“They’ve already gone after Theo’s practice,” I said.

“Don’t let them scare him off,” Nora said.

“And don’t answer Rosalind’s texts.

Let her spend the afternoon wondering why fifty million dollars didn’t buy your obedience.”

I hung up and stepped back over to the terrace table.

I stood quietly in the warm coastal air, looking at the legal notice lying next to my fresh cup of coffee on the terrace table.

At five o’clock the laptop screen flickered once and then the connection steadied.