Our second meeting in November, was much less successful. Diana came to the Valmont, and everyone was there except Nate. Before we sat down to eat, I stumbled on her in the hall near the celebration room, inspecting our knickknacks and artwork. Seeing her hands all over my family’s possessions set me off, and when she held up a vase, I said, “That’s from the Ming dynasty. Not Pottery Barn.” I must’ve hurt her feelings because she stammered out an apology and ran off. Next thing I knew, she and Billy were putting on their coats. I felt awful about snapping at her, but she blew it way out of proportion, making him leave without even eating. She kept tugging on his hand, saying “Come on, Babe, let’s go,” which made her seem manipulative and childish, nothing like the savvy woman I met over the summer. When she and Billy walked out, I made a crack about her clinginess, which infuriated him so much he stopped returning my calls. I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but her behavior was creepy. She was exactly like he’d described her: needy and demanding, the kind of girl who’d go mental if a boy told her no.

* * *

“I’m sorry, Eleanor. Do you need something from me?”

“I’d like you to come home. Someone has to convince Billy to tell the truth, even if he’s afraid it will cast him in a bad light. Mr. DeFiore can’t build a solid case otherwise.”

“Billy has been interrogated by the police ad nauseam. If they can’t get him to tell the truth, what makes you think I can?”

“You were always so close. Remember when you were a little girl, you were afraid of the dark? Every night, you snuck into his bed, before Maeve carried you back to your own room.” She looks at me, narrows her eyes. “This went on for many years, longer than what’s proper. I should’ve stopped it, but I was grateful you found comfort.” She sighs. “You didn’t think I knew. Of course, I did. I’m his mother. I know everything.”

My stomach drops as if we’re in a plane that’s suddenly lost altitude. “Eleanor, we were kids. My relationship with Billy has changed.” The air is shallow. I try to breathe. “We’re not as close as we used to be.”

“You’re still his sister.”

“That’s why you drove all the way up here? To tell me to talk to Billy?”