‘She was going to persuade Bodo to get her out of jail. There’d be a new deal for them both,’ I said. ‘Bodo would be able to proclaim how decent it was of him to let her out – how big of him. Also how brave it was to take her back. Also, it was a boost for love. He was a stand-up guy with love in his heart. He was confident of his manhood and showed it by remarrying Madge. It was extremely newsworthy too – millions of dollars’ worth of free publicity. And he’s no chump. Except that he thinks he’s a bigger man than anybody could ever have guessed.’

‘But Madge’s divorce registry?’ Amy reminded me.

‘How many prisoners in the women’s wing had been married more than once?’

‘Was there some woman in prison who thought up the business? Isn’t it also possible that Madge’s guy, Tom, came up with the idea that divorcing couples, like brides and grooms, should register for gifts? And that they could make a business of it?’

‘It is possible, isn’t it,’ I said. ‘That also would explain why he has to be included.’

‘And she thinks she can trust me with the boyfriend. I’m too old for him,’ said Amy.

‘Several possibilities follow. It could be a smart business. I mean fashionable. It’ll attract notice because it’s ingenious, because it has a comic wrinkle based on the bridal registry custom. The newspapers will pick it up. So will TV. If friends can give wedding presents, they can also come forward when a marriage goes sour.’

‘Could you suggest how Madge fits me into this?’

‘I think I might …,’ I said, being tentative.

‘Then go ahead.’

‘She figured in a murder plot. You were part of a notorious divorce. You were cleaned out by Jay –’

‘Of course I was. I didn’t have so much as a coffee cup left. Add me to those two from the prison, and we would make a real freak trio in a tiny showroom at the Merchandise Mart, with desks, bright lights, and telephones. It made me laugh when Madge described it. She spoke of TV programs. Maybe Oprah Winfrey. She’s so absolutely high-handed and crazy that I thought just for that reason it might make money.’

‘Junior corporate employees might get a kick out of it. It suggests an advanced countercultural lifestyle.’

‘You’re perfectly right, Harry.’

‘And you’d be invaluable to Madge. You’d attract the columnists and reporters. The talk shows certainly would be dying to book you. Vanity Fair and magazines like Hustler would pursue you.’

‘I couldn’t bear it,’ said Amy.

‘Well, in the eighteenth century, some serious person or other wrote about “wanton and disorderly mirth,” also “the vices of levity.” It may have been Adam Smith. I’d be surprised if Madge wasn’t on the same track.’

Round-eyed, Amy stared at me and then stared past me. Presently she said, ‘I couldn’t possibly … Naturally, I’d be the third member of a scandal team. Madge would make me just that. I saw the truth of it as soon as you said it.’