1st to Die

Nicholas meets with Lindsay and Jill again, still insisting that he is being set up. However, when asked who might be doing it, he cannot give a name.

Jill and Lindsay run into Chessy Jenks as they leave their meeting with Nicholas. Chessy insists that Nicholas is not capable of murder and reveals that Joanna has been coming to the house for visits over the past few months. 

Dr. Medved informs Lindsay that her aplastic anemia has progressed to stage three. He agrees to give her one more month of treatment before insisting she begin preparation for a bone marrow transplant.

Chris and Lindsay spend a long weekend at his cabin on Mason Ridge. They enjoy swimming and boating together.

Lindsay finally tells Chris about her diagnosis and its potential outcome. He does not hesitate to remain by her side.

Once back home, Lindsay goes over the evidence in Nicholas’s case, reflecting on a detail from Always a Bridesmaid: That book’s main character was set up to take the fall for the murders. She wonders whether Nicholas is telling the truth and remembers that Claire insisted the killer was right-handed, while Nicholas is left handed.

Lindsay shares her doubt that Nicholas is the killer with Jill, Cindy, and Claire. They argue with her and Jill refuses to take any action without evidence.

Lindsay investigates whether Joanna Wade could be the killer. Nicholas’s former agent Greg Marks tells her that Joanna sued Nicholas multiple times because she supported him financially while he worked on his first few novels, and then he left her just months before his first book became a bestseller. Lindsay thinks Joanna has motive to set up Nicholas.

Lindsay tells Chris her thoughts on Joanna Wade. Chris doesn’t believe a woman would have been strong enough to kill David Brandt, but Lindsay argues that as a professional Tae-Bo instructor, Joanna is “tough enough” (354). As they speak, Lindsay has another fainting spell.

Lindsay wakes in Chris’s arms and he chastises her for working too hard in her condition.