The available balance was fourteen dollars and twelve cents.

I stared at it, certain it was an error, and then I pulled up the ledger and read it line by line: cruise tickets, designer boutiques, a premium drink package, spa services, cash withdrawals, casino chips.

In six days they had spent near ten thousand dollars — the money for Walt’s medications, his home visits, his groceries, his heat — on themselves.

I sat down on the arm of the couch and looked at that number for a long time.