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“She was, but when she got sick, she had no choice. So with the help of her therapist, she gradually overcame the phobia, even though she still has a hard time with it, even now. Every time they went to the clinic, she locked herself up in her room, then snuck out through the window and visited the clinic with Dominic.”

“All so Rick wouldn’t be traumatized,” said Harriet. “And in the meantime Dominic managed to raise all kinds of suspicions about him being some kind of serial killer.”

“He felt he did what he had to do for his family, consequences be damned,” I said.

“Is she going to be all right?” asked Dooley. “Kristina, I mean?”

“It’s too soon to tell,” I said. “But so far things are looking good.”

“I hope she’ll be okay,” said my friend. “And if not, she can always use Gran’s money to buy herself an even better treatment.”

“That money wasn’t Gran’s, Dooley,” said Harriet, not for the first time. “She had to give it all back to the police the moment Omar was arrested.”

“Too bad,” said Dooley. “It could have bought Kristina a lot of cancer treatment.”

“I think she’ll be fine,” I said. “Knowing that her daughter’s killer is finally caught will go a long way to start healing that family.”

“Do you think Omar’s friends would have told the police?” asked Brutus.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Though judging from what Justina told us, I had the impression that Dunc, especially, was prepared to tell his fianc?e the truth. Though I guess we’ll never know for sure.”

“I’m glad it all turned out all right,” said Harriet. “And I’m also glad that we all worked together so well this time.”

“Yeah, this was a team effort,” I said. “And it took a team to bring Omar to justice.”

Tex held up his arm, the signal Chase had been waiting for to come to his father-in-law’s assistance, and he gladly left Scarlett and her Volvo brochures behind.

“I still think you should get a minivan,” said Gran. “It’s roomy, it’s safe, and if you end up only having the one kid, you could take us all on holiday with you.”

Chase’s face revealed his abject horror at the prospect of taking Odelia’s entire family on holiday with them. But then of course that’s what you get: you don’t just marry one person, you marry their whole family. For better or for worse. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. And with a yellow Volvo station wagon or a roomy minivan.