“Like you care.”

“Hey!” Telforde said. “Respect your mother.”

Nikki’s jaw muscles bunched as she stared at them for a long wordless moment.

“You know, being alone in here I get lots of time to think of lots of things, like about how people betray you, hurt you, people you’re supposed to love and trust.”

She shot Telforde a cutting glance of disdain and he blinked.

“It’s time to say it,” Nikki decided.

“Say what?” Nancy said.

“You know, Mother, that for the longest time your boyfriend’s been fucking me and threatening to kick us to the street if I told anyone.”

“Nikki!” Nancy cupped her mouth with her hand and looked to Irene, who seemed indifferent.

“That’s a goddamned lie!” Telforde said.

Nikki’s handcuffs jingled as she pointed at her mother.

“It’s your fault I’m in here because you always knew and you did nothing! Nothing!”

“Nikki, stop it!” Nancy shook her head. “Why’re you saying these horrible things?”

“Because she’s a murdering, thieving, lying slut!” Telforde said. “I never touched you!”

“You’re lucky I’m not pregnant. But you can’t touch me now. I should report you to my lawyer. Maybe it’ll help my case.”

“You’re a lying piece of—”

“Stop, please stop this!” Nancy said through her hands.

“Maybe when we murdered that family, I was thinking all along about killing you—both of you!” Nikki screamed.

Nancy couldn’t hold in her anguish, moaning and rocking. Telforde threw his arm around her.

“All right.” Irene stepped forward. “That’s enough. The visit’s over.” Irene nodded to an officer across the room to take care of the visitors.

Nikki stood, looking down on her mother, a broken woman.

As Irene took Nikki’s shoulder, Nikki stood her ground long enough to spit in Telforde’s face.

After the visit ended, Nancy and Telforde drove for miles without speaking as he guided his Dodge RAM pickup through Winnipeg’s western edge.

At first Telforde punctuated their stops at red lights with one-sided conversations.

“I don’t know why she’s lying, Nancy. I swear I never touched her.”

Nancy stared straight ahead, meeting his denials with silence until he turned on the radio, keeping it low. Eventually they got out of the city and onto the highway bracing for the long drive back to Eternity.

They’d gone several miles when Nancy began talking. “I’ve been lying to myself for a long time,” she said.

“Lying about what?”

Tears rolled down her face. “That I needed to live with you because I couldn’t pay down my gambling debts and couldn’t afford to live on my own with a daughter on what I made at the Market Mart. That was one lie.”

“Your debts are huge and I was there to help you, get you into gambler therapy, so what’re you driving at?”

“I knew.”

“Knew what?”