Daniel's voice came back, rough with sleeplessness. "Agreed."
"And if I ask you tomorrow whether there is anything else — any other secret wearing the costume of protection — you will answer me without a pause."
"There isn't," he said. Then, after a pause that made her heart kick: "There is one more thing. Not a secret like this. A practical thing. The money I gave Natalie — I never put it back. It was about eleven thousand, over seven months. I can show you the withdrawals. I should have told you when the statements came."
Elise stared at the ceiling beams. "Eleven thousand dollars."
"Yes."
"For her freedom."
"Yes."
Silence stretched. Then Elise said, "We will look at the numbers tomorrow. I am too tired to be a forensic accountant at five in the morning. But thank you for not making me drag that out of you with pliers."