“You gonna take the case?"It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of."You're gonna have a devil of a time finding him if it was aliens," Grandma said.”

“He squinted at me. "What are you wearing? Is that some new form of birth control?”

“Aren't you something," Grandma said. "I never saw a midget up close." "Little person," Briggs said. "And I never saw anyone as old as you up close, either.”

“My father hired you to protect me," Ahmed said, "not to go off chasing men." Grandma leaned forward, keeping her eye on the Taurus. "We think this guy killed Fred." "Who's Fred?" "My uncle," I told...”

“I wasnt a fabulous cook. I didnt have a boyfriend, much less a husband. And I wasnt a big financial success. I could live with all those failings as long as I knew that once in a while I looked rea...”

“They keep track of time. Sometimes things happen and you feel that you need to mark them down.”

“Does religious conviction provide a powerful reason for killing? Undeniably it often does. It also often provides the sole compelling reason for refusing to kill, or for being merciful, or for seek...”

“the past only had whatever power you gave it; life was what you made it and if you wanted something different from what you had, it was up to you to make it happen.”