Though the door was barely cracked open, the wind had somehow filled the shop. The seashell and driftwood wind chimes hanging from the ceiling fluttered, paintings clattered on the wall, and the breeze across the tops of etched wineglasses zipped and sang. The shop was alive, but Violet’s gaze was centered on her sister and that sweet sound she’d heard.

Then, like a sharp ray of sun breaking out from behind a cloud, Violet realized what hearing Trudy’s voice meant. She had a sudden urge to jump up and cover everyone’s ears before Trudy could continue, to keep them from hearing the words that would indict Trudy.

In a flash she was out of her chair and on her knees in front of her sister. “Don’t do it,” she whispered. “You don’t have to. It’s fine this way.”

Trudy rubbed her throat as if trying to coax life back into it. “It’s okay, Violet.” She cupped Violet’s cheek with her rough hand. “For all these years,” she whispered, “anytime I’d close my eyes, I’d see his hands around your neck. But I’m awake now. It’s time for the truth.” Her voice was dry and raspy, but she gazed out at the group with conviction. “I picked up the brick. I hit him with it. I killed him.”

The room went silent. The wind was gone, and in its place was a stillness that sank deep. The faces of the people in the room registered a range of shock, disbelief, and confusion. As Violet knelt on the floor at Trudy’s feet, she felt the cool metal kiss of the bracelet in her right hand. She didn’t remember Frank giving it back to her.

“Is it true, Violet?” he asked.

She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, then met Frank’s gaze. “It’s true. I didn’t have enough strength left in my hands to hurt him. I knew that. Trudy saved me. She killed Jay to save me. But it was my intention to hurt him—that’s why I went to the dock in the first place. I wanted to hurt him for all he’d done to my sister. For all the ways he’d hurt her. Trudy just got to him first. She did what I couldn’t do.” She ran a fingertip around the bracelet. “It fell off in the boat that night. The clasp was loose. Do you remember that?”

Frank nodded.

“When I realized later that it had likely gone down with the boat, I took it as a sign of what I already knew. You were too good a man for everything that had happened. I worried if you found out what Trudy had done—what we had done—you’d feel the need to turn her in, and I’d promised my mother I’d take care of her. It was my job and I’d already let her down so many times.”

Tears spilled over her bottom lashes and dropped onto her hands. She blotted her cheeks with the backs of her wrists and looked out at the room. “Now you know our story. Finally.” She let out a gust of air. “It’s up to you all what happens now. You can leave or you can stay.”