“She never said anything about things like that. What are you talking about?”

“Yes, well, I am in possession of a great deal of important information on this subject. Perhaps if you agree to meet with me for a formal interview, then I can explain to you the nature of my research.”

“Does something make you think my great-aunt Pauline was sexually abused, or are you just fishing?”

“I have a great deal of interesting information on this subject, I assure you, from some very reliable sources. I take it very seriously. We will have to discuss this more thoroughly, I can see. Four. Why did your grandmother’s story have so many little discrepancies? I have listened to all of my tapes, and I have pored over transcripts of her other interviews, which I would like to send to you so that you may peruse them as well, so I have taken the liberty of making photocopies for just this purpose. I find that her story has discrepancies of detail that go beyond ordinary human fallibility, and so I conclude there is more to the story than the manifest content. I have in point of fact, sorry as I am to say this to you, concluded that certain parts of her account of her escape from the fire are knowingly false. The conflicts are evident to me. The events as she describes them could not possibly have occurred.”

“I think we’ve been over this already. There is really nothing I could tell you—”

“You might change your mind when you read through all the material I will send to you. So these are the four essential questions on which I seek to shed further illumination, and I do have some others, but I gather you may not be receptive to dwelling on all this right now, which would be understandable, of course, though it is a matter of some urgency with regard to my publication schedule.”

“You gather that, do you? You suspect that I might not be receptive to dwelling on all this right now? How on earth did that thought ever occur to you? What primary source provided this amazing insight? Or was it a secondary source? Hats off to you, Ruth Zion, for your unerring sense of the subtleties of human nature that so many other people without your keen historian’s eye might well overlook!”

“There is no call for hostility, Rebecca. I am being very civil with you. Very cordial. My work is important, I assure you. That is why I am recording this conversation with you right now, in addition to taking detailed notes. This is the way I work, so that I can transcribe all my interviews and be sure of the accuracy of anything I decide to use. I assume I have permission to record this conversation? I meant to confirm this with you earlier, my apologies, but it was a bit confusing when we began, what with my condolences and the need to confirm your identity.”