V Is for Vengeance

you can’t do any worse than me finding out what’s going on.”
    “You have a point.” I turned the subject over in my mind, looking for a starting place. “It would help if we knew what she was charged with and if she had a history of prior arrests.”
    Incredulously, he said, “You can’t be serious! You think she might have been picked up before?”
    “It’s entirely possible.”
    He hung his head in despair. “This is just going to get worse and worse, isn’t it?”
    “That would be my guess.”

10

    NORA

    Wednesday morning, Nora stopped at the downtown branch of Wells Fargo Bank, where she kept a safe-deposit box. She signed in and showed her identification, then waited while the teller compared her signature to the one kept on file. She followed the woman into the vault. She and the teller each used their keys to unlock the compartment. The teller removed the box and placed it on the table. As soon as the teller stepped out, Nora opened the box. In addition to her passport, vital documents, gold coins, and the jewelry she’d inherited from her mother, she kept five thousand dollars in cash.
    She spread it all out on the table. In her handbag, she had the check for seven thousand dollars Maurice Berman had given her for the earrings and bracelet he’d bought. In the past, she’d sold minor pieces of jewelry in order to have money to play the market. She’d opened a Schwab account and in the previous three years she’d made close to sixty thousand dollars in profit, ten of which she kept for emergency purposes, five at home and the other five at the bank. The rest of the money she reinvested. It was not a sum most traders would brag about, but she took a secret satisfaction knowing the proceeds were the result of her acumen. She tucked her passport in her handbag and returned the rest of the items to the box.
    Her portfolio was solid and diverse, weighted toward mutual funds. She had a few income-producing stocks and a handful of options she toyed with according to her mood. She’d avoided anything too risky, but maybe it was time to venture outside of her comfort zone. She wasn’t a financial whiz, by any means, but she was a devoted reader of the Wall Street Journal and an avid student of the ups and downs of the New York Stock Exchange. Since both she and Channing had been married before, they’d elected to keep their finances separate. Their pre-nup was straightforward: what was his was his, what was hers was hers. She used the same accounting firm, the same tax attorney, and the same financial planner she’d brought on board when her first marriage ended.
    Channing was aware she had investments, but the particulars were none of his business as far as she was concerned. She’d been foolish to approach him for the eight thousand, but she’d spotted an opportunity at a time when she didn’t have access to sufficient cash. While she’d been furious at Thelma’s interference, in hindsight she knew the woman had saved her from a hideous mistake. Nora regarded her capital as her sole and separate property. The courts might disagree. That was an issue for another day and one she might never have to face. Legal niceties aside, comingling funds could be disastrous.
    She left the bank and walked over to the Schwab offices, where she deposited the seven thousand dollars into her account.
    Money matters carried a sexual charge that lifted her spirits and gave her a jolt of self-confidence. She thought about the heft and feel of the seventy-five thousand that had fallen into her hands and out again in a matter of minutes on Monday. She’d given Dante the impression she was morally scrupulous when she was really afraid. Withholding information from Channing was fine in small doses. Playing the market made her feel secure, especially when it came to the cash she was stashing away. If she had to, she’d sell everything and add that money to the money she had on hand. Seventy-five thousand was too tempting a sum, as damning in its own way as her husband’s affair. When it came to keeping secrets, what was the difference between his taking a mistress and her hiding substantial assets? In truth, she was putting together funds in case she decided to leave. Seventy-five thousand in cash represented a door that had opened a crack. What she saw frightened her and she’d backed away.
    Home again, she changed into her sweats and went for a four-mile walk. She’d been walking four miles a day, five