I want to know if you were able to come up with anyone who would like to see you in here,” I said.

“Pounding the lid on my coffin?” he said with a mirthless smile.

“Let’s just say, in the interest of doing my duty, I’m giving you one final chance to pry it back open.”

Jenks snorted skeptically. “Sherman tells me I’m about to be charged in Napa with two more murders. Isn’t that great? If this is an offer of assistance, I think I’ll take my chances on proving it myself.”

“I didn’t come here to trap you, Mr. Jenks. I came to hear you out.”

Leff leaned over and whispered in his ear. He seemed to be encouraging Jenks to talk.

The prisoner looked up with a disgusted glare. “Someone’s running around, intent to look like me, familiar with my first novel. This person also wants to see me suffer. Is it so hard to figure out?”

“I’m willing to hear any names,” I told him.

“Greg Marks.”