“Chloe makes a small retail salary at the boutique in town,” I said.

“They’ll have to rent a place.”

Vance studied my face for a moment, then reached into his jacket pocket and took out Walter’s blue leather pocket ledger.

He laid it gently on top of the legal papers.

“He wanted you to have this back once you understood what he did,” Vance said.

I took the ledger and walked out of the office into the cool November afternoon.

The strip mall parking lot was quiet except for the faint hum of traffic on the state highway two blocks away.