While Kole talked, Hudson searched on his phone. He read out loud: “If the person who was declared dead is later discovered to be alive, the insurance company has the right to reclaim the death benefit proceeds … plus interest.”

Morgan cringed. Kole fiddled with the marker like it was a fidget spinner. “If Clive really is alive,” he said, “I’d say the prospect of losing eleven million dollars would be a pretty compelling reason to shut up the only person who knew about it.”

“Garrison.” The name tumbled from Hudson’s mouth. He looked up, catching Kole’s eye, and he knew they were on the same page.

Kole turned toward the wall. “Scenario One,” he said as he wrote it to the left of the boxes. “Clive ran off with his mistress—your mom”—he looked at Morgan—“and the two have been living it up in Belize or wherever all these years.” He jotted down Clive + Ava and drew what Hudson assumed was supposed to be an island. “Garrison discovers that Clive is still alive, communicates this to Eleanor, who then tells Don. They take care of Garrison so the information never gets out.”

Hudson nodded along. It was plausible; of course it was. His mind went back to the cold case box stuffed full of Clive’s financials; the monthly withdrawals for ten thousand dollars and the one that had been skipped around the same time he’d reported his Porsche stolen. He’d be willing to bet the withdrawals were money orders sent to Ava to keep her quiet about the affair—and their shared child. But why had he stopped? Had Eleanor found out? According to his bank statement, it certainly didn’t look like he’d run out of money, but Hudson also knew that just because a bank account looked in the black, didn’t mean there wasn’t a sucking hole of debt in a different one.

“The Widowmaker,” he said.

“What about it?” Kole asked.

“Do you think it was really stolen?” He filled Kole and Morgan in on what he’d just run through in his mind concerning Clive’s recurring withdrawals.

Kole turned to the wall. He tapped Clive’s square with the marker. “You saying our boy Clive might have committed insurance fraud?”

Hudson nodded. “Eleanor’s a smart lady. I doubt she gave Clive total control of the accounts. She would have caught on to the fact that a mysterious ten grand was disappearing every month. After all, she knew he had mistresses and that Ava wasn’t the only one. But money orders are near impossible to trace. He might have been sending it to Ava to keep her quiet.”

“Hush money,” said Kole. “Sounds about right. So, Ava ditched Black Harbor, leaving little Morgan with her POS sister, and demanded Clive send the money directly to her account so he wouldn’t know she skipped town.”

“Right,” said Hudson, though he was still working through the scenario. The pieces seemed to fit.

“And you think Eleanor found out?” Kole asked.