The whole operation had gone off like clockwork until Rafe Bartok realized the face he’d been paid to make himself up to look like belonged to a murder victim. Emily couldn’t help but feel that it was entirely reasonable for him to feel shortchanged by a mere one thousand dollars, a cash payment Quinn had withdrawn from the bank a few days earlier.

Frank was being held in what they called low-security detention. Emily was not paying him visits. She was sleeping in the middle of their king-sized bed. She’d thrown away his pillows along with his shampoos and aftershaves, cigars and Maker’s Mark. She’d sold his BMW and given his Chevy Suburban to NPR, then rented three oversized storage units at Inner Peace Storage and hired movers to transport the contents of Frank’s office, along with everything he’d stuffed into their basement, attic, and garage.

Most of the time, looking at those newly emptied spaces sparked joy.

“So,” Emily said, folding the newspaper and tossing it into the recycle bin, “back to work.” On the table she placed a chart showing the timelines for their current projects. “Looks like everyone has a full plate.” Business was booming, with Lila now rounding the staff of Freeze-Frame Clutter Kickers up to three and expanding their reach to Cape Cod. Their success was a testament to the axiom that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. You want to build name recognition? Get embroiled in a scandal. Better yet, get embroiled in two.

Quinn Newell’s murder trial, along with the return of prints and lithographs stolen from libraries, had catapulted them into news feeds nationwide. The Murphys’ books, alas, turned out to be worthless. Most of them had been purchased in marginal condition as library discards. It was the prints, protected in special tubes that were impervious to the mold and decay, that were priceless. The police had impounded scores of giclée copies that the Murphys had been prepared to “return” to the libraries from which they’d stolen the originals. They’d then sell the originals, netting well over a million dollars.