“What happened to his father?” Mike said.
“He was sentenced to a very long prison term,” she said, “and was stabbed to death in the prison some months later.”
“Inmates have a reputation for not liking child beaters and molesters,” I said.
“Just so,” she said.
“How did Steve take that news?” Mike said.
“Since he’d already told his father in court that he wasn’t a father, but merely a sperm donor,” she said, “it didn’t seem to bother him.”
“Let’s get back to Robbie,” I said. “How did you get him to mention his parents?”
“I think he just blurted it out,” she said.
I gave her a steady look and smiled. Then I said, “Mrs. Barnett, you’re probably one of the most skillful interrogators I’ve ever met, and I mean that as a compliment of the highest order. You managed to somehow get him to t
