Emma nodded. “By five years. She was thirty-five when she was taken from this world.” Emma raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “Hard to believe she’d be fifty-five today. There’s just no way for me to picture my baby sister in her midfifties. You know, when a loved one dies young your perception of them is placed in a time capsule. You’re only able to remember them as they were then, not as they would be today. Victoria was so young and healthy, full of life. To me she will forever be that vibrant young woman. It’s the only way I’ll ever know her.”

“Does the news of finally identifying Victoria’s remains bring closure for you?”

Emma took a sip of wine. “In a way, I suppose. But not the type I’m looking for.”

“What kind is that?”

Emma blinked and studied Avery for a moment, a look of curiosity coming over her. “Do you know much about Victoria?”

“Not much. Only that she died on 9/11 and her remains were just identified by the medical examiner’s office. I was hoping you could tell me about her.”

“Yes, of course. And I have waited twenty years to finally put my sister to rest. Maybe that’ll be possible now, but I doubt I’ll be able to do it properly.”

“You mean with a funeral?”

Emma smiled in a way that made Avery feel as if she were missing something.

“You really don’t know about Victoria’s past, do you?”

“No,” Avery said. “That’s why I’m here.”

Emma shifted her gaze back to the panoramic view and took another sip of wine. “My sister was involved in a murder investigation prior to her death. It was a great, big, sensationalized case around here. An awful case, gruesome in its nature and filled with perverted sex. The media and the police painted Victoria out to be a monster.”

Avery sat up taller in her chair. “Victoria was involved in the investigation, meaning . . . ?”

“Meaning they said my baby sister was a killer. Something I know without doubt is false. So until I find a way to come to terms with that, I’ll never be able to properly put Victoria to rest.”

Avery had come out to the country looking for a feel-good story about a woman finding closure twenty years after her sister was killed on 9/11. Instead, she’d stumbled onto a twenty-year-old murder investigation. Her mind buzzed with possibility, and the curiosity center of her brain ached for every detail.

“Would you tell me about it?” Avery asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Emma nodded. “That’s what the wine is for.”

CHAPTER 16 - Shandaken, NY Friday, June 25, 2021

CHAPTER 16

Shandaken, NY Friday, June 25, 2021