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You were only fourteen when your father taught you how to drive a stick on the dirt roads Up North, my inner voice reminded me, but I didn’t say

Piotrowski paused for a ain "I wanted to fight, that’s what I told o to court,’ I said Not them pussies They say, first, they only have ht? Like I shoulda fucking asked her na a sixteen-year-old unwedplace over this guy as supposed to marry her and raise the baby, that’s what they call a ‘no-win proposition’ So they settle out of court Eighty-five thousand bucks, and me with a twenty percent deductible Fuck That’s all I can say Why you want to know all this shit for, anyway?"

"The wo Davies," Piotrowski said

"She’s in jail on a ood," Piotrowski said

Vonnie Lou Lowman, Eli Jefferson’s sister, lived in a shton, a suburb just north of Minneapolis The doors and s of her house were closed and the drapes drawn, giving the place a ht her efforts would keep the heat at bay I adrees cooler inside, yet the back of my shirt stuck to me just the sareedily The beers I had at the Ski Shack orking on me, and I didn’t want to be sloshed when I met Benny

"No No No possible way" Vonnie Lou answeredthat because he’s my brother, either Eli would never have abused Merodie, would never have hit her I don’t knoho told you that, but it’s just not true He was the ood-natured man you would ever hope toHe liked women Believe me"

"Were you and your brother close?"

Vonnie Lou sht "We had our ups and downs," she said "Like I told you, he was a sweet h, and when he drank he did stupid things Not s Just stupid"

"Like sleeping with other women?" I asked

Vonnie Lou nodded her head then, sipped her pop "This tiht it would work out for Merodie," she said "I really did Merodie hasn’t had a whole lot of luck with men"

"So I’ve been led to believe"

"They’ve either turned out to be assholes or they died on her"