“You get what he’s sayin’?” asked Jesse, rising to his feet. “‘Cause I’m gettin’ a Coke. You want a bite to eat?” His eyes cut over to Tariq, including him in the invitation. Jesse was a natural-born host, even when he wanted to strangle his guest.

Tariq ignored the offer. “When did you last speak with Claudia?”

“The beginning of September. Labor Day. I came back to New York and I saw her then.”

“I did not mean the last time you saw her in person. I am aware that you reside in Spain.” Tariq was exasperated. “When did you last speak with her?”

“September.”

He stared at me. “You have not spoken to your own sister in four months?”

I hated that Tariq had put me on the defensive, but I was guilty of being a bad sister. After our last, horrible fight, I’d taken sordid pleasure in pretending Claudia didn’t exist. “I emailed her. I called her in December, several times. I sent her a present at Christmas.” That was scraping the bottom of the answer barrel.

“Really, Lily, was that the best you could manage?” Tariq’s contemptuous eyes bored into mine. “Your only living relative, your own flesh and blood. You were in quite the rush to disown her, were you not?”

I was ashamed and fought to hide it. “What did you mean when you said you weren’t sure when you last saw Claudia?”

“Anything that I did, I did out of concern for your sister.”

Now he was on the defensive. “What did you do, Tariq?”

Tariq looked at his hands and sighed. “Claudia has her own life, I respect that. When we had dinner together in July, it was clear to me that she had fallen in love. She was bursting with energy and hope and optimism. It has been a rather long time since I had seen her like that.” He stared off into the distance again. From the wistfulness in his voice, I imagined Claudia shimmering in front of his eyes, a mirage brought to life by the memory of their own love affair.

“Did you meet him?” I asked bluntly. Tariq had met Martin several times; if Claudia had become involved with my ex, Tariq would know.

“No,” Tariq admitted. Jesse came back into the living room with a couple of bottles of water and his soda. Tariq took a bottle and twisted off the cap. “However, I had one of my associates investigate the situation. I discovered that Claudia’s lover was a pseudo-psychologist of some small renown. He made Claudia believe he would cure her of her demons when all he wanted to do was lure her into his bed.” Tariq’s jealousy uncoiled, cobralike.

“Does the name Alexander Gorevale ring a bell?”

Tariq stared at me. “She told you his name?”

“I found one of Dr. Gorevale’s books in her apartment.”