“He just wanted the girl to have winter coats and proper dentist appointments, and you need to leave us alone.”

“Why would an old friend give you ten thousand dollars in cash?” I asked.

“What did you give him in return?”

Rebecca pulled the blue paper off the table, folded it against the rim of her coffee mug, and stood up so fast her knees hit the table frame.

The coffee sloshed over the rim, dark liquid pooling under my saucer.

“I gave him peace of mind,” she said, her voice dropping to a harsh rasp.