“If he figures out it’s a setup before you touch the paper, he’ll walk away and bury the money again,” Vance added.

“He won’t walk away,” I said.

I tapped the red button to hang up and set the phone face down on the oilcloth.

“And what about your Buick?” Sarah asked.

“The spare key from the flour jar worked,” I said.

“He thinks my car’s still sitting three blocks away because he took my main key ring.”

Sarah pulled a blue spiral notebook across the kitchen table and opened it to a fresh page.

“Write down the exact words you’re going to say to him,” Sarah ordered.