Retta didn’t regret that decision. Maybe that the timing had threatened Gabby’s financial future, but not that it was done. Baines needed to be stopped. No one threatened her family. She and Earl had agreed on that and cut a few corners by using group assets to make it happen.

She refused to plead her case to Faith and went with a simple explanation instead. “Baines was a wild card. He had started paying someone to follow my sons. Stolen medical and academic records. Invaded their privacy, and if the photographs we saw were any indication, his investigator got far too close to my boys.” That was the piece that had tipped Earl over into action. He could handle being stalked but refused to let anyone near his sons. “Baines, out of whatever mixed-up business hatred he had for Earl, also hired someone to dig around for dirt on Earl and on me.”

Faith shrugged. “These are personal problems.”

Retta saw the danger as far more pervasive. “The investigation could have led back to the group. Look what happened with the reporters.”

“Okay, but your guy killed Baines with a witness in the room, and then that witness—the ever-present and determined Gabby Fielding—went on a rampage that could ruin everything.”

Retta couldn’t argue with the timeline, so she pivoted to the more obvious point. “Gabby isn’t that powerful.”

“You should tell her that, because she’s acting like she is. Thanks to her, a reporter and Jessa are dead.” Faith poured a cup of tea. “Which makes me wonder why Gabby is still alive. Enlighten me.”

“We’ve had too much collateral damage. We’ve failed to keep a low profile and follow our own rules. Both of us. If this continues, someone will start poking around, and we won’t be able to pivot out of it.”

“You mean someone else. Gabby is already poking.” Faith stared at Retta over the rim of her teacup. “I told you about our confrontation at the funeral.”

One more thing to keep Retta’s anger in the almost unmanageable range. “She’s not going to talk. She has too much to lose. Too many family secrets she wants to keep buried.”

“You exposed the biggest one. The one about her daughter’s real father.” Faith snorted. “It didn’t even slow her down.”

“I was trying to do damage control when I had my man contact the daughter at school.”

Faith rose in her chair before settling in again. “You created the damage!”

“You’re lashing out. We had been tracking Jessa, but she’d almost snuck away. She wanted to hide and thought she could, but you gave her a phone that let us track her one last time. And then you sent Trent.” Retta admitted lulling Jessa into thinking she could have privacy then exploiting that trust had been brilliant. “You set her up then knocked her down.”