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As their friendship deepens, Moody brings Pearl to his house, hopeful that she will be as fascinated by his family as he is by her and her mother’s bohemian “magic trick” of a life.
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Moody is the first of the Richardson children to befriend Pearl Warren. This time, Mia has promised Pearl, the two of them will “stay put.” Pearl and Mia have lived a transient lifestyle, moving from town to town. The narrative then flashes back to the previous June, when Mia and Pearl Warren arrived in Shaker Heights, Ohio, to live on the top floor of the Richardsons’ rental property on Winslow Road-in one of the manicured, utopic planned community’s “less desirable” fringe neighborhoods. Richardson and her three older children, Lexie, Trip, and Moody, stand on the lawn surveying the damage and wondering where Izzy has gone.
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The firemen who assessed the damage have determined that there were “little fires everywhere” throughout the house, indicating “multiple points of origin.” Mrs. The Richardson house has burned down and Izzy Richardson, the youngest of the four Richardson children, is the primary suspect.
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