The boat is tied up at the dock before Irene arrives, which has never happened before. Huck is watching her as she approaches. She figures he’s here early because of the difficult clients. He takes the coffee and biscuits from her, then helps her down into the boat.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he says.

Something about the clients? She raises her eyebrows.

“My friend Rupert called over the weekend to tell me that Paulette and Douglas Vickers have been taken into custody by the FBI.”

“What?”

“They were on St. Croix with Doug’s sister,” Huck says. “The FBI tracked them down and arrested them.”

“On what charges?”

“Real estate fraud,” Huck says. “Financial fraud.”

Well, yes, Irene thinks, of course. She wonders if the Vickerses were somehow responsible for the helicopter crash. Was Paulette Vickers the kind of person who could kill three people, then pick up one of the men’s widows at the ferry and describe the delights of the island?

“They’ll find out what she knows,” Huck says. “She’ll likely lead them to Todd Croft.”

“Real estate fraud,” Irene says. She thinks about the dummy driveways on the way up to Russ’s villa. “Financial fraud.”

“I didn’t want to tell you anything until I heard back from Agent Vasco,” Huck says. “She left me a message late last night, after I was asleep. I thought it might be time to start worrying…”

“Is it?” Irene says. Her wheels are spinning. Of course it is! Real estate fraud, Todd Croft, the money in Rosie’s drawer. Paulette knows far, far more than she’s saying, although likely she’s just a pawn manipulated by Todd Croft and maybe Russ as well.

“No, AC,” Huck says. “No. Agent Vasco told me it’s an ongoing investigation and if she has any other questions, she’ll be in touch.”

“So there’s nothing we should do?” Irene says. She wonders if the FBI knows she’s working with Huck. And if so, what do they think about that? Does it seem suspicious? Does it seem like Huck and Irene are part of the conspiracy with Russ and Paulette Vickers? Should Irene quit? She doesn’t want to quit. She takes a breath of the morning air and tries to calm down. She has done nothing wrong; Huck has done nothing wrong. The FBI agents know this.

“Nothing we should do, nothing we can do,” Huck says. “We just have to wait until they find Croft. But I wanted you to be aware.”

“Yes, thank you,” Irene says. She takes Huck’s left hand, the one with the missing pinkie, and squeezes it. “Please tell me everything you know. Don’t spare me because you think I can’t handle it. I’m tough.”

“That you are, Angler Cupcake,” Huck says. “But I’m happy to give you today off if you want to go home and mull this over.”