een a P.I., he&#8217;d heard some whoppers, but hers took the cake. He figured there had to be some truth in it, but which part and how much was anybody&#8217;s guess.</p>
<p class="excerpttext">Oddly, there was something maternal about her, as well. Or maybe that was merely that boy still in him, the one who had lost his mother before he was old enough to retain her memory, seeking what wasn&#8217;t there. </p>
<p class="excerpttext">And the girl. He&#8217;d met her once while her father was defending his: