“Cards on the table,” said Bruxton. He put both hands on the table and leaned forward, so that his face hovered close to mine. I guessed he was in his late thirties, but up close I saw the fault lines etched into his face. The lines made him look older, but the scars made him seem dangerous. “When were you planning to tell us about your mother?”

“My mother?” My mouth was dry. “What does she have to do with this?”

“We know,” he said ominously.

“Know what?” I wasn’t going to make this easy for him. If he wanted to dredge up the past, he could do it alone.

“Your mother killed herself on New Year’s Eve eleven years ago.”

I stared back at him silently while my stomach clenched in a Gordian knot. For a moment I felt eighteen again, as if I were hearing the news for the first time, feeling it with the force of a slap. Bruxton’s voice was as flat and jaded as that of the officer who had told me about my mother. There was something triumphant in his face that made it clear he knew more than he was saying. He expected me to roll over in shock, or break down in tears. Instead my hands clenched into fists under the metal table and my nails sliced into my palms. “What does that have to do with this dead woman I’ve never met before?”

Bruxton stood up straight. “You’re a hard case, aren’t you?”

“What do you think my mother has to do with this?” I said, my temper boiling over. “What, is that your first line of investigation when you find a dead body?”

“No, but in this case…” Bruxton snarled back.

“How did you find out about my mother?”

There was an awkward glance between the detectives. “Actually, Brux was—” Renfrew started to say, but her partner cut her off.

“A neighbor mentioned it,” he said.

“What neighbor?” I demanded.

“From down the hall. Sarah Lyons.”

The face of the woman I’d met the day before floated into my mind. Claudia told me a little of your family history, she’d said. I imagined her gleefully spilling every ounce of gossip she’d gathered to the police. She’d pretend to be concerned, but deep down this was amusing for her. I’d disliked her when she’d shown up at Claudia’s door; now I loathed her.

“Lily, it’s important you understand,” Renfrew continued. “We need to know all the facts in an investigation. Even if they don’t seem relevant to you.”