Seeing her in my purposely modest home seemed inevitable. She eyed everything like a seasoned investigator. Those arctic blue eyes locked longest on my framed photos. She swallowed visibly when she recognized the deceptive smile of my sister and the grin of her newly-acquired daughter.

I can’t believe I forgot to turn it over. How stupid had fear made me?

“Where are they?” she asks behind gritted teeth.

“I can’t tell you that, Spencer.”

“She’s taking fucking family portraits with my niece, Kyla.”

“I know, and I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Is Aiden with them?”

I shook my head. I was a few moments away from death and all for my confused sister. If there are favors given in the afterlife, she owed me beyond the grave and in the fiery depths of the hell we were both bound for.

“What can you tell me? What the fuck is your disgusting life worth to me?”

“Not much.”

“Who’s in New York?”

“No one’s in New York.”

The truth, whether she believed it or not.

“Who’s near New York?”

I said nothing.

“Connecticut? Pennsylvania? Massachusetts?” she asked, counting off states on her fingers.

“One of those, maybe.”

The truths were slipping out from between my lips like the annoying weeping of a broken faucet. I had to stop before I jeopardized everything.

“Did you ever fuck for money or was it part of the plan?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“A valid one.”

Her investigative spirit was in full-blown attack. She had thought through every question. She had analyzed every possibility. My startled conversation was running over with clues despite my best efforts.

“No,” I whispered.

“What?”

“No, I never did.”

“How did you make money then? How are you paying for this place?”

“Aiden.”

She laughs, “Really? Are you serious right now?”

“I’m serious. He offered me the chance to move and I took it…obviously. I couldn’t stay behind after they left and let you come and find me. I mean…you’re here to kill me, right? This is it?”