Lassiter pulled a switchblade and tried to rob us. I was fourteen at the time and Martha was ten. Without hesitation, she snatched up a br

I be more lik

live, no matter how badly she was injured, I'd take care of her for the rest of her life if nee

n she was going to need, I went back to New York City, packed up my Tribeca photog

d things got easier. In addition to helping with Martha, I set up a studio

om the waist down. She's gotten used to the pain, the limitations, and the prognosis of

Two more girls had turned up floating in the river and another two disappeared without a trace. The police feared they had a serial kil

ine,

re she wanted, but until this thing was resolved, she

ingerprints they'd found in the warehouse. She ordered a fingerprint kit along with computer hardware and software on

so she could secretly lift drinking glasses, forks, and knives from se

they came from, when, and to whom they belonged-or most likely belonged. She even took to getting p

k." But that's all she needed. She'd never give up,

found s

nother outing and leaned in her bedro

orehead and thick Brooke Shields eyebrows. Through frameless eyeglasses resting on the end of her nose, she squinted at the screen. "I think we can final

someplace else. Mickey's is s

s, " she said rolling her

xamined the images o

rint to the right

t i

ed. "This is number three from the warehouse, the one they found on the window sill." I looked back and

was this on

t. Do you know w

t. We need to

the man

etting cl

e to go

since sometime back in the '80s. Patrons consisted mostly of bums off the docks, drifters, and drug addicts. The on

free until at least four and I don't think

s Bette Davis in a size 16 dress with a southern drawl and a hint of white

hie? How about some

other round with my father so I lied. "Thanks, bu

her you, Richie. You know he doesn't mean anything b

. "I'll see you tomorrow, Babe." I squeezed Ma

ieved, myself, when he told us to stay away from Mickey's-that they'd had a complaint that

h Dad constantly snapping at my heels reminding me of why I left Wilmington in the first place, I'd decided that just as soon as this case was wrapped up-as well as the play I was directing-I was out of there. Martha or no Martha, I

ith blooming azaleas and dogwoods. As we headed for my studio to get camera

...festival Sunday, " she said gaz

does s

saw once." Her voice w

o be more of the Car

Lincoln Theatr

ye

ew a deep breath. "It was at that conc

be. I'm

gh school. After the accident, he stopped by only once. We rode the rest of the way to my studio in

ed as I turned off Market Street and headed in

to be earl

en three years since

sn't c

dn't l

ered on all the vacant buildings announcing the Cole Brothers Circus was coming to town looked the

across from Mickey's and parked behind a hollowed-out bric

ld watch the comings and goings at Mickey's. I clamped a bracket on an expos

five minutes, I photographed close to twenty patrons as the place emptied out. Martha

he two come up behind

l do we have