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“Yes. He left me with two small kids, and with a lot of questions from the police, who didn’t seem to believe I wouldn’t have known what he was planning. They kept a close eye on me for the next couple of months, believing that sooner or later get Clive might get in touch. Of course he never did. He’s probably lying on some sandy beach somewhere, sipping cocktails and living the good life with Janice by his side. And since I found myself the subject of a lot of foul gossip, and my kids as well, I decided to leave my hometown. I changed my name from Wendy Atcheson to Rosa Gale, and we settled down here, far away from the place where I was born, and where my life had been shattered by a selfish thieving cheat. Then before long I met a man, this time a good and decent man.”

“Tilton Bond.”

“We hit it off, and I’m happy to say that we’ve been happily married for the past eight years.”

“So what about this blackmailer?”

“I got a phone call last night. A male voice I didn’t recognize. This man said that he knew who I was—that he knew all about my past, and if I wanted to make sure my secret didn’t get out, I could buy his silence by making a generous donation. Five thousand dollars seemed like a good start,he said.”

“Five thousand. That’s a lot of money.”

“It is, and I’m lucky enough that I can afford it. But since he said this was only the beginning, I know it won’t end there. He’ll just keep asking more and more. And even though my husband has money, I can’t possibly ask him to hand over his entire fortune, only because he married a woman with a dark secret in her past.”

“Does your husband know about your first husband and the bank robbery?”

“He does. When we met, at first I didn’t want to tell him, but the night before our wedding, I decided I couldn’t go through with it unless I told him who the woman was he was about to marry.” She looked up, and had tears in her eyes now. “So I said I was going to tell him something very important, and give him the opportunity to back out before it was too late. To his credit, not only didn’t he back out, but he also told me that he thought I was the victim here, and had nothing to blame myself for. He also said he would have understood if I’d kept quiet about my past, but I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to go into this marriage with absolute honesty as a basis to build a solid relationship. No lies.”

“Did you tell him about the blackmail?”

“I did, actually.”

“And what did he say?”

“He told me to go to the police. He said blackmailers will never stop asking for more and more money, especially when they see how easy it is to get it. I told him I couldn’t go to the police, since the blackmailer would make sure the story of my first marriage would get out, and frankly I don’t think I could face it. More importantly, I don’t want my kids to face the consequences of my mistake in marrying their father.”

“So what do you propose? No police?”

“Absolutely no police,” said the woman adamantly.

“So you’re going to pay?”

“I’m going to pay—but only this once.” She gave Odelia an anxious look. “Several of my friends have told me that you are very clever and very resourceful, Mrs. Kingsley. So I was hoping that you might know of a way out of this. Without involving the police.”

Odelia took a deep breath.“So you want this blackmailer to stop, but you don’t want him arrested.” She leaned back and thought this over.

“There must be a way to make sure my secret doesn’t get out, but also that this blackmail stops.” She gave Odelia a look filled with hope.

“Frankly, in my experience blackmailers can only be stopped when the truth comes out and the secret they use as a weapon against their target is no longer a secret.”

“My secret cannot come out—that’s absolutely out of the question. Nobody can know that once upon a time I was Wendy Atcheson. For my children, for their future.”

“How old are your kids?”

“Todd is sixteen and Aisha is fifteen. And then of course there’s the baby. Alisa.”

“So what age were Todd and Aisha when this happened?”

“Todd was seven and Aisha was six.”

“Do they still remember their dad?”

“Yes, they do, though we hardly ever talk about him now. It just wouldn’t be fair to Tilton—though I’m sure he would take it in stride. He’s the most wonderful and patient man I know, and has raised Todd and Aisha as if they were his own flesh and blood—which is more than I could ever have hoped for.”

“Let me think about this, Mrs. Bond. I have an idea, but I will need to discuss it with my husband first.”

Mrs. Bond’s face clouded. “Your husband is a police detective, isn’t he?”

“He is, but I can assure you that he won’t breathe a word about this to anyone.”

Mrs. Bond didn’t look entirely convinced, but since she didn’t have a lot of options, she reluctantly agreed. “All right, but you’ll have to think quick. The drop-off is arranged for tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“That’s right. I’m to drop off the money in the park at midnight, and make sure I’m not being followed, and that there is no police anywhere near the drop-off point.”