I listened for signs of deception in her words and searched for more in her body language. I wanted to find anything that hinted that she’d known Clare was pregnant. Marisa would’ve been the logical person for Clare to talk to. But I saw only pure confusion and then sadness. “Yes.”

She cleared her throat. “How far along?”

“Five or six weeks, according to the medical examiner. She might not have known herself. Did she appear different to you?”

“Over the holidays I was sick. My stomach always got worse at the holidays. If Clare had been off, it would have been easy for me to miss.”

“Was she dating anyone?” I asked.

“Kurt. They’d been together about six months. And you know they were sexually active.”

“Anyone else?”

She shook her head. “Everyone assumed I’d be the one to get pregnant, but I didn’t sleep around. The idea of physical contact was always unsettling to me. But Clare craved it. She needed to hear she was loved. And as you and I both know, young males will trade sweet words for sex. I could tell when she’d been with a guy, but I never asked with who.”

Finding love in dangerous places. “I can’t believe you didn’t know something, Marisa. You were twins, you shared a room.”

“There was nothing. She was her regular self. But clearly she kept more secrets than I realized.” She traced the rim of her cup. “She used to carry that stupid point-and-shoot camera with her. After she died, I looked everywhere for it but could never find it.”

“Other people mentioned the camera.”

“You said everyone lies. I guess that included Clare, too.” A slight tremor rumbled in her tone. “Clare called me that last night about ten.”

“I remember the call from your phone records.”

“She said she had something to tell me. I lost count of the nights I replayed those words in my head. I’m not even sure if those worn words are even accurate or a blend of truth, time, and that pill I’d taken. Jack was sitting in front of me when she called, so I didn’t say much. I thought I’d see Clare in less than an hour.”

“You said you weren’t feeling well at Christmas.”

“Yes. Stomach pains came on suddenly. ‘My tummy hurts’ was a constant complaint. I had a battery of tests, but none of the doctors could figure it out.”

“And Clare?”

“She never got as sick as I did.”

“Were there times when it cleared up?” I asked.

“It was really bad after Mom died, and it came on and off until Brit left for college. It vanished that fall.”

“But came back at Christmas.”

“Yes.” She frowned. “When I moved out of the house for boarding school, all my symptoms went away.”

“When’s the last time you got sick like that?”