“Maybe I’m making up the fact that there was plenty of acid damage on her teeth because she was a bulimic. They found that during the autopsy,” I shot back. “But why should you care? Trina was just using you. When she moved to New York she hooked up with someone rich who took really good care of her, in case you’re wondering why she hadn’t called you in all this time. You know Trina likes the finer things in life.”

He sank into the chair behind the desk. It groaned under him in protest. As he looked up at me, his lips trembled like a big baby’s. He felt sorry for himself, the bastard. For Trina, too, even though she had abandoned him. He didn’t give a damn about Claudia. His fat, round head dropped to his chest and he started to sob. “Trina… Trina…” he burbled.

I stared at him, every inch of me filled with hatred. I wanted to grab the gun and shoot him, but that wouldn’t be enough punishment. “Death is too good for you. You deserve to suffer.”

Someone pounded on the front door. Herrold lifted his head, his face filled with terror. In the only swift, unclumsy motion I saw him make, he raised the gun, put it against his temple, and fired.

CHAPTER 38

Jesse answered the door when the police came. I heard their boots beating down the hallway, then one shouting “The body’s in here!” A minute later I felt hands on my shoulders as someone lifted me to my feet from the cold tile of the kitchen floor. I was still clutching my cell phone and someone took it from me. “My sister’s dead,” I said, breaking down completely. I sank back to the floor and the police let me stay there for a while. In the background, I could hear the frantic yipping of the little dog over their voices, until someone took it out of the house.

Horrible as watching Herrold shoot himself was, it was nothing compared to finding out what had happened to Claudia. He deserved to die, I told myself. He switched Claudia’s records. Trina Greene and Brenda Collins had killed her. Maybe they hadn’t started out with a plan to murder her, but if Herrold was right and Claudia had accidentally overdosed, the two women had lost no time taking advantage of the situation. However it had happened, my sister was gone.

I’d been devastated a week ago, when Renfrew called and told me that my sister was dead. But, I realized now, that was nothing. Deep in my heart I’d always been afraid that Claudia would die young. She had soared through the world with the force of a comet, a bright heavenly body bound to burn out fast. I thought I’d accepted that as her bargain with the world. I was wrong.