Catch Her in a Lie
By Jess Lourey, first published in Amazon Original Stories
A mother takes her daughter to hide in Costa Rica after her husband is murdered. Meanwhile, a cop with psychic powers pursues them.
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Plot Summary
Patty and her daughter have just arrived at an airport in Liberia surrounded by jungle. Patty hopes to take ger daughter, Gwen, who is fourteen but has cognition of a child half that age, to see live sloths. Meanwhile a Cold Case agent, Van, arrives at the airport with her partner Harry. Van sometimes has visions that help her solve investigations, which has created tension at her last job at Minneapolis PD. Van is investigating the 'Sweet Tea Killer' who kills men by pouring ethylene glycol in a mixed drink. The third victim had been Randall Devries, Patty's husband. Van and Harry check into the same hotel as Patty and Gwen. Van follows them to the pool while Harry searches their room. Afterwards, Harry tells Van that Patty has a gun in the room. They decide she's either optimistic or naive. They are there because all three men killed by the Sweet Tea Killer were connected to Patty. Van also knows that the three men were pedophiles. Van has long been haunted by nightmares attached to abusers like them. That night, in her sleep, she has a vision of Randall. He is sneaking in Gwen's room, reaching towards her. When Van wakes up, she makes a promise to herself to keep Patty out of jail. In the morning, Harry says they won't have any evidence on Patty — but they should investigate Gwen. From her visions, Van knows that Patty did not kill Randall, but she knows who did. Patty waits in her hotel room with her gun aimed at the door, waiting for Randall's killer to come for her. Meanwhile, Van thinks about how after her former partner died, Van's visions had gotten worse. She knew how to stop the visions; she had kill to the men herself. Van enters Patty's room. Van asks Patty if she knew Randall was hurting Gwen. Patty says she had suspected but wasn't sure and was in denial. Van asks Patty why she never told the police that Van was the killer. Patty says she still won't. Harry and Van head home. On the car ride to the airport, Van falls into a deep sleep.