The Perfect Sister by Stephanie DeCarolis

Author:Stephanie DeCarolis [DeCarolis, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2024-07-16T00:00:00+00:00

25.

Alex

I can feel the sweat drying on my face, the salt from the morning air hardening in my hair, as I push open the door to the county morgue. I came straight here as soon as I got Chief Gilroy’s call, running back to my car as fast as my exhausted legs would carry me. I shiver now, in my running shorts and T-shirt, but I can’t tell if it’s from the cool air-conditioning or the fact that I’m in a morgue that’s sent this shudder rolling through me.

Gilroy is already waiting in the lobby, his back toward me, his broad shoulders hunched, his head hanging low. As soon as I let the door fall closed with a bang he whips around, pushing his phone into his pocket.

“Alex. Hello.”

His entire demeanor has changed since the last time I saw him. Gone are the jovial smiles, the good-hearted pats on the shoulder. Now his eyes are heavy with a somber weight, the tension in his jaw conveying the gravity of what we’ve come here to do. A flash of anger washes over me. Why did it take him this long, until we were standing in a morgue, to take me seriously?

“Where is my sister?” I force the words between gritted teeth.

“We don’t know that the person we…we don’t know if it’s Madison yet. I was just getting an update from my team.” He pats the phone in his pocket. “Does your sister have any identifying marks? Tattoos maybe?”

“No.” At least I don’t think so. “I guess she could’ve gotten one without me knowing though. I haven’t spoken to her in a few months.” Guilt rushes up into my mouth like bile. I haven’t spoken to my sister in months, and now she might be dead.

Gilroy nods. “I’m going to take you downstairs to see if you can identify the person we found. All I know so far is that she’s a female of about the same age and build as your sister. There was no ID on her when she was found.”

“I want to see her.” I choke back the tears that prickle at the back of my throat.

“Follow me.”

Gilroy leads me into another waiting room, a mirror stretching across one wall.

“On the other side of this mirror is the person we found on the beach this morning. I want you to brace yourself. From what the coroner has told me so far, it looks like her body had been in the water for a few days. If this is your sister, she might not look the way you remember her. That’s why I was asking you earlier about identifying marks—she does have a small butterfly tattoo on her ankle and we were hoping it might help in identifying her. The coroner has prepared the body, so it’s going to look like she’s asleep. She will be under a white sheet, and when you’re ready, I’ll ask the coroner to lift the sheet and show you her face. I’ll need you to tell us if this is Madison.

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