“I don’t know if they can get here tonight, but probably first thing,” said Michelle after a moment. “Jim’s partner was in the Manhattan DA’s office for years. Ingrid, that’s her name. Her father was a state judge. She knows everybody.”

“Can Jim get into Claudia’s bank account?” asked Edie’s dad.

“Yes,” said her mom, a light coming into her eyes. “But so can we.”

Gabe left the room, heading for the office computer on the garden level. Michelle’s phone rang and she took it, hurrying upstairs. The pumps finished emptying Edie and she turned off the machine at her feet. Her hands shook as she unscrewed the half-full bottles. Careful not to spill. She set them on the coffee table, twisting a cap on each.

“I’m going to go talk to my dad,” she told Nathan. Edie wrapped her sweater around her chest and closed her dad’s office door behind her. She said it quickly: “The summer after high school I slept with Ridley and I got pregnant and he got me an abortion and I haven’t talked to him since.” And then: “Should I tell Mom?”

Her father sat silent at first, then he stood up and came over to her, wrapped his arms around her body, and let her cry.

“She probably thinks it’s her fault Chad did that to Claudia,” said Edie. “But I’m the one that brought them into our lives.”

Gabe kept hold of her. “You aren’t responsible for what Chad did. Neither is your mother. Let’s focus on finding Claudia, okay? We need your mother strong right now.” He lightened his embrace and looked at her, trying a smile. “Thank you for telling me. You didn’t do anything wrong. Do you understand that?”

She nodded, though she didn’t agree. Maybe sleeping with Ridley wasn’t wrong, but forgetting she had a sister the past two weeks was wrong. Chiding Claudia for being a party girl was wrong. She could have given her a break, but she hadn’t. Edie wiped her eyes and sat on the office sofa.

“Did you find anything?” she asked.

“I was just about to log in to her account,” said Gabe. He sat down and clicked at the computer.

“Oh my God,” he said, leaning toward the screen.

“What?”

“Claudia withdrew fifty thousand dollars in cash last week.”

Neither spoke for a moment.

“She could be anywhere,” whispered Edie.