Chapter 16: The Check

The Frawleys' yard was full of trucks when Morven's hatchback came up the drive.

Nine men from the village stood along the fence in their work coats.

They had come to see Mrs. Frawley home, and now they were watching a woman in a cream coat.

Veronica stood at the foot of the porch steps.

She had a check in one hand and a pen in the other.

Dale stood on the top step with his arms crossed.

Behind him, in the doorway, Mrs. Frawley sat in a kitchen chair with a blanket over her knees.

"Dr. Hallett," Veronica said, without turning. "Good. A witness."

"I'm not your witness."

"You'll want to hear this anyway."

She held the check out to Dale.

"Sixty thousand dollars," she said. "That covers the surgery, the hospital stay and anything your wife needs for a year."

Dale said nothing.

"All I ask is a short statement. The video was a misunderstanding. Cody was under pressure. He said things that weren't accurate."

"Cody said I'm not a doctor," Dale said. "That was accurate."

"It was exaggerated."

"Is it true?"

Veronica's mouth tightened.

"I'm offering your family sixty thousand dollars."

"Is it true?"

"Dale."

"Say it," Dale said. "Say you're not a surgeon. Say it to my wife."

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