“Arrest… me?” There were tears in his eyes. “I didn’t do anything to Claudia, I swear. I just… I just did what Trina asked me to do.”

“And what did Trina want?”

“She said I had to… to switch the records.”

“Switch the…” I couldn’t catch my breath. “The dental records.”

Herrold blinked back tears and nodded quickly. “I didn’t kill anyone, I swear.”

“Kill… anyone?”

“It wasn’t Trina, either. Brenda called her and told her Claudia had overdosed at her house. It was an accident, but Brenda was terrified she’d be sent to prison. Brenda’s brother would’ve gone to jail, too.”

“So it was Brenda’s fault.”

“Yes, exactly.” He nodded so hard I heard his neck creak. “They didn’t know what to do. They finally got ahold of Brenda’s brother and he came up with a plan to… hide what happened. Brenda had to get away from her husband anyway… Corey said it was like killing two birds with one stone.” His eyes were darting wildly as the words tumbled out of his mouth. “And Trina just wanted to help Brenda, Brenda was her good friend, so she had her come in here and I X-rayed Brenda’s teeth. Then Trina… she made me switch the X-rays with your sister’s.”

I was reeling. The body the police had found at Brenda Collins’s house, the body that was burned beyond recognition was Claudia’s. My sister was dead.

Herrold couldn’t seem to stop talking. “Corey said somebody had to rent a car using your sister’s license, and it couldn’t be Brenda so it had to be Trina. So Trina dyed her hair black and put on makeup like your sister wore. She had to get Brenda out of town. That’s the only reason she went to New York. She stayed for a while to help Brenda find a place… and then, I don’t know, she just ended up staying longer… like she never planned to come back.”

Herrold lowered the gun and held it by his side with a twitching arm. “What are they going to do to me?” he pleaded. “I didn’t hurt anyone, I swear. Trina promised she’d marry me. I only did it to help her. Your sister’s death, it was an accident. Nobody should go to jail for an accident.”

“You’re going to go to prison and rot there for the rest of your miserable life.”

Herrold’s purple tongue flicked over his lips. “I bet you’re lying about the police. I didn’t see anyone outside.” His blubbery face took on a sly look. “I bet you’re lying about Trina, too.”