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Charlie stepped in front of Morgan and Abby.“We’re Carla Weiss’s daughters.”

“Oh, hi…” he said, his voice trailing off.

Abby could tell by the way Mike’s eyes began to dart back and forth between her and her sisters that his mind was racing.

“Our mom died…” Abby’s voice cracked, and she stopped mid-sentence.

“Oh, no, I’m so sorry.Please come in.”Mike picked up his dog and moved away from the door so they could enter.Deciding he didn’t seem like a serial killer, Abby nodded at her sisters, and they all walked inside.

Mike led them into a small but cozy living room.On a tufted rug sat a well-worn couch, two chairs, and a coffee table, probably from IKEA, as it had a drawer that stuck out and didn’t quite fit.

When the women sat down, the sofa made a subtle woosh as their bodies settled into the leather.The room was warmer than Abby expected, and the ceiling fan wasn’t helping as it pushed the warm air around her.Abby wiped away the sweat that was breaking out on her brow.

“This is Pillow,” Mike said, putting the dog on the ground.Mike sat in the La-Z-Boy chair across from them while Pillow jumped up next to Abby.

“I’m shocked about Carla.The last time I saw her, she was fine.”

“When was that?”Charlie asked.

“A little over a month ago when we finalized the divorce.”

“You were married to our mom?”Abby said, practically jumping out of her seat.

“She didn’t tell us she got married,” Morgan said.

“Or divorced,” Charlie exclaimed.

“It’s not what you think,” Mike said.“It wasn’t a real marriage.We worked together at the real estate agency and became good friends.When she found out my visa had run out and I would have to go back to Guatemala, she suggested we get married,” Mike said.

“Why would she do that?Were you holding something over her?”Abby asked.

“No, your mom was just a caring woman,” Mike said.

Abby choked up.“She was.”

An awkward silence hung in the room until it was broken by Pillow, who had fallen asleep on Abby with his head on her thigh and seemed to be having a bad dream.He was whimpering and shaking his legs.Abby wiped her tears away with one hand while gently stroking the dog with her other hand until his nightmare passed.

Mike stood up, rubbing his chin.“Can I get any of you something to drink?”

The sisters shrugged; they were in too much shock to form words.

Mike returned from the kitchen with three bottles of water and placed them on the coffee table.No one reached for them.

“I can’t believe Carla’s gone,” Mike said, putting his hands up to his temples and rubbing them as if doing so would help him make sense of things.“What happened?”

The sisters exchanged a long look, and then Abby blurted out, “She took her own life.”

“Oh my God, why would she do that?”Mike asked.Although he turned his head away, Abby could see him wipe away a tear.

“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Morgan said.

“We were hoping you could help us,” Charlie said.

Abby began hurling questions at Mike like darts shooting balloons at a carnival.Before he could answer one question, she’d fire off another one.

“Did you take advantage of our mother’s kind heart?”Abby asked.“Did she take the divorce hard?”“Did she tell you she had three daughters?”

“Carla talked about all three of you a lot,” Mike said.“She was so proud of her daughters.”Now, it was Charlie’s turn to cry.“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said.