Decker said, “You know, if I were to believe any part of your story, I’d believe the part about your brother and Decameron. Which would mean that Bram, more than anyone, would have a reason to shut Decameron up.”

“Except Bram wasn’t there. The evidence you have against him is mine! Sure, the bloody clothes fit him. Because we wear the same size. And yeah, the shoes fit him too. Because we have the same shoe size. Maybe you even have blood evidence, because picking up the magazines, I sliced myself several times. You don’t have his blood, pal. You’ve got my blood. We’re identical twins.”

Decker hoped his face was registering neutral. Inside, he could feel his heart taking flight in his chest. He waited a beat, then said, “We have other things.”

“You found my cross, then.”

Decker couldn’t hide his astonishment. He was silent for a long time. Then he said, “Didn’t know you were that religious.”

“I’m not but old habits are hard to break.” Luke looked at the mirror. “How you all doing over there?”

“Luke—”

“It was given to me when I…when Bram, Paul, and I were confirmed as teenagers. We all got the same present—a Walkman and a gold cross engraved with the name Sparks on the back. No initial, mind you, just Sparks. Our crosses are interchangeable. My parents weren’t big on personalization.”

Decker was silent.

“Anyway,” Luke continued, “mine has had a loose clasp for years. Never got around to fixing it. Maybe I secretly wanted to lose it. Not in a pile of dead bodies, but God works in mysterious ways.”

“I’m supposed to believe this?”

Luke said, “This morning, while I was taking a shower, thinking about what I had to do, I noticed my neck was bare. I looked around my apartment, couldn’t find it. I knew what must have happened. It came off at Decameron’s place. Then I knew why you arrested Bram.”

He leaned over the tabletop.

“If Bram wears anything over his shirt, it’s a Roman Catholic crucifix—a big silver thing with Jesus on it. But he also wears his boyhood confirmation cross inside his shirt. You booked him, you stripped him of his personal belongings. Go back and check your bags, Lieutenant. You’ll find his cross there. Would it make sense for Bram to be wearing two identical crosses? Man, even he’s not that fanatical.”

Luke grew impatient.

“Look, my brother didn’t murder Decameron. He wasn’t even anywhere near the house. He was with my mom in the morning, at his church in the afternoon.”

Decker was quiet.

“Yes, I know there were time gaps. Maybe he sneaked into Decameron’s house between Reggie’s phone call to me and before he visited my mother. That means he had to have been there around seven-thirty in the morning.”

“So?”