“He was seventeen.” Blushing. “Then I saw that his room had been completely rearranged, even the bed was in a new place. Desi was always neat but now it looked downright compulsive. A lot less stuff in the room. Including the books. All gone, and in place of the Che poster he’d hung a photo of moose in the forest. I made some wisecrack about redecorating, had he turned gay or something. Instead of laughing like he normally would’ve, he just stood there. Then he edged me away from the door. Not by touching me, by inching forward, so I was forced to leave or bump into him. Then he closed the door behind him and we both went to the kitchen and he was the same old Desi, smiling and funny.”

I said, “Focusing on you instead of his room.”

“Desi was great at that. He could make you feel you were the center of the universe. Then he’d ask for something and you just said yes, no hesitation.”

“Did you ever bring up the fire?”

“Not with Desi, just with Mom. She got a strange look in her eye, changed the subject. That whole weekend was strange.”

“All three of them nervous.”

“I felt like a stranger. But in the beginning, I didn’t connect it to the fire. It was only after I found out that Desi and some of his friends were questioned by the police that things started to click.”

Milo said, “Were you ever questioned?”

“No, and I wouldn’t have said anything. I had nothing to offer, anyway.” She wadded a tissue, released her fingers and watched it open like a time-lapse flower.

I said, “Did Desi keep anything suspicious in his room besides books?”

“If he did, I wouldn’t know. He had a lock on his door and used it.”

“Liked his privacy.”

“Sure, but what teenager doesn’t? I figured it was because of all those girls he took in there. Was Doreen one of them? Probably, but only one, he might as well have had a revolving door. And, no, my parents never objected. Desi would play music to block out the sound but sometimes you could hear the bed knocking against the wall. Mom and Dad just continued to read or watch TV, pretended not to hear.”

“So your parents were used to looking the other way.”

“You’re saying that made it easier for them to cover for Desi when he did something really bad?” Long exhalation. “Maybe.”

Milo said, “After the FBI questioned Desi, you started to wonder.”

“The FBI? All I heard about was the police. The FBI actually came to the house?”

“They did, Ricki. Talked to your parents, as well as Desi.”