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after all these years brought a foreboding she couldn’t shake. Without being sure why, she knew this
    unwelcome little reunion was about to change her life forever. She wanted to push past him, get in her car and pretend this visit had never taken place. Yet an unknown force, something close to a premonition, kept her rooted where she was.
    “What are you talking about?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
    “That fire was no accident,” Ian said. “It was the work of an arsonist.” He paused, obviously for effect. “An arsonist paid by your mother.”
    Four
    Abbie’s mouth went dry. For a few seconds, she couldn’t fully comprehend what she had just heard. Then, as the words slowly sank in, she slapped Ian’s chest with both palms. “You’re a sick man, Ian. I had hoped the past twenty-eight years had changed you, but I see they haven’t. You’re still as twisted as ever, and if you think I’m going to stand here and listen to your lies, you’re sicker than I thought.”
    She shoved him out of the way with more force than she’d ever thought herself capable of and opened the SUV’s driver’s door.
    ‘ ‘What if I told you I had proof that your mother paid someone to set fire to my father’s house? Would you believe me then?”
    She was shaking so hard, it was a wonder she could talk at all. ‘ ‘If you had proof, you would have gone to the police long ago.”
    “I found out about it just before I left Ohio. Seems I wasn’t the only inmate who saw you on TV that night, bragging about your fancy award, your successful restaurant, your good fortune. My friend remembered Irene’s former name—DiAngelo—and put two and two together.”
    “An inmate?” Abbie let out a brittle laugh. “That’s your proof?”
    “Inmates are people, too.”
    “They’re criminals who lie as easily as they breathe.”
    “Some, maybe, but Earl Kramer is telling the truth about Irene.”
    “How would you know?”
    His lips twisted in a half smile. “I’ve been around liars long enough to know when I’m being conned. And if Earl says Irene hired him to kill my father, then I believe him.”
    “How long have you known this man?”
    “Twelve, thirteen years.”
    ‘ ‘And he waited all this time to tell you he burned down your father’s house?” She laughed, even though she found nothing amusing about the situation. “Come on, Ian. Even you can see the holes in this story.”
    The mockery in her tone didn’t seem to faze him. “He would have been a fool to admit to a crime while he was still a free man. Now that he’s on death row and has exhausted all his appeals, he has nothing to lose by telling the truth.”
    “But he may have a lot to gain by fabricating the story.”
    “What would he have to gain?”
    “Money, Ian.” Still holding the SUV’s door, she turned around to make sure he heard her but also to show him she wasn’t afraid. “Inmates need money, don’t they? To support their families, to give to the guards who might make their lives a little easier. How much did it cost you to convince this Earl Kramer to lie?”
    Ian did a good job of looking shocked. “You’ve got it all wrong, sis. Earl sent for me. He knew I was getting out, so he figured it was time for him to level with me.”
    “Why this sudden urge to confess?”
    “Earl found religion. That’s right, he’s a reformed man.” He shrugged. “Won’t do him any good now, but that doesn’t bother him. He wants to cleanse his soul before he meets his maker.”
    “And he chose you to help him do that?”
    “That’s right.”
    She gave a slow shake of her head. “Do you have any idea how phony that sounds?”
    “You don’t believe me?”
    “You’re a self-admitted grifter, Ian. Your whole life has been one big sham. So, no, I don’t believe you.”
    “I’m not a grifter anymore. I want to turn my life around, start a business maybe.”
    “Doing what? Conning little old ladies out of their pension money?”
    He