by Mary Bush
“She’s afraid of me! That’s the best crap I’ve heard in a while. Take a look at her and tell me that you don’t believe this isn’t Julia!” Val continued to defend herself before he finally managed to interrupt her.
“Val, I can’t protect you. You’re damn lucky she hasn’t pressed charges against you. It’s only a matter of time before Dr. Blythe hears about this, if he doesn’t know already.”
She continued to listen but didn’t say anymore. What could she say? With a threat of a lawsuit, Gavin wasn’t about to go near Molly Dolan. It was only after he had assured her she wouldn’t be bothered again, and Val would be dealt with, that Molly backed off on her threats. Gavin made it clear that this woman was to be left alone.
“What do you think?” Val turned to Gwen for comfort after ending the call. “I guess I’m swimming with the sharks now.”
“If you’re going to swim with the sharks, you really ought to make sure you don’t chum the water,” Gwen said, and then put her arm around Val’s shoulder. “Dr. Blythe’s going to fire you.”
“I know.”
“Well, I probably won’t be far behind.”
After Gwen left, Val walked into her bathroom. Her arm throbbed in pain. The bitten spot was red and swollen and a bruise was already forming. Luckily the skin wasn’t broken. Inspecting the bite, Val had an idea and knew what she needed to do. Time was ticking. She was due to report for work in the next hour. Dr. Blythe would be waiting for her. She reached into her cupboard and pulled out a box of Q-tips. Softening the tips under the tap water, she swabbed the bitten area for salivary DNA.
When Val arrived at the medical examiner’s office Howie grabbed her as soon as she walked in. “I wanted to get you before Candace did. She’s looking for you. She’s eager to let you know Blythe wants to see you in his office as soon as you get here.” He started to say more but Val didn’t need him to soften the blow: she knew what was coming.
She thanked Howie, hugging him for his sincerity, deciding not to prolong the inevitable. She looked at her small office space and thought it wouldn’t take long to pack her belongings. After her meeting with Dr. Blythe, Val knew she’d be out on the street. Holding her head up as high as she could, she went to his office.
“Dr. Blythe, you wanted to see me.”
“Valentina, come in. Please shut the door behind you.” As she approached his desk, he pointed to a chair. “Sit.”
The event seemed surreal. She was moving in slow motion. Val only hoped that she wouldn’t be escorted out by security. She wanted to leave with what little was left of her dignity.
“Why have you been harassing a Molly Dolan? She’s phoned me directly and lodged a fairly serious complaint against you and this office. She’s even moved out of the Airbnb she was renting so that you couldn’t find her again.”
Val just shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea what to say, how to respond without sounding crazy.
“Valentina, there’s a reason for it. And if you tell me, I’m willing to listen.” His voice was searching and his eyes locked on hers. If ever Val had a positive moment with Dr. Blythe this was it. The way he looked at her, the tone in his voice, the fact that he hadn’t fired her and showed her the door already, made Val pause. Should she trust him?
“Are you going to fire me?” she asked.
“Not yet. For now, I’m going to place you on a leave of absence, pending review of this matter. This will buy some time.” He leaned towards her. “Val, if you can think of anything you need to say, tell me. I’m very interested in anything pertaining to Julia. I might be able to help.”
His words were comforting, lulling. And oddly, he hadn’t fired her immediately. She thought about the DNA swabs, but just couldn’t confide in Dr. Blythe. Not now. She was walking around so many traps that she didn’t know which one was ready to grab her. The DNA was something she knew she had to take care of herself.
Val silently left the medical examiner’s office. Before heading home, she had one stop—the Erie County Crime Lab. It took less than an hour to drop off her DNA samples, though she did hold one back. The request on the testing was stat. She listed her cell phone number as the point of contact. As a death scene investigator, dropping off samples for testing was common. No one questioned her. No one knew what her current employment status was. A leave of absence was a far cry from termination.
I’ve got her now! Val almost said it out loud.
Several days later, The DNA results came in. They were negative, proving that Molly Dolan and Julia DeHaviland were not one and the same. Val didn’t know which way to turn. This was just impossible.
She had one last hope, something else to test for, but there was no way she could do this without Dr. Blythe’s help. Should she take it? He was the only one who could do what she needed. She wished she could talk with Jack but that would be impossible. Today, Thomas was undergoing bypass surgery and she couldn’t bother Jack now for guidance. Val needed to stand on her own two feet. She knew she had to, and she knew she could do it. She’d learned to interrogate people, sense deception. Val finally confronted Dr. Blythe.
“Why do you want to help me, Dr. Blythe?” she asked.
“Because she’s after me too, Val. She was reviewing my cases and, for some reason, she’s after me.”
For some reason, she’s after me. Val had the same problem. This, they shared.
40
Val put her phone down on her couch. She’d been speaking to Dr. Blythe for nearly a half hour. The last test result was finally in and he explained everything to her. Now to tell Gwen, who was in the chair opposite her, eating some dinner.
A pizza and a box of chicken wings sat on Val’s living room coffee table. She and Gwen had already polished off one bottle of wine. Val began to open the second one.
“Only in Buffalo could you find a vintage that’s advertised as going well with pizza and wings,” Gwen said. Gwen had been staying with Val for the last few days. Val lived in constant fear and until Julia was caught, she didn’t want to be alone.
“I think this is cheap crap,” Val remarked about the wine as she filled both of their glasses.
“It’s called Hot Stuff and has a picture of a chicken wing on the label. What did you think you were going to get when you bought it?”
“Hey, I’m more than likely on a murderer’s hit list. I can have what I want to drink to ease that stress.”
Gwen didn’t laugh. “Val, do you think it’s a good idea to trust Dr. Blythe?”
“Absolutely. He just gave me information that shows Julia DeHaviland and Molly Dolan must be one and the same. In fact, he’s already told Gavin about it.”
Gwen gave a skeptical look. “How did Blythe do that? DNA said they’re different people.”
“She passed the DNA test but failed the antibody test,” Val said.
“Antibody test?”
“Yes. The infection Lauren has. The species is Vibrio vulnificus. This one is a rare and virulent strain found in warm water mostly in the coastal area around the Gulf of Mexico. This bug can enter the body one of two ways, either ingestion of contaminated seafood, which makes you physically ill, or through an open wound. We know Lauren got her infection through an opening in her skin during her surgical procedure. Infection of a wound with this kind of bacteria leads to a rapidly spreading skin infection.”
Gwen listened carefully as Val continued to explain. “The person, who’s claiming to be Molly Dolan had the same infection. She has antibodies to it, antibodies to the same rare strain of Vibrio. Her saliva sample proved it. There’s a special type of oral fluid that flows out of the gum tissue around the teeth. It’s called crevicular fluid. It’s clear, and looks just like saliva, but it’s similar in content to blood since it’s derived from blood plasma. Antibody concentrations are high in this fluid and can be used to detect diseases that an individual has been exposed to.”
Gwen looked shocked as she started to see the significance of what Val was telling her.
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“Lauren hasn’t been outside of Buffalo in over two years, Colin even longer than this. Only one person could have given Lauren this type of infection. Only the person who removed Lauren’s mole could have done it. Julia must have had the infection herself first, then took care of it right away with the correct antibiotic,” Val said. “Oh, by the way, they use doxycycline to fight it.”
Val took a sip of her wine. “And if you need more to convince you Julia and Molly are one and the same, let me try this. There was only one person again who could have infected Lauren and also have known about my Florida license. There is also only one person who could have done all of this and incriminated Colin by washing his clothes. What are the chances now this is someone other than Julia?”
“Julia passed the DNA test. How did she do that?”
“I think it all has to do with the blood and teeth found in Julia’s house. They did match each other, as well as the bloody fingerprint that Colin left, but that crime scene was staged. Thomas and Jack knew it was. If this is true, it’s pretty clever because it throws all suspicion away from her. In fact, for all practical purposes, it proves that Molly Dolan and Julia DeHaviland can’t be one and the same because the evidence left in that house doesn’t match Molly.”
Gwen’s eyes opened wide. “The teeth and blood belong to someone else.”
“They have to. Gavin only had the crime lab compare the DNA of the blood and the teeth to other personal items in the house to confirm the identity of Julia. That’s pretty standard.” Val shook her head. “Even if they were to look for Molly’s DNA there, Molly was Julia’s friend. And if Molly’s DNA is found in the house, so what, she visited her friend. She’s covered her ass any way you look at it.”
“Jesus Christ, Val, this woman is dangerous.”
“Dangerous is an understatement. She kills people to get what she wants. She’s smart and her moves are calculated. I think she purposely bit me because she knew DNA would clear her. There’s no way that was an accident.”
“What do you think she wants? I mean, what or who is she after?”
“I think this case is mostly about the insurance money. It’s a deadly scam. But the bizarre part is that there are two trails to the same scam that don’t seem to come together. Think about it. Jeanne Coleman, leaves her insurance money to Lorelei Sebastian, a woman no one can find. Francine’s hiding the documents: she was in on this. She had to have been. And here is where the tree starts to branch. Francine and Julia must have been childhood friends: the picture found in Samantha’s apartment suggests it. They were taking the same antibiotic, doxycycline. They must have had the same infection. They’re connected. Connected on this scam, somehow. Now Julia leaves her money, a lot of it, to Molly Dolan.” Val drained what was left in her glass. “As far as who she’s after, I’m on her list.”
“Is there enough evidence to at least arrest her?”
“Jesus, I hope so.”
41
The car was parked about thirty yards away from the house. The woman who said she was Molly Dolan sat behind the steering wheel, waiting, watching for the right time. One by one the windows had gone dark as the lights were finally turned off. They had been that way for nearly an hour. The people inside should be asleep by now.
After the confrontation at her rental in Ellicottville, Molly made sure to find out who Gwen was. She’d only seen Gwen going into the house tonight. This meant that there were only two of them inside. This should be easier than expected.
Slowly, Molly opened the car door and stepped out. She shut the door softly, then quickly crossed the lawn, rounding to the back of the house, stopping just outside the back door.
Now, how to get in?
That would be simple.
She had been prepared for this moment for a while now. One should always make things as simple as possible. She thought back to the day at the medical examiner’s office when she had taken Val’s keys from her jacket pocket and had a copy made. She had been taken aback when she went to return them and saw the jacket was missing. But she’d always been quick-thinking, so she’d decided at that moment to place the keys on the floor as if they had slipped out of the pocket.
Silently, she entered the kitchen and walked through to the living room. Quickly, she made her way up the stairs, to the bedrooms. There were two. In the first one Gwen rested soundly. Molly pushed open the door to the second; here Val tossed and turned but she didn’t seem to be awake.
Molly went back to the first room and watched Gwen for a few minutes, making sure she was soundly asleep. She reached into her bag and pulled out a syringe. Then she hovered over Gwen, waiting for the right moment. She aimed carefully. Then in one quick motion, plunged in the needle.
Gwen eyes flew open at the sting. She stared at the woman who stood over her, as if trying to comprehend what she was seeing, but before any sound could come from her mouth, Gwen’s eyes rolled back.
“You’re going to be out for a while,” Molly whispered. She’d given Gwen a sedative that took effect almost immediately, and more importantly was metabolized completely. In a few hours, it wouldn’t be detectable in her system anymore. For now, an earthquake couldn’t wake her up. Molly needed Gwen alive. Gwen, in this crime, was going to be the assumed assailant, suspected of killing Val.
In Val’s room, the plan was a little different. She wanted Val to truly experience terror before she was ripped apart. So, timing was far more important with the drugs she planned to use now. What strategy beats a victim who can’t fight back? It would take almost two minutes for the pancuronium to incapacitate her. That was long enough for Val to fight back and Molly just couldn’t risk it.
To solve this problem, she first placed a rag soaked in chloroform gently over Val’s face.
Molly couldn’t do this with Gwen. There would be a possibility of the chloroform being detected in Gwen’s system. For Val, it didn’t matter. If drugs were found, it would only incriminate Gwen further.
Val’s body jerked as the rag was held over her mouth and nose. She finally went limp as she passed out. Next, Molly gave her the pancuronium and waited.
“Time to wake up, sleepyhead.”
Someone was patting Val’s cheek. It took a couple of taps before her eyes slowly opened. She tried to lift her arms, to turn her head, but she couldn’t move at all and immediately began to panic. Her lungs attempted to inhale as she gasped for air. She felt like a fish out of water, gills moving, but completely ineffectively.
Again, the cheek patting. “Val. Pay attention now. It’s Julia. Are you afraid of me?” The tone became taunting. “You should be.”
Val stared blankly. Her heart banged against her chest. She heard Julia’s voice. The sound of it was terrifying. Struggling to move, to do something, to just get out of this, Val realized it was no use. She was trapped.
“Actually, I’m the person you knew as Julia. I stole her identity a long time ago. As you know, I’m calling myself Molly now.”
Desperately, Val tried to breathe but it felt as if she had a thousand pounds sitting on her ribcage. Swallowing was also difficult and the back of her throat began to fill with saliva, making her panic more.
“What happened to the real Julia DeHaviland? We both worked for the same organization. Julia made the mistake of telling me about this big new house she had bought in Buffalo. She was really looking forward to moving into it. She was also getting ready to set up a surgery practice. Julia had quite a large sum in savings, which made it easy for her to do all of this, and easy for me to do what I wanted to do. Two weeks after our mission, we went back to the States. I asked Julia if I could stay with her for a while. She agreed.” Molly went quiet for a few seconds and Val couldn’t tell what was going on, where Molly was. “After I killed Julia, a friend of mine got me the job at the medical examiner’s office and then helped me do the job.”
The word friend caught Val’s attention. She thought, Oh my God, did I place my confidence in the wrong person?
/> Molly laughed, “You know Julia’s biggest worry about coming back to the U.S. was that she didn’t know anyone in Buffalo. She said that making friends was hard for her. She was happy to have me with her. Honestly, Val, she wasn’t a good judge of character.”
Val’s chest ached terribly and saliva had pooled to the point that she felt like she was drowning. The pain was becoming unbearable. I have to fight this, or I am going to die. Val forced herself to pay less attention to the agony and more to the person speaking. There was only one way to escape from this lunatic. And Val had to be ready.
“Why did I kill Julia? It was nothing personal, I just wanted her identity. She was part of my brilliant plan to become wealthy. Do you know how easy it is to assume someone’s identity and then make a lot of money? I mean, actually become that person and then become rich? Let me tell you. It’s so easy, it’s almost shocking, especially if you know what you are doing… and have the stomach for it.”
Val begged for her body to move but the drug had to run its course. Molly seemed to think there was plenty of time, because she wasn’t in any rush. Val knew she had to let Molly keep believing this. It was the only way out. Val knew how pancuronium worked: she read up on it after she learned that this drug was used on Samantha Ritcher, and this knowledge was going to get her out of this hellish nightmare.
“So many people with this identity theft thing are such small potatoes it’s laughable. I don’t want your credit card to go shopping for trinkets, or even use your name to get a mortgage. If I want to become you, and if you’re still alive, what use is that to me? If you’re dead, you can be worth your weight in gold to the right miner.”
Val’s chest continued to quiver. After a few minutes, the vibration slowed and she was finally able to swallow. Her lungs started to suck in a little more air, and when they did, she inhaled as deeply as she could.