She was mortified.

She told me later that she had asked twice to be allowed to go to her room and had been told, kindly, that she should stay, which is a thing adults do to children in rooms where decisions are being made about them.

Everybody sat down except Julian and me.

And Detective Abascal turned a printed sheet around on the table so that it faced us, the way my son had turned a receipt around on a table two evenings before, and put one finger on it.

“Mrs.