She looked down at the blue velvet box between us, her lower lip trembling.

“They do not have to believe me, Mara.

They only have to see that we are united.”

“I am not going to lie to a detective,” I said.

“It is not a lie if it protects your brother,” she said, her voice barely audible over the clatter of plates from the kitchen.

“He has always been fragile, Mara.

You know how he gets when he feels cornered.”

“I know exactly how he gets,” I said.