“No, really, I want to help.” She gave me a bright smile that revealed her perfect, pearly teeth. When I didn’t return it, she lowered her head and sipped at her tea. “I know that this must be such an agonizing time for you. Do you like the tea?”

I’d been ignoring the cup. The smell was pleasant, like cardamom and cinnamon, but when I took a drink all I tasted was alcohol. “What’s in this?”

“Brandy. Mother’s cure-all for everything, remember?”

I looked down at the delicate cup. There was something revolting about it to me, suddenly.

“I should have asked you before putting it in,” Sarah said.

“Don’t worry about it.” I set the cup aside.

“Your friend Jesse said that Claudia died of a heroin overdose. It must be so hard for you, knowing that you couldn’t save her.”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Everyone wanted to save Claudia. Isn’t that funny? Like some poor little bird that fell out of a nest. Have you thought about music for the funeral?”

My answer popped out of my mouth before I could censor myself. “You know, there’s only one thing I’ve decided about the funeral so far. I want to make sure my sister is buried with her engagement ring.”

Sarah’s eyes widened. “Engagement ring?”

My sister had always been regarded as the impulsive one, hopscotching from one crisis to the next. I’d been the quiet girl that adults liked because I got good grades, watched old movies, and tamped my restlessness down in front of prying eyes. But now that restraint was vanishing. “You know, the really beautiful, big, antique diamond ring that the woman who died here was wearing? That was actually my sister’s engagement ring. I guess her impostor took it before she burned Claudia’s body. I mean, what good is a ring to a corpse, right? That must have been what you thought.”

“What I thought?” Sarah set her cup down.

“Remember the woman who discovered the body in the bathtub? She told me that a neighbor had heard her scream and had come into the apartment. That was you, wasn’t it? And before the police showed up, you had the chance to take the ring.” Her face was turning red now. “The bad thing is, you can’t wear it outside, because it’s so distinctive. But you had it on your hand that night I knocked on your door after midnight.”

“The night that I… that I helped you after you’d been attacked.”

“You did help me, Sarah. But you also stole that ring.”

She stared at me for a moment, then reached for her handbag. “I shouldn’t be surprised,” she said suddenly, her voice cold and flat.

“Surprised?”