Deirdre reached across the kitchen table for her mother’s hand and dropped two of the beads she’d found among the ashes on the floor of her father’s garage office into Gloria’s upturned palm. “Three guesses where I found them.” Her mother’s eyes snapped open, but she didn’t say anything. “You weren’t late because you had car trouble. You were here yesterday. It was you I saw up there in the window before the fire, wasn’t it?” Gloria pursed her lips and rubbed her fingers together. “Along the road to truth, there are only two mistakes you can make. Not starting. And not going all the way.” Serenity could be so irritating. “Did you set the fire?” Gloria reared back as if she’d been slapped. “Of course I did not set the goddamn fire. Do you think I’d have been up in your father’s office if I had?” That, at least, made some sense.
