Ellis wanted to change the subject. “Your ring. The one you said was an old family piece. I noticed you stopped wearing it.”

“My engagement ring. Don bought it for me, right before we got married. I’m thinking of pawning it. Wanna make me an offer?”

Ellis glanced at Madison’s now-bare hands. “Why do you need to pawn it? With all that money?”

“I’m not touching that money,” Madison said. “I didn’t even know it was there, not until I went to unpack my laptop and realized I’d actually grabbed Don’s by mistake.”

“And the money was in his laptop case? Do you mind if I ask how much?”

Madison shrugged. “Close to a hundred thousand dollars.”

“For real?” Ellis’s eyes widened.

“I’ve got Don’s money. And I know he’s stolen millions more. He probably thinks I meant to take the cash. Now do you see why I was in such a panic when I found out Julia talked to him? What if he finds me?”

“You think he’d hurt you? To get at the money?”

“A few months ago I’d have said no. Now, for sure. With Don, it’s not just about the money. It’s about control. Ownership.”

Ellis looked down at her hands, then out the window, thinking about her own brief marriage, and its sudden, emotionless ending. It had been so painful at the time, but maybe, in comparison to what Madison was going through, Ben’s way was preferable.

“So … you and Don were already having problems before this?” Ellis asked.

“Yeah,” Madison said sourly. “If by problems you mean he was sleeping with somebody else and I’d moved into the guest bedroom.”

“Oh,” Ellis said weakly.

“Don’t know why I was surprised,” Madison said, tossing her head, as though she didn’t really care. “He cheated on his ex-wife with me, why wouldn’t he cheat on me with somebody else?”

“Any idea who she is?”

Madison reached in an open dresser drawer, balled up some shirts, and tossed them at the duffle bag. “I’ve got a very good idea who.”

Now that she’d starting talking to Ellis, it was as though she’d turned on a spigot and was powerless to turn it off. The words just kept spewing.

“Tara Powers! We worked together at the insurance company. We weren’t friends or anything—but she knew Don was married to me.”

Ellis kept thinking about all that money. “A hundred thousand dollars. Do you think he meant to give it to his girlfriend?”

“No way,” Madison said quickly. “Not his style. Don keeps his women on a tight leash.”

“So, what was he doing with all that money?” Ellis persisted.

“I don’t care anymore,” Madison said. “After tomorrow, I’m out of here. I’m only sticking around today because Adam begged me to. He thinks there’s something he can do to get me out of this.”

“Adam? That’s your friend you used to work with?” Ellis asked, her curiosity aroused. “He’s coming here? To Nags Head?”

“He should be about halfway here,” Madison said. “He’s kind of a nerd, but in a really sweet way.”

“You two worked together?”

“Yep. And he’s still there. He’s taking a vacation day to come down here.”

“You told him everything that happened?” Ellis asked, surprised.

“Most of it,” Madison said. “He was on vacation when I took off. I kept trying to text him, but he never got back to me until last night. You won’t believe this—he actually thinks I should go back to Jersey and calmly start divorce proceedings against Don. As if!”

“Let me ask you this,” Ellis said. “You say you’re not going back. What about the insurance company, the one you used to work for, that he ripped off? Don’t you care about any of them?”

“I care!” Madison said. “But I don’t have any proof. Those files I saw at his office? All gone now, I guarantee.”

“What about his laptop? You’ve got that, right? Maybe there are incriminating files on that.”

“I don’t have the password.”

“And you have no idea if the auditors found anything about the embezzlement to tie it to Don, or whether or not the insurance company has brought charges against your husband?”

“No,” Madison said. “I rode my bike over to the library, thinking I could get online on their computers, see if there’s been anything in the news up there,” Madison admitted. “But they won’t let you use the Internet unless you’ve got a library card. And I wasn’t about to apply for one and start giving out personal information.”

“Hmm,” Ellis said, looking out the window. She could just see the edge of the deck of Ty’s garage apartment. She could access the Internet with her iPhone, but she had an ulterior motive—seeing Ty.

“I know somebody who’s got Internet access,” Ellis said. “And I think maybe he’d be willing to let us use his computer, too. That is, if you want our help.”

Madison hesitated. “No, never mind.”

“Suit yourself,” Ellis said, shaking her head. “I did my best, but you really just don’t let anybody get close, do you?”

She got off the bed and went to the door. “I’ll tell the girls … what? You’re leaving tomorrow, or the day after, when your friend gets here? Dorie will be sad. She really thought she could reach out to you.”

Madison let her get down the hallway before she called after her.

“Ellis?”

She turned and walked back, poking her head inside Madison’s bedroom.

“What the hell,” Madison said. “I’ve been wondering what that garage apartment looked like inside.”

“Me too,” Ellis said.

35

Ellis came flying down the stairway, with Madison trailing reluctantly behind. Julia and Dorie sat at the table in the dining room, pretending to play cards.

“We’re going over to Ty’s, to look up some stuff on the Internet,” Ellis started.

“We know,” Julia interrupted.

“What?” Madison said, stopping short, her eyes narrowed. “You bugged my room while you were ransacking it?”

“Sorry,” Dorie said meekly. “We really didn’t mean to eavesdrop. We were up in my room, and as it turns out, the airshaft from Madison’s room runs right through my closet. We kinda heard everything you guys were saying.”

*   *   *

Ty answered the door before they could knock. His hair was still wet from the shower, and he was dressed in khaki cargo shorts and the black Cadillac Jack’s T-shirt.

“Hey!” he said, his face lighting up when he saw Ellis. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek lightly, as though they’d been doing this forever.

“You’re Madison, right?” he said, holding out his hand. “The new girl. Nice to meet you.”

“And you,” she said stiffly.

Still swooning from the scent of Ty’s soap and shampoo, Ellis blushed happily. “Are you on your way out?”

“Yeah,” Ty said. “They’re short a bartender again, and God knows I can use the money, so I agreed to come in and cover lunch, then hang around ’til closing. Hey, maybe you and the girls could all come over later. They’re having a special drink promotion for some new citrus vodka. It probably tastes like crap, but the drinks are cheap.”

“Maybe,” Ellis said. “But we were wondering if we could use your computer. For research.”

“Sure,” Ty said, looking puzzled. “Come on in.”

The apartment was even smaller than it looked from the outside. The walls were knotty pine, the varnish blackened with age, and worn green-and-white checkerboard linoleum covered the floor of what was essentially an all-in-one living room, dining room, and kitchen. The kitchen consisted of an old white-painted Hoosier cupboard stocked with a mismatched assortment of plastic dishes; a two-burner stove; and a small, rust-spotted refrigerator.

“Welcome to my office,” Ty said, gesturing towards a stout oak kitchen table. A PC was set up on the table, and a metal, rolling office chair with cracked leatherette upholstery was pulled up to the makeshift desk. Nearby a rickety blue-painted bookshelf held an assortment of business books, magazines, and stacks of folders.

He leaned over, pressed a button on the computer’s monitor, and the screen lit up. “The printer’s right there,” he said, pointing to a small table doing double duty as end table and printer stand beside the lumpy two-seater sofa. “Anything else you need, just help yourself.”