Myra knew exactly what Annie meant by one of those days. It meant she was jittery, and nothing would go right until she figured out a way to make things work the way she wanted them to work.

“Okay, let’s hear it,” Annie demanded as she dropped four slices of thick bread into the toaster.

“Last night, after you all left, I went down below to talk to Jane Petrie. All she kept doing was yammering for a lawyer. I really wanted to give her a good swat. I gave her every opportunity, Annie, to show some remorse, but that young woman just laughed in my face. She’s all about money, vacations, and designer clothing. She earns a decent living, and she has a profession, but she’s greedy.”

Annie reached for the toast that popped up and lathered an inch-thick coating of butter and jam over all four slices. “So, what did you do?”

Myra clenched her teeth. “I made an executive decision all on my own. I called Abner and told him to erase her identity. I also told him to clean out that robust brokerage account of hers. As of this moment, she no longer exists. Then I called Avery Snowden and at two o’clock this morning, he and his team came to pick her up.”

Annie stared at her friend over the top of her coffee cup. “Where did they take her? Never mind, I do not want to know.”

“I told them to give her some cash and to take her somewhere where she could put her profession to use. We’ll probably never hear from her again, and that’s a good thing. Annie, she did not show one iota of remorse. Even when I described in graphic detail what Moss had done to Amalie. What she said was, ‘Tough for her. It’s a dog-eat-dog world we live in, and only the strong survive.’ Can you believe that?”

“Yes, I do believe it. Well that takes care of that loose end, and I can assure you no one will care that you made that executive decision on your own. Oooh, a text is coming in from Maggie.”

“What’s she saying?”

“That she called Lincoln Moss and left a message she knows he is not going to return.”

Myra reared back as she, too, received a text from Abner, alerting her to the fact that Lincoln Moss had just called a company called Universal Privacy. She showed the text to Annie and frowned. “I know that name from somewhere,” she said.

“It’s one of the dozen or so detective agencies that Moss used to try to find his wife. I recognize the name. That has to mean he’s up to something, or he’s really worried. Probably both,” Annie said, finishing the last of her toast. She carried her dishes to the sink, rinsed them, then set them in the dishwasher before pouring herself another cup of coffee.