Excerpt from Death in Mud Lick by Eric Eyre, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Debbie was helping to care for an elderly man on kidney dialysis, and she still thought Kiser was a respectable doctor. She would call him for instructions about what color of dialysis bag to administer based on the man's blood work. Balancing the chemical levels wasn't easy. She respected Kiser's medical advice and appreciated his help. He didn't ask for anything in return. Even when Debbie heard about the charges against Kiser in February 2005, the news didn't change her opinion.

"They're saying they're going to indict me over your brother's death," Kiser told Debbie.

Kiser was hatching a cover-up for Bull's death, and somehow he had convinced Debbie to take part. At first, Debbie thought she was doing the right thing. She wanted to help Kiser. He had always helped her. They kept talking on the phone, never in person. Then one Sunday in November 2005, Kiser's girlfriend showed up at Debbie's house. Debbie handed her the brown envelope with Bull's MRI tucked inside. She never looked at it. She couldn't remember where or when it had been taken—probably at the hospital emergency room in Louisa, after the mine accident.

And now that her brother was dead, she was giving it up, just like that, a willing accomplice. She watched Kiser's girlfriend—Debbie's former sister-in-law—drop the envelope in the trunk of her car, close the hood, and drive away to Kiser's new office in Ohio.

Weeks later, Debbie started having second thoughts. Everyone knew Kiser was writing prescriptions for pain pills. Why else would vanloads of addicts travel three hours to see him? She was helping the doctor who had written the prescription that killed her brother. Had she lost her mind? Had she forgotten her promise? Finally, she picked up the phone and called the Mingo County sheriff and then the prosecutor.

"I've done something I probably shouldn't have done," she confessed.

Excerpted from Death in Mud Lick by Eric Eyre. Copyright © 2020 by Eric Eyre. Excerpted by permission of Scribner. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.