“Let’s table that vote until we’re finished with our other business,” Annie said.

Nikki was so relieved at the reprieve that she felt light-headed. She looked at the others, who were smiling at her the way sisters smiled. She had their vote, she could see it in their eyes.

“All right,” Nikki said.

“There’s not much.” Charles picked up a square box that looked heavy. “Inside this box is a record of the resolution of all Bonnie and Clyde’s identity theft victims’ cases. The last checks were mailed to the recipients five days ago, just in time for Thanksgiving. They were substantial and should make for a very merry Christmas. The other banks involved, recognizing their liability for their own employees’ misconduct, did essentially what Chase did for the foster-kid victims. You ladies made thousands of people very thankful this year. Your firm, Nikki, worked around-the-clock to make this happen. There is a surplus of money, mostly interest the monies earned while it was offshore. Where do you want those monies to go? Anonymously, of course.”

“We talked about it earlier, Charles. We want half of it to go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the other half to the center that helps find missing children,” Annie said.

“Commendable, ladies. Consider it done. Now, what name did you all come up with for the island?”

Yoko stood up. “We unanimously agreed to call that slice of paradise Flower Island.”

“Flower Island it is. One last thing. I have a request for your help. The time frame will be so tight if you agree to take it on that I don’t know if you want to step in or not.”

“Tell us what it is, and we’ll let you know,” Kathryn said.

Charles squared his shoulders. “It’s bleak, and it’s terribly sad. A client showed up about ten days ago at Nikki’s old law firm. She and her husband, with the aid of a lawyer, hired a surrogate to give them a child. They paid $50,000 to the surrogate plus legal fees. They also paid all medical expenses for the surrogate. The couple borrowed the money from relatives and friends. They had a beautiful baby daughter whom they loved dearly. Nine months later the surrogate decided she wanted her baby back. She sued. The couple lost the baby because they didn’t have the funds to fight the lawsuit.