I said, "So you've never been close."

"Elise always resented me and I got tired of trying to earn her approval. Despite that, I'm crushed by her death. Do you have any idea who could do such a terrible thing?"

Milo shook his head. "That's why we're here."

"Well, I wish I could tell you something profound, Lieutenant, but the harsh truth is, my sister and I have been virtual strangers since birth."

"Why'd she resent you?" I said.

Instead of answering, she said, "I always felt it, a wall--there might as well have been a physical barrier. When we were teenagers it blossomed to outright hostility and we ended up barely tolerating each other. Being the baby, I grew up thinking it was my fault, something I'd done to alienate her. Eventually, I came to realize it was because of what I was." Pause. "The favored child." Eyelash flutter, a flicker of frown. "Which, in our family, meant the ignored child."

I said, "Parental attention wasn't much of a prize."

She waved a hand. "Like I said, guys, reminiscence is for losers."

"Your parents--"

"We had one functional parent, Father. Mother was a non-entity, a shadow, just a total dishrag. She came from a poor family, never finished high school. That allowed Father to convince her he'd bestowed a great gift by deigning to wed her. I always suspected they married because he got her pregnant with Elise."

"His family was prominent?"

"Not in the sense of being rich, but they were highly educated. His father was a physics professor at Hopkins, his mother taught violin. I'm sure Mother was initially impressed." Dagger-point laugh. "She died when I was three and Elise was five and I'm not even sure the memories I have of her are accurate. All of them revolve around drudgery--down on her knees scrubbing something, as if she was the maid. I suppose she was, we never had help."

I said, "After she died is when the problems began."

Her mouth hardened. "What are you getting at?"

"Paternal attention not being welcome."

Her mug faltered. She held it with both hands until it steadied, ran a finger under her bangs. "I've worked hard at resolving, so I can talk about it. But I don't see how it relates to what happened to Elise."

"Anything that helps us understand Elise is useful."

More hair-curling. She picked up a cowry shell, massaged it, laid it down. "He was a monster. He damaged Elise and that prevented the two of us from becoming real sisters. The pathetic thing is Elise and I had so much in common. We liked the same music, enjoyed the same subjects in school, both of us became teachers. Though I never need to work. We could've had a fantastic relationship if that bastard hadn't fucked things up."