Looking for Yesterday by Marcia Muller Read Free Book Online

own landscaping company. I love seeing things grow and thrive. But you’re here to talk about my sister.” Her voice grew even flatter. “I’ve been calling the hospital all day, but there’s been no change.”
    I got straight to the point of my visit. “Caro told me you and Rob were estranged from her.”
    “Not so. She came to dinner here only a week ago.”
    “Why would she lie?”
    “Because that’s what she is—a liar. She can’t help it. It’s some sort of psychological condition.”
    “Related to the seizures she claims she had?”
    “She’s never had a seizure in her life, unless she wanted something. That’s just the way Caro is. And neither Rob nor I is much of a prize, either. I blame it on our parents.”
    “Tell me about them.”
    “They’re in denial, can’t admit even to themselves that any of their children could be less than perfect. Their three children, mind you. To them, our little sister Marissa never existed. It’s the only way they know how to cope with the accident. They travel around the world, never stay in one place very long. Pure escapism.”
    “Very differently from how Caro copes.”
    “Yes, and her way is a whole lot more sensible than my parents’ denial or Rob’s guilt or my grief. At least Caro wants to take positive steps: she went into high gear after the Gabrielle Giffords assassination attempt in Arizona, did some speaking engagements, but people kept raising the issue of the Bettencourt case. She withdrew and hasn’t been active since.” She looked pensive. “I used to be an activist for lesbian causes. Then, around the time of Caro’s trial, everything inside me went flat. I just couldn’t muster the energy.…”
    “That’s natural after such an ordeal. What do you remember of the Bettencourt murder?”
    Her gaze wavered and became unfocused. She might have been seeing either the orchard or some uncharted territory inside herself. After a few moments she said, “I remember Amelia; she and Caro were best friends. Jake Green I didn’t like so much.”
    “What about Ned Springer?”
    “Caro’s attorney? He’s all right. I’ve known him forever, since we were kids in the Marina.”
    “Tell me about Amelia. What was she like?”
    “Pretty. Funny. Smart. She could be selfish at times, like Caro. She wanted what she wanted, and she made sure she got it. Especially men. Still, you couldn’t dislike her on account of that. She charmed everybody.”
    “Including Jake Green, her best friend’s lover.”
    “Especially him. He and Amelia were a good match; he was all about getting what he wanted too.” Patty’s lips tightened. “The first time Caro brought Jake to visit me—I was living in the Lake Merritt area then—I could see him sizing up everything in my house, putting a monetary value on it. From a few things my parents said, he did the same at their place. But then Caro introduced him to Amelia, a more lucrative catch, and he dumped Caro flat.”
    “Let’s go back to the night Amelia was murdered. What do you remember?”
    “I was at Caro’s apartment in Cow Hollow. It was a tiny studio, very expensive, but she’d rented it to get away from Mom and Dad. She’d invited me for the weekend—a sisters’ getaway—but then she got this phone call and said she had to go out. No explanation, nothing.”
    “When was that?”
    “After we had dinner, around seven thirty. She came in sometime in the early morning and crawled into bed, drunk. I was pissed with her because it was supposed to be our night together.”
    “Did she give you an explanation then?”
    “There wasn’t time. The police came a few hours later and arrested her. I called Ned Springer and he represented her at the bail hearing the next day, but the judge ordered her held because she was a flight risk.”
    “And she never told you where she went or what she did?”
    “Only what she testified to at her trial.”
    There was no way to phrase my next question tactfully, so