“I’ll tell you, after I talk to Elijah.” She bustled inside and grabbed her rental car keys.

“Mom, it’s past the twins’ bedtime,” Miriam called after her. “It’s probably past Elijah and Jason’s bedtime. What are you doing? He’s not our personal on-call attorney. Or our life coach! Let him live!”

“He just played a triple word score on Words with Friends two minutes ago. I know he’s up,” Ziva insisted. “This can’t wait!” She waved merrily out the car window as she backed out of the long driveway.

“I’m kind of hurt that Elijah plays Words with Friends with your mom and not me,” Hannah said, having come up behind them.

“Do you think Elijah is going to kill my mom?” Miriam wondered.

“I’m much more worried that he’s going to fire us for being pains in his ass,” Noelle answered.

Miriam nodded at this wisdom, and they all three stood together for a long time, watching the lights. Miriam wanted to be emotionally uninvested in her mom’s journey, but in so many ways, their journeys were inextricable. They’d both been shaped by the same man, and now they were both trying to figure out how to shape themselves.

The next day, Elijah was back in their kitchen, with another mug of hot cocoa and another platter of Mrs. Matthews’s cookies (pfeffernusse, today). This time, he looked much less anxious than he had the day after Christmas.

“As I’m sure you know, your mother came to visit me last night,” he said to Miriam.

“We’re sorry about that, by the way.”

“Excuse me,” Ziva protested.

“If I held you responsible for the actions of your parents, Miriam Blum, we would not be having this conversation,” Elijah said, popping a cookie in his mouth.

Miriam nodded gratefully, and Elijah went on.

“She’s been wondering what to do about your father, since she was certain he was already planning retaliation for her role in the auction,” Elijah said. “I’m not a divorce lawyer, nor am I licensed to practice in the state of Arizona, but I am an estate lawyer, and I could act as your mother’s counsel regarding some of her assets as she sets up a possible escape plan. These pfeffernusse are legendary, Mrs. M.”

Mrs. Matthews grinned at him.

“Since Richard burned Miriam’s paintings, I’ve been quietly transferring small amounts of money to an account in a Swiss bank,” Ziva told them. “I wasn’t ready to escape, then, but I knew I should have a plan.

“Elijah, is that legal?” Hannah asked.

“Legal, certainly,” Elijah assured them. “They had joint bank accounts. Men have been siphoning off their wives’ money and hiding it in offshore accounts since time immemorial. Is it ethical? I would say not usually, but in this case we’ll call it hazard pay.”