@@@@@ "The way the size of the horse is
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"The way the size of the horse is exaggeratedIt's a child's cry
of glee, Wireman!"
"A hoax is what it isShe would have
been two! A child of two can't even make stickfigures
and call em mommy and daddy, can she?"
747
"Was what happened to Candy Brown a hoax? Or what
about the bullet that used to be in your brain?
The one that's now gone?"
He was silent
I tapped CHILD PRODIGY"Look, they even had the
right fancy term for itDo you suppose if she'd
been poor and black, they would have called her
PICKANINNY FREAK and stuck her in a sideshow
somewhere? Because I sort of do
"If she'd been poor and black, she never would
have made the paper at allOr fallen out of a
pony-trap to begin with
"Is that what hap-" I stopped, my eye caught by
the blurry photograph againNow it was big sis I
was looking at
"What?" Wireman asked, and his tone was What now?
"Her bathing suitLook familiar to you?"
"I can't see very much, just the topElizabeth's
holding her picture out in front of the rest
"What about the part you can see?"
He looked for a long time"Wish I had a
magnifying glass
"That would probably make it worse instead of
better
748
"All right, muchacho, it does look vaguely
familiarbut maybe that's just an idea you put
in my head
"In all the Girl and Ship paintings, there was
only one Rowboat Girl I was never sure of: the one
in NoThe one with the orangey hair, the one
in the blue singlet with the yellow stripe around
the neck I tapped Adriana's blurred image in the
photocopy Mary Ire had given me
This is the swimming suit
"What are we saying here?" Wireman askedHe was
skimming the print, rubbing at his temples as he
did soI asked if his eye was bothering