“I’m sorry,” Ted said, staring at the road ahead. “I know that I keep telling you this, but it’s true: I was so ashamed of what was happening. I got in over my head, and then it all spiraled out of control so quickly. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Maja nodded. “You should have told me,” she said. “But I also should have been listening. I was preoccupied with the house, and with trying for a baby. I should have known that something was going on. I guess I didn’t want to see.”

“Maja,” Ted said. “You know that even if we’re able to do the work on the house, we still owe a lot on the construction loan. If I don’t find something soon . . .”

Maja pressed her lips together. She knew he was right. “Can we hang on a little longer?” she asked. “Something might come through.”

“It’s a long shot, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to say anything to you,” Ted said. “But Adil might have something for me at J.P. Morgan. It’s a back-of-the-house job, in Hoboken. They need people for the team that’s going through all of the mortgage securities they bought from Foxfield. It would be sort of like being the coroner at your own autopsy, and I’d be taking a pay cut. But at least it would be a job.”

“That’s great,” Maja said. “I’m surprised. The last time I talked to Aneeta, she seemed a little standoffish.”

Ted gave a dry laugh. “People usually feel bad for you when you lose your job,” he said. “I guess it’s a little different when they think you’ve taken the whole economy down with you.”

By the time they pulled into New Falls, it was almost dark. They let themselves in and walked through the house. It smelled good, like new paint and freshly cut wood. The chaos from the party had been cleared out, and the restoration contractors had done a thorough job of excising the warped boards and cracked tile, setting up a solid foundation for the work that would come next.

In the kitchen there was a small pile of mail, mostly advertising and credit card applications. Near the bottom was an envelope with their name handwritten on the front. Ted picked it up and opened it.

“What’s that?” Maja asked.

Ted took a few minutes to read it through. “It’s an apology,” he finally said, handing her the letter.

Maja read it and then looked up. “This is an admission, right? William O’Connor. I have to check, but I don’t think his name showed up on the final list of charges.”

Ted nodded. “That sounds right.”

“This is evidence. We should hand it over to the police.”

“We could do that,” Ted said. “Or . . .” he began.

“Or?” Maja asked.

“Maybe we could just accept it as an apology.”