1st to Die

Lindsay calls Kathy’s sister Hillary, convinced that Hillary knows the identity of Kathy’s ex-boyfriend. However, Hillary hangs up on Lindsay.

Lindsay speaks to Merrill again before leaving Ohio. Merrill still denies knowing the abuser’s name but insists that Hillary knows it.

Lindsay arrives home still determined to get Hillary to give up the man’s name. Lindsay’s hematologist Dr. Medved calls and asks her to come in for some news.

Lindsay updates Claire and Cindy on the case. Cindy volunteers to look into Kathy. Lindsay also tells them about her moment with Chris, which opens a discussion about spontaneous romance. Lindsay feels left out when she discovers she’s the only one without such a story.

Dr. Medved tells Lindsay that her blood counts are getting lower and orders her to undergo more frequent packed red blood cell transfusions.

Lindsay calls Claire to share the bad news before spending the evening watching her favorite movie.

Lindsay learns that Kathy’s trips to San Francisco after she moved to Seattle were not work related—possibly Kathy was still involved with her abusive boyfriend. Lindsay tries again to get Kathy’s family to talk; finally, Kathy’s mother relents and names Nicholas Jenks.

Nicholas Jenks is a best-selling novelist and an investor in Black Hawk Partners—owners of the winery where the DeGeorges were found. Lindsay shares this with her boss, but he believes the evidence is “beyond circumstantial” (231). As she leaves the Hall of Justice, Lindsay learns that Nicholas Jenks bought a case of the same champagne that was found in the Brandt hotel room.

Lindsay runs out of the Hall of Justice to a nearby bookstore to find a copy of Nicholas Jenks’s most recent book. Lindsay feels she is looking into the face of a killer as she studies the photo on the back cover.