“Still?”
She nodded glumly.
“That doesn’t bother me,” I assured her. “You know I’m not squeamish.”
“I do know, and I appreciate that,” she said. “But I’m just not up to it. I’m sorry, sweetie; I’ll be off the sick list soon, and I will make it up to you. I promise.”
She crooked her little finger at me again, to make sure I knew she meant it.
“I’m sorry it’s giving you trouble,” I told her, my disappointment giving way to sympathy. “Seems like that’s gotten worse again. You need to go back to the doctor?” She’d had outpatient surgery a year or so ago, to remove a uterine fibroid—a knot of benign tissue—and her cramps and bleeding had lessened afterward. For a while.
“I think it’s just menopause, letting me know it’s headed my way,” she said. “Now turn out the light and spoon me.” She rolled over and snuggled against me. Switching off the light, I wrapped an arm tightly across her chest. Her breathing slowed and deepened, her body twitching as she sank into sleep. As my own breathing found the same cadence as hers, I made a silent wish for her—one last anniversary toast, Walker style: I toast you sleep well and feel better tomorrow.
About the Author
JEFFERSON BASS is the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. Dr. Bass, a world-renowned forensic anthropologist, founded the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility. Jon Jefferson is a veteran journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker.
www.JeffersonBass.com
www.witnessimpulse.com
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Also by Jefferson Bass
Fiction
The Breaking Point
Cut to the Bone
The Inquisitor’s Key
The Bone Yard
The Bone Thief
Bones of Betrayal
The Devil’s Bones
Flesh and Bone
Carved in Bone
Nonfiction
Beyond the Body Farm
Death’s Acre
Copyright
Excerpt from The Breaking Point copyright © 2015 by Jefferson Bass LLC
IDENTITY CRISIS. Copyright © 2015 by Jefferson Bass LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition MAY 2015 ISBN: 9780062419842
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062419897
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