“If you didn’t, something would be wrong.” She smiled again. “You are a good sister. You’re doing what’s right. Shuǐ dī shí chuān. You remember what that means?”

“Dripping water pierces a stone.”

“That’s right. You are strong. Tenacious. You will pierce the stone. Just be careful.”

“I’m careful.”

“Bad things never walk alone,” she warned. “Keep that in mind.”

CHAPTER 33 DEIRDRE

CHAPTER 33

DEIRDRE

The Diotima website didn’t list a mailing address, but Adinah Gerstein sent me an address in Greenwich Village, at the corner of University Place and Twelfth Street. The building turned out to be doorman-free, so I let myself in and took the elevator up to the seventh floor. A plaque on the door identified it as Dr. Gerstein’s suite. The building was on the old and crumbly side, but inside the office was airy and modern, with white walls, framed prints by Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe, and flowering plants dotting the reception area. A poster of The Two Fridas caught my eye. On the left was the artist in a formal white European gown; on the right she was in a colorful Tehuana costume. The pair held hands and seemed to share a heart that had been cut out of the woman in the white dress, who was holding a pair of scissors and had blood on her skirt.

“Hello, Deirdre. I’m so glad you reached out.”

I turned and saw the willowy woman I’d met at Caroline’s funeral. Her braids were down, loosely gathered at the nape of her neck, but she looked just as elegant.

“Thanks for seeing me on such short notice, Dr. Gerstein.”

“It’s Adinah. I’m only ‘Doctor’ to my patients.” She led me into her office and gestured at a plush armchair. “Please, sit down.”

Her office was small but cozy, with green plants on every available surface. She returned to her perch behind her desk, making me feel like the doctor was in.

I didn’t know how to start. “I feel like I’m going in circles,” I said. “I loved my sister, but we weren’t that close. And now that she’s gone . . .” I took a breath. “I feel like everyone has an agenda when they talk about her. I don’t know how to judge what they say, if it’s true.”

“How much does it matter?” she asked.

I considered that. “Caro wrote me a message to read after she died.” There was a hard lump in my throat.

“Delivered by Osiris’s Vault?” Adinah asked.

“How did you know?”