There was a bowl of hard candy on the table between Desmond’s and Jane’s chairs and Jane was poking through it as if she was looking for a particular flavor. Her hand stopped moving and she glanced up. “Police?” she asked.

“Oh, if Paulie had tossed back a few drinks and was in a good mood,” Mr. Walsh said, “she’d get belligerent and start throwing around the furniture. The sister was always afraid the TV was going to go through the window and spoil their reputation in the neighborhood.”

“Not that anyone would have cared,” Mrs. Walsh added. “We were always open-minded and didn’t get in each other’s business. As long as she didn’t bust up our furniture.”

“What would she do if she was in a bad mood?” Jane asked.

Mrs. Walsh chuckled and took another sip of her apple juice. “Well, if she was in a bad mood, you didn’t want to be around. I think that’s why Margo spent so much time in the hospital, just to get away from her sister.”

Desmond was thumbing through an indexed file of transcripts of his previous interviews with the Walshes. The room was getting increasingly hot, probably from the lights, and he wished he could take off his sweater. “I believe you told me Margo had some early signs of Alzheimer’s and that was why she was in and out of the hospital.”

Mr. Walsh shrugged dramatically and smoothed his sweatshirt down over his stomach. “It could well have been that,” he said. “Either way, we don’t believe in snooping. If Margo and Carter needed help, they knew we were here.”

Chloe passed a note to Jane. She opened the folded slip of paper and showed it to Desmond. “Elder Abuse?? Common w/ Alz.”

“Are you suggesting Pauline was beating up her sister?” Jane asked.

The Walshes looked at each other. “I’m not sure you’d call it beating her up,” Mr. Walsh said. “Would you call it that, hon?”

“No, I’d say more like roughhousing. The usual sibling rivalry stuff. I doubt there was ever any bloodshed. Underneath it all, they loved each other. Deeply.”