Fire in her eyes. Devotion. Beth Scoggins had recounted how Daney had turned off after her abortion. It had been days since Valerie’s abortion and she believed Daney still cared.

I said, “Guess Cherish found where he hid it.”

Silence.

“How do you think she found out?”

Shrug.

“No idea at all, Valerie?”

“Cleaning. Prolly.”

“Cleaning where?”

She got up, paced the length of the room, then the periphery. Passed Monica’s bed and tucked in a corner of blanket.

Playing housekeeper.

She circled the room again.

“Cleaning where?” I said. “If we’re going to find your money, we have to know where.”

She stopped. Paced some more. Said something I couldn’t hear.

“What’s that?”

Another inaudible whisper.

I walked over to her. “Where, Valerie?”

“Underneath.”

“Underneath the house?”

Silence.

“Is there really an underneath, Valerie?”

“Here!” Running to her own bed and slapping the covers. Slapping them. Pounding them. “I cleaned real good but she sneaked in! Bitch!”

* * *

I returned her to Judy Weisvogel’s custody. Milo gave me a set of gloves and the two of us moved the bed away from the corner. The cement floor bordering the garage’s northern wall had been patched years ago, some sort of grayish sealant slopped generously over cracks and crumbles. Grease spots shining through the white evoked the room’s original function. In the corner, the sealant stain was scored by four straightedge cuts. Shaped roughly like a square. Two foot square, scoring the floor.

Flush with the floor, no handle or protrusions, no way you’d notice if you weren’t looking.

Cherish Daney had noticed. There were all kinds of ways to houseclean.

Milo got down and stared at the seams. “Pry marks.”

He worked the crowbar into the spot. The slab pulled away easily. Underneath was a dark space, three or so feet deep.

“Empty,” said Milo. “No, I take that back . . .”

He got down on the ground, stuck his arm in, brought out a dusty wooden case.

Smith & Wesson label inside the lid. The bottom was foam with a form-fitted indentation. Revolver-shaped indentation.

His gloved finger prodded the foam. “Wonder who got lucky first.”

* * *

We left the property, now cordoned by tape. Judy Weisvogel stood by the side of the cube talking softly to Valerie. The girl twirled her hair and rocked from foot to foot. Weisvogel took a tissue and dabbed Valerie’s eyes. As I passed, Valerie’s eyes met mine and narrowed with contempt. She flipped me off. Judy Weisvogel frowned and drew her away.

What would Allison think about my technique?

What did I think?

I drove away, staying focused on a plastic baby bracelet.

Milo said, “Looks like you made a fan, back there.”

“She’s resentful Cherish entered the room. Furious at me for prying the information out of her. Another violation of her turf.”

“Turf. Like a little wife. Sick.”