To Maja’s surprise, Aneeta laughed. “Oh, darling, construction is always a disaster, right up to the minute when it all somehow comes together! But you really should have used my builder. He’s absolutely reliable.”

“It’s not that,” Maja said, and she began to tell Aneeta about the party, and the police, and the house. When she finished, she looked up to see the incredulous look on Aneeta’s face.

“Oh, Maja,” she said. “That is . . . unbelievable. I am so, so sorry. Adil and I are here for you, whatever you need. Want to start with a Xanax?”

Maja laughed, for the first time that day. “No. Thank you, though. I think the wine took the edge off.” She glanced down at her glass and saw that she had almost finished it.

“They think it was kids?” Aneeta asked, frowning. “Local kids?”

Maja shrugged. “The police officer said that they like to drink down by the river on the weekends. He seemed to think they might have broken into the house.”

“This is a really nice town,” Aneeta sighed, echoing Detective Murray’s words. “But I have heard some things about the high school. Great SAT scores, but also a lot of partying.” She lowered her voice, despite the fact that, except for her sons playing upstairs, they were alone in the house. “There was actually an overdose last year. Pills, I think. But that’s what happens when you mix money with access. Most people here send their kids to the public school. It’s all very democratic. But that includes a lot of families who don’t, let’s say, hold their kids to the same standards we might. It doesn’t matter so much when they’re little. We love the elementary school. But Adil and I have talked about looking at private schools when the boys are older. I’d hate to see them get mixed up with kids who aren’t on the path to college.”

Maja frowned, wondering how true that was. People moved here for the schools. “Aneeta, I don’t want to start any rumors. I don’t know if it was kids from the local school or not.”

“Don’t worry,” Aneeta said. “I won’t tell a soul.”

While Aneeta took a snack up to the boys—carrot sticks, not Cheetos—Maja began to flip through the stacks of catalogs that were piled on the table. There were a few housewares catalogs, but mostly they were real estate brochures and Home Depot circulars.

“Hey,” she said, when Aneeta came back into the room. “How’s business?” In the last few years, Aneeta had gotten involved with buying up older properties, renovating them, and flipping them for a profit. It would have surprised Maja, except that investing in real estate seemed to have become a national pastime. As far as Maja knew, Aneeta’s only prior experience was renovating her own kitchen. Which, admittedly, was gorgeous.