“I hope so for your sake. Because I don’t see any other way of winning your case.”

Eric Swoboda was the only addition to the group that had met at Sunny Rest on the morning of Casey Van Meter’s resurrection.

“I’m going to set some ground rules, just as I did the last time I permitted Ms. Van Meter to have visitors,” Dr. Linscott told them. “Only a few people will be allowed to visit. I don’t want my patient to be overwhelmed, especially when she’s going to be asked about a very traumatic event. Miss Wallace represents the prosecution and Mr. Swoboda represents the defendant. Miss Wallace wants to have one of the investigating officers with her, so I’m going to let Detective Birch go in with her. That’s it.”

“Mr. Coleman is Ms. Van Meter’s husband,” Anthony Botteri said. “He should have a right to be with his wife in this stressful moment.”

“We don’t let relatives sit in when we question witnesses in homicide cases,” Delilah told Coleman’s lawyer.

“You’ve let Miles Van Meter visit and…”

Dr. Linscott held up his hand. “Mr. Botteri, my patient asked to have her brother visit. She had a very negative reaction to your client the last time and has specifically asked that Mr. Coleman not be permitted in her room.”

“She’s confused, doctor,” Randy Coleman said. “She just woke up from a five-year-long coma.”

“And she’s still not fully recovered from her ordeal. That’s why I’m excluding everyone but the people I’ve named.”

Dr. Linscott looked at the detective, the defense attorney, and the deputy DA. “At the slightest sign of a problem, I’ll terminate the interview. Is that understood?”

Delilah, Eric Swoboda, and Larry Birch nodded their assent, and Dr. Linscott led them out of the conference room.

The television was on and Casey was still in bed, but she turned her head as soon as Dr. Linscott opened the door. Her color was better and she seemed to be more alert.

“Good morning, Casey,” the doctor said.

“Good morning,” she replied.

“I’ve brought some people who want to talk to you. Do you feel up to having visitors?”

Casey turned off the set. “I’m glad you brought them. I’ve been getting tired of having nothing to do but watch TV.”

“This is Delilah Wallace, a deputy district attorney in Multnomah County,” Dr. Linscott said. “This is Larry Birch. He’s a detective who’s helping Miss Wallace with a case. And this is Eric Swoboda. He’s an attorney who’s representing someone involved in the case.”

“Is this about me, how I got here?” Casey asked.

Delilah was pleased at the speed with which Casey figured out the purpose of their visit. This woman was able to think fast and appeared to be in charge of her faculties. That was going to make it hard for Swoboda to argue that Casey’s memory had been affected by her coma.

“You’re right, Ms. Van Meter,” Delilah answered. “I’m here because of the attack that put you in your coma. Do you feel up to answering some questions about it?”

Suddenly Casey looked drained. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the pillow.

“Ms. Van Meter?” Delilah asked, concerned by the rapid change.

Casey’s eyes opened. “Let’s get it over with.” She sounded resigned to having to discuss the incident in the boathouse.

“You’re certain it’s okay?” Delilah asked. “We don’t want to do anything that might harm you.”

Casey stared at Delilah. Her gaze was firm. “Ask your questions,” she said, and the DA sensed an inner strength that boded well if Casey had to testify in court.

“I guess the best way to handle this is to just ask you what you remember about the night you were knocked out.”

Casey started to say something, but she stopped dead, turned pale, and brought her hands to her face.

“Casey?” Dr. Linscott asked.

She shook her head, as if she was shaking off a terrible dream, and then took a deep breath.

“It’s okay,” Casey assured the doctor.

“Is Terri Spencer dead?” Casey asked Delilah.

“Yes, ma’am,” Delilah answered as she suppressed her excitement. Van Meter was going to remember it all and they were going to nail Joshua Maxfield’s coffin shut.

Casey took a deep breath. “I was hoping… But I knew in my heart that she didn’t survive. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t asked her to meet me she wouldn’t be dead.”

Delilah’s heartbeat quickened. “Who killed Terri, Ms. Van Meter?”

Casey looked at her. She seemed puzzled. “Why Joshua Maxfield, of course. Didn’t you know that?”

Ashley experienced déjà vu as soon as she drove through the gates of the Oregon Academy. Little had changed in the intervening five years. Groups of garrulous students lounged on the grass and walked on the grounds, oblivious to the murder that had robbed Ashley of the woman she still thought of as her mother. Their innocence made her sad. She had been a child once, but Joshua Maxfield had forced her to grow up in the space of one horror-filled evening.

The mansion came into view. Ashley expected it to look different because it had been uninhabited since Henry Van Meter’s death, but Henry had established a healthy endowment for the school before he died, part of which had gone to keep up the Van Meter home. Henry held out hope for Casey’s recovery to the last and he wanted his daughter to have a familiar place to live when she arose from her deathlike sleep. Last week, Dr. Linscott had decided that Casey was well enough to move back to her childhood home.

Ashley parked in the circular driveway that curved in front of the entrance to the mansion but she did not get out of the car. She felt light-headed. Her stomach was upset from worrying about her meeting with her mother. Would Casey reject her? Would she show any affection for the child she’d abandoned? Jerry had volunteered to come with her, but Ashley told him that this was something she had to do alone.

Ashley gathered herself and got out of the car. She was dressed in a conservative suit she had purchased for this meeting. Her palms were damp and her heart raced when she rang the doorbell. A stocky Korean woman with short black hair let her in.

“You must be Ashley.”

“Yes.”

“I’m Nan Kim, Ms. Van Meter’s nurse.”

“Did Dr. Linscott talk to my…Ms. Van Meter about…?”

“They had a long talk about you. He explained everything, and she wants to see you. She’s waiting for you in her room. She wanted me to ask if you want any refreshment.”

“No, I’m fine, thank you.” Ashley wouldn’t have been able to hold anything down anyway.

“Let’s go up then,” the nurse said.

Casey was waiting for Ashley in a large, airy room with high ceilings. Her bed had been moved next to the window so she could look out at the garden and the pool. She was propped up on pillows and had regained some of her lost weight and a lot of her color. Her hair had been dyed blond to look as it had before her accident. A wheelchair and a walker stood in one corner. A comfortable armchair had been placed next to the bed.

“Thank you for seeing me,” Ashley said as soon as she was seated and the nurse had left the room.

“I should be thanking you for visiting. I’m bored out of my mind. I stay in bed most of the day. The only time I get out is for physical therapy or when they help me downstairs for meals.”

“How are you feeling?”

The question sounded awkward, and they both knew that Ashley was stalling so she would not have to start asking the hard questions that had brought her here.

“Coming back from the dead takes some getting used to. There are my missing years and my physical problems.”

Casey paused. She studied her visitor. The close scrutiny made Ashley uncomfortable.

“There’s also you.” Casey smiled. “For instance, what shall we call each other? I don’t know if ‘mother’ is appropriate.”