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She sat down, taking this in, and very slowly asked, “Are you saying my mom roofied you?”
“No…” He moved his head from side to side, squinting his eyes. “Well, maybe.”
He didn’t think it possible, but her eyes grew larger. “You don’tknow? You don’t know if my mom was a creepy perv?”
He rubbed his forehead. “Not really, no.”
“Did Mom deny doing it?”
“No.” When he saw her face go pale, he tried to explain something that, to him, was as far-reaching and obtuse as quantum physics. “But, falsely admitting to a wrongdoing is, like, part of your mother’s M.O.”
“Her modus operandi is to accept the blame for drugging people and having nonconsensual sex with them?”
Now he was making Birdie sound like a mental case.
He tried again. “Let’s just say, she had been known to do it before. I mean, accepting blame for things she didn’t do. In the past. Sometimes to protect others, or sometimes because it was just easier to be someone everyone thought she was. It’s complicated. She’s complicated. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you’ve got to be ready and willing to interrogate the woman with the tenacity and fortitude of an underground intelligence operation to get to the truth of the matter.”
“Well, then, I hope you’re going to Boston armed.”
“That’s funny. Angus also suggested I show up to Boston packing.”
She shrugged. “He knows her better than anyone else, other than Dad. I mean first Dad. Marshall. Getting her to talk might require restraints, an overhead lamp shining in her eyes, and maybe a pistol sitting to the side. Like you could be just that crazy to use it if she doesn’t spill the goods.”
“Have you been watchingThe Godfatherwith Angus again?”
“OnlyPart Two.He saysPart Oneis highly overrated.”
He ruffled her hair, and she smiled. God, she reminded him of her mom. Birdie, not Maisie. Her first mom. Oh, wait, wouldn’t Birdie be her second?
Jesus, this was confusing.
Turning toward the door, his heart skipped another beat as she said with a small voice, “Dad, if you could bring her home by next week. I’d really appreciate it.”
His eyes squinted as he looked at his daughter who suddenly looked quite young and sheepish. “What’s next week?”
Almost as if embarrassed, she said, “My birthday.”
