But after I broke off the engagement, he felt there might be a chance. I had no idea he felt that way, and never understood how it could have happened till today.”

“What happened today?”

“He had naked photos of me.”

“And your panties,” Jess says.

“Her panties?” Broadus says.

“Daddy stole a pair of Nicki’s panties last March. He was obsessed with her.”

I continue: “The day we met, David kept trying to talk me into dating him and said he was going to send me a huge sum of money to prove how serious he was. He said if I promised to give him a month I could keep the money even if things didn’t work out between us. I told him I couldn’t date him under any circumstances because not only was he Michael’s dad, but also Alison’s husband, and she and I were extremely close. At least we were. But David had the money wired to my account anyway, and when I got the notification from the bank, I told him it didn’t matter. I refused to date him, and that’s the truth.”

“Worked out nicely for you,” Alison says. “You made a cool $1.2 million for doing nothing.”

“I didn’t keep the money.”

“What?”

Broadus says, “What did you do with it?”

“Surely you’ve checked.”

“We haven’t gotten that far yet.”

“Well, when you do, you’ll find I gave it to Michael.”

Michael looks up. “What are you talking about?”

“When I turned your dad down, it destroyed him. I said I was flattered by his gesture, but I couldn’t keep the money. I told him I was going back to you, and he was…I won’t say pleased, but…pacified. He said he wanted me to keep the money and use it for our future. So I thought about it, but that didn’t seem right because, what if we broke up again? So I asked your dad where the money came from and he told me about the index fund, and so I set up an account with that same company and put your name on it.”

“You put $1.2 million into an account for me?”

“Actually, I put one million in your account, and put the rest in our joint checking account so you’d have enough money to pay the gift taxes.”

The stars in Jessie’ eyes say it all: she’s found her soulmate.

Michael’s less impressed. He asks Broadus, “How can I keep her from taking the two hundred thousand?”

“What do you mean?”

“She just broke up with me, and the money’s in our joint account. She’s obviously going to take it.”

“Wow,” I say. “Seriously Michael? Every time you open your mouth it proves I made the right decision to leave you.” I reach into my handbag, hand him my checkbook for our joint account. “Here, Michael. The money’s yours. I’ve always considered it yours.”

Jess looks at her brother like he’s turd on toast: “She’s right Michael. You really blew it this time. Congratulations! You’re officially the world’s biggest asshole.”

Broadus says, “Miss Hill? If you want to change any part of your story, now’s the time.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because we’re going to check everything you said.”

“Please do.”

Alison says “Nicki, I owe you an apology. If all this checks out as I’m sure it will, you’ll have earned my respect, even as David has proven himself to be a total bastard.”

“Thanks Alison. I’ve always loved your family, even David. I’m just sorry for everything that happened.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jess says, and everything’s cool till Broadus asks, “Who called whom?”

“Excuse me?”

“A few minutes ago you said David wired the money. You told him you were going back to Michael, and David said to keep the money and use it for your future together.”

“So?”

“How did that conversation take place? Did you call him or meet him?”

“I—he called me.”

“Really? Because we checked his phone records, and your number doesn’t show up anywhere.”

“Maybe he erased it.”

“Maybe. But you know what he didn’t erase?” He looks around. “Anyone?”

Michael says, “The naked photos.”

Broadus shakes his head. “He didn’t erase the dozens of calls he made and received from a number we can’t identify. It appears to be a throwaway.”

Without looking in my direction, Jess asks, “What’s a throwaway?”

“A pre-paid phone.”

“You mean like drug dealers use?”

“That’s right.”

“You think Daddy was a drug dealer?”

“No, but he was conversing regularly with someone who didn’t want his—or her—identity known.