THE HUSBAND, THE MISTRESS, AND THE TABLET THAT TOLD THE TRUTH

I stared at the screen. Bridget.

Cal hadn’t just drained the account. He had betrayed his mistress, too.

“What is it?” Sarah asked, seeing my face.

“He took the money. All of it. Over eighty thousand dollars.” I showed her the screen. “And Bridget just texted me.”

“Why would she text you?” Leah asked, coming into the hallway.

“Because Cal left her behind,” I realized. “The flight to Costa Rica... there was only one luggage tag on that watch. He’s not running away with her. He’s running away from both of us.”

I hit dial on the unknown number.

It rang three times before she picked up.

“Dana,” Bridget’s voice was trembling, entirely stripped of the arrogant notary who had stood in my dining room an hour ago.

“Where is he?” I demanded, not wasting time on pleasantries.

“He’s gone,” she sobbed. “We went to the motel by the highway where we usually meet. He told me to wait in the room while he got ice. I looked out the window and his car was driving away. He blocked my number.”

“Good,” I said coldly. “Now listen to me carefully. I have the pill bottle from the half-bath. The one with the powder residue. Arthur told us everything about the tea.”

A sharp gasp echoed through the phone.

“I can give this bottle to the police,” I continued, my voice dead calm. “I can show them your notary stamp on the fraudulent deed. You will go to prison for attempted murder and real estate fraud.”

“No, please! He made me do it!”

“Or,” I cut her off, “you can tell me exactly where he’s going right now. Costa Rica isn't until tomorrow night. Where is he sleeping tonight?”

Silence. I could hear her ragged breathing.

“Bridget. Ten seconds before I call 911.”

“The marina,” she blurted out. “He has a friend with a cabin cruiser docked at the South Bay Marina. He’s staying there tonight to lay low before his flight.”

“Which boat?”

“The Sea Escape. Slip 44.”

I hung up.

“Call the police,” I told Sarah. “Tell them you have physical evidence of poisoning and a witness to a fraudulent property transfer. Tell them the suspect is fleeing the country and is at the South Bay Marina.”

“What are you going to do?” Sarah asked, already dialing.

“I’m going to the marina.”

“Aunt Dana, no! It’s dangerous. Let the cops handle it!” Leah protested.

“The cops will take twenty minutes just to dispatch a car,” I said, grabbing my keys off the counter. “Cal has a two-hour head start. If he sees police lights pulling into that marina, he’ll unmoor that boat and take off into open water. I need to keep him on the dock.”

I drove like a madwoman. The roads were slick with November frost, but I didn't care. Ten years. I had given this man ten years of devotion, sacrificed my career to care for his father, slept on a cot in a downstairs bedroom, only to be robbed, gaslit, and left with nothing.

When I arrived at the marina, the docks were silent and swallowed in fog.

I parked by the bait shop and walked down the wooden pier, my boots echoing slightly against the damp planks. Slip 30. 35. 40.

Slip 44.

The Sea Escape bobbed gently in the black water. The cabin lights were on.

I stepped onto the boat’s deck. Through the glass door, I saw Cal. He was frantically stuffing banded stacks of cash into a leather duffel bag. My money. Arthur’s money.

I found a heavy metal cleat used for tying ropes. I picked it up.

I didn't knock. I brought the metal cleat down on the glass door, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

Cal jumped backward, dropping a stack of hundreds.

“Dana!” he screamed, his eyes wide with terror.

I stepped through the broken glass, gripping the metal cleat.

“You forgot something at home, Cal,” I said.

He looked at my hand, then at the open dock behind me. “Are you crazy? You could have killed me!”

“I’m not the one who poisons tea,” I said.

All the color drained from his face.

Before he could speak, a massive, deafening horn blared from the water behind the boat.

We both spun around.

A Coast Guard cutter had just pulled directly behind the slip, its blinding searchlight flicking on and pinning Cal’s boat in a harsh white glare.