At 3 A.M., My Brother Dragged Me Out of My Bedroom While Dad Laughed—He Had No Idea What the Smoke Detector Had Recorded

But proof that the mark was there.

“Would you be willing to make a formal statement?” I asked.

“Yes.”

She looked down.

“I should have asked you what happened before I listened to your father.”

I couldn’t answer.

Elaine continued.

“I spent years repeating his explanations because they were easier than dealing with the possibility that something was seriously wrong.”