Over the Edge by Brandilyn Collins

very same area. And since you've tapped those two lines—nothing. Except a supposed call to the hospital—which no one else heard."
    "Wait, back up. You think your wife made those phone calls herself? "
    "Apparently so. She let it slip that she knows about cell phone tracing from watching true crime shows on TV. So she knew she couldn't just make up the calls—she actually had to receive them. I figure she bought a throwaway phone and dialed herself."
    Janessa McNeil would do that? "But if she knows about call tracing, she'd know the calls would trace back to her own area."
    "True. But that would just make it look even worse—like the man was stalking her. He was in close proximity."
    Jud stared at a spot on the wall, trying to make sense of the doctor's suspicions. They did fit what little evidence he'd gathered. But Jud could not imagine them fitting Mrs. McNeil.
    "You mentioned something about the man calling your wife's hospital room?"
    McNeil shook his head. "That's what she claims. Now he's supposedly threatening Lauren. Talk about upping the ante. Believe me, I wouldn't let anything happen to my daughter, but I know that phone call never happened. Jannie tried to tell me a nurse overheard the conversation, but when I talked to the woman she didn't know anything about it."
    Jud made a note. "What time did she say the call came in?"
    McNeil shrugged. "I don't remember. Sometime yesterday."
    "Yesterday? You never mentioned it."
    McNeil looked away. "I . . . couldn't. I know our phone conversations have been brief. I'm sorry about that. But all these suspicions were rolling around in my head, and I had to sort them out. I didn't want to believe them. I really didn't." McNeil spread his hands. "But when you think about it, there's nothing, not one thing to substantiate her story. Nothing stacks up. And I'm just sick about this. Utterly sick."
    What husband wouldn't be, if he believed such a thing about his wife? "But why would she do this?"
    McNeil regarded him, as if assessing how much he knew. That chilling light in Jud's head grew a little brighter. After all, Sarah was pretty astute. Jud kept his face placid.
    "I don't want my wife humiliated." The doctor spoke with his old force. "And I know you've already put manpower into this case. Plus falsely reporting a crime is a crime in itself. I don't want Jannie in trouble. This has gone far enough. I want you to drop the case."
    Drop the case? "What if you're wrong? What if this stalker really exists?"
    "He doesn't."
    The man was certainly sure of himself.
    Jud's gaze returned to the spot on the wall. He had to admit everything the doctor said could fit. But he still found the story hard to swallow.
    Jud looked back to the doctor. One crucial piece remained missing. But apparently Jud was going to have to back McNeil into a corner before he'd admit it. "Tell me this. Could the man have placed infected ticks on your wife—but she didn't get Lyme?"
    McNeil shrugged. "Yes, it's possible. Everyone reacts differently to the infection. Or maybe they never attached at all."
    "So all the negative test results don't necessarily mean this man doesn't exist."
    "I . . . true."
    "And the phone calls coming from the area near your wife—maybe this bad guy really was that close."
    The doctor leaned forward and looked Jud in the eye. "I'm telling you, she's lying. Close the case."
    "I can't close a criminal investigation simply because a family member asks me to."
    " Do it." McNeil's lips thinned. He straightened his back. "Do I need to tell your chief how you're wasting your time on a case with no evidence when a string of burglaries is yet to be solved?"
    Jud tossed down his pen. The barb about the burglaries hit a little too close.
    "Hear me, detective. I don't want any more embarrassment for Jannie."
    Or maybe for himself?
    Jud stabbed McNeil with a look. So the man wanted to play rough? Fine. "Dr. McNeil, there's one question you haven't yet answered. And I have