Patrick sat still, watching her walk over to the wall of pictures, taking down and handing him one of Marisa as a bride, Sam as her maid of honor. The man with Marisa had to be Paul—tall, blond, full of life and joy. Then Sam handed him another—of Sam and her sister holding a baby between them.

“My niece,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I loved her as if she were my own. I'm her godmother, and no one ever took that role more seriously.”

“I'm sure that's true,” Patrick said, watching her stare at the picture.

“After Paul died, my sister was so vulnerable. She was really almost out of her mind—I know, because I was there. Everything was too much for her. That's why I had to stay for a month. She had this investment advisor—”

“Edward Hunter,” Patrick said.

Sam looked up, shocked. “We called him Ted. You know him?”

“Yes. I was a detective, and he was a suspect in one of my cases.”

“Then I don't need to tell you.”

“Nope. You don't.”

“He was a user. I held back from telling her what I thought—because she seemed so happy. He was there—right time, right place. She told me he was helping her pick up the pieces. Instead, she shattered into a million more.”

“She wouldn't listen to you?”

“She wouldn't even talk to me.”

Patrick watched the fire return to her green eyes. They flashed with anger as she stared down at the picture of her sister and niece. “He took her away from me,” Sam said. “First she stopped calling me. Then she began dodging my calls. Grace would phone me, tell me that her mother was in bed crying. I'd say put her on, but Patty wouldn't take my call. When I'd finally get through to her, she'd say everything was great—she was fine, Ted was wonderful, they were all so happy. I wanted to throw up.”

“You must have been really worried.”

“Worried and frustrated. Angry. I actually considered going up and getting Gracie out of there. I am her godmother, after all.”

“Maybe that wouldn't have been such a bad idea.”

“After a while, my sister wouldn't let me near her. She was so busy protecting Ted. It was a nightmare.”

“I'm sure it was for her too,” Patrick said.

Sam gave him a long, hard look. “She made her choices.”

“That coming from you?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“A world health nurse,” he said. “Who cares about the well-being of women. What about your sister?”

“The sister I knew and adored disappeared. She doesn't exist anymore.”

“How do you know?” Patrick asked. “You haven't seen her in a long time.”

“I can't stand to see her,” Sam said. “It's too hard, seeing a woman who's afraid of her own shadow. And teaching her daughter to be afraid of hers.”