"That's why you didn't want me to follow up with Dad's estranged family before I went to visit Uncle Paulie. Not because it would upset me, but because it would expose you." My voice hardened. "How am I doing?"

Arkady stiffened his hands, interlacing them with his fingers pointed out in a "V." He moved his fingers back and forth slowly. A classic cue that something was bothering the person. "You're wrong."

"I'm not." My smile had the cold satisfaction of a person who'd been ...