PART 4

Elaine met me at a diner the next morning.

She came alone, wearing a raincoat and carrying a legal pad instead of a briefcase.

She listened while I described the broken bowl, the bank cards Dennis had taken, and his order that I leave.

“You don’t have to prove his financial wrongdoing to have rights in your marriage,” she said.

“And you don’t have to solve a business scandal before we address your safety.”