Chapter 42
CLAIRE WASHBURN ALWAYS enjoyed having Julie over to play with her daughter, Ruby Rose.
She hoped Julie and Rosie would one day be as close as she was with Lindsay.
Despite the age gap between the six-year-old and the eight-year-old, her goddaughter and daughter got along really well, and hearing the girls giggle in Rosie’s bedroom made her heart soar.
“Listen to those little girls. Not a care in the world,” Claire commented to Edmund, who was sitting next to her on the couch, watching a British period piece with women who were far too thin and men who were far too good-looking. She ate these things up.
When Claire got no response from her husband, however, she turned toward him and found him sound asleep. Frustrating.
Claire stood up to check on the girls and paused at the bedroom door. They were talking about Julie’s dog, Martha, when she also heard Hope’s voice. She realized that her niece was in the bedroom too, which made her a little nervous.
Claire eavesdropped for a while longer. She hated to admit it, but she was making sure Hope didn’t say anything inappropriate to the little girls.
When she was satisfied the conversation was innocent, she decided not to interrupt them. She had a basket of clean clothes to put away and started by putting towels in the guest bathroom. Then she slipped into the guest bedroom so she could put a few blouses and a pair of jeans on Hope’s dresser.
The room was messy, but nothing worse than she’d gone through with her boys. Just a normal teenager stage. No need to say anything. Her niece was only staying another week or so. Claire didn’t want to alienate her further.
She took a moment to stack the clothes neatly on top of the dresser, and noticed Hope’s Fendi leather purse.
Was that genuine? She paused for a second, then felt the leather.
It didn’t feel like a knockoff. She tried to remember how much a purse like this cost. Had to be around three or four thousand bucks.
Claire glanced over her shoulder at the open bedroom door.
She hadn’t intended to snoop, but when she heard all three girls laughing in the other room, she decided to take the chance and look inside the purse.
A wad of cash was crammed down the side.
Claire couldn’t help herself. She reached in and pulled out the cash.
It filled her palm and had some heft. A thin, red rubber band held it together.
She did a quick count and realized it was about eighteen hundred dollars. Mostly in twenties. A sick feeling came over her.
What is Hope doing with this much cash?
Claire felt hypnotized, staring at the money. Then a noise at the door made her jump. She almost dropped the cash. She’d been too absorbed in her discovery to pay attention to her surroundings.
She leaned on the dresser and turned toward the door. Edmund rubbed his eyes like a toddler who’d just woken up.
He mumbled, “What are you doing?”
Claire managed to gather her wits and say, “Laundry.”
He said, “I turned off the TV. I think I’m going to go read in bed.”
Claire managed to slide the money back into the purse without Edmund noticing. Her heart was still racing. She had no idea what she was going to do.