"Just give us a ballpark number," I said.

Claudia looked hard at the photographs.

"Fifty thousand, maybe more. It depends on a lot of factors-OR time, whether or not she had a local or she needed an anesthesiologist-I have a sterile clinic in my office, but sometimes I have to use the hospital-it all depends on the patient and the procedure."

"Would you be willing to give expert testimony in court?"

"Of course! Rebecca's my oldest friend! I can't believe what he's done to her! Y'all! I just can't believe this!"

"It's pretty unbelievable," I said and started to giggle.

"What are you thinking, Abigail?" Rebecca said. "You've got that she-devil look on your face."

"That fifty thousand is one very nice chunk of change. And remember, it's also a marital asset. Hoo! Boy! I'll bet y'all this. Nat Simms isn't going to be happy that we know about it. Probably-no, not probably-for sure he has never revealed this information to Harry Albright. And we can all be doubly sure the judge isn't gonna like it one little bit!"

Rebecca was looking out the window at the water and Claudia was still looking over the pictures.

"Add on ten thousand," Claudia said. "Her teeth are definitely resurfaced."

"That's even better," I said.

"Well?" Claudia said. "Rebecca? You ready to go do some shopping?"

"Sure."

"What are you doing for dinner, Abigail? Want to join us for something fried in a basket?"

"Let's go to Huey's for drinks," I said. "Watch the sunset?"

"Who's Huey?" Claudia said.

"My best friend," I said. "Better brace yourself."

They left, so I called Huey and invited us over. He was delighted to have a new face in our little crowd.

"See you at seven?" I said.

As soon as we hung up, I sat at my new desk, opened the envelope and began to read.

Have you ever had sex with another woman during the time you have been married? Nat took the Fifth. Visited a hotel? Nat took the Fifth. Smoked pot? Nat took the Fifth. Abused alcohol or prescription medication? Physically abused your wife? No. No. No.

On and on it went-one lie after another. I got so mad I thought I would scream, but I called Albright's office instead. He picked up the phone almost immediately.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Thurmond?"

"You know, Mr. Albright, this procedure is not a joke."

"Do you hear me laughing, Ms. Thurmond?"

"This interrogatory is packed with lies and denials. Do you want to go to court?"

"Ms. Thurmond? You'll have to prove that they are lies. And you might like to know, the judge just signed the paper today for us to begin a discovery process of our own."

"What took you so long? We go to court in three weeks."

"Oh, don't worry, we'll be ready."

I didn't like the tone of his voice. It sounded like he had something on Rebecca.

"Well, just to let you know, I intend to deposition Nat and Charlene."

Big silence.

"To what end?"

"Mr. Albright? I think we would like to try and settle this in mediation. Save our clients a lot of money."

"I don't think my client's ready to settle."

"Really? Oh! One other thing...we are beginning a valuation audit of the family business. If there's anything funny in the books, it wouldn't bode well with the IRS for your client."

This friendly tango continued until I proved myself to be more equipped to clobber him and to be just as stubborn as he was.

"Tell your client to settle, Mr. Albright. At the end of the day, this battle won't be worth it for him in terms of money or his reputation."

"Okay. What do you want?"

"The house, custody, child support, a fair settlement of assets and alimony for life."

"Gee, is that all? You must be kidding, Ms. Thurmond."

"I've never been more serious in my life."

"Then get ready to go to court, Ms. Thurmond, and get ready to lose."

I hung up the phone and looked at it.

"You son of a bitch," I said. "We'll see about that."

Daphne, who had been standing in the doorway probably taking notes, said, "Ooh! We better open a window quick!"

"How come?"

"Get the bad cunja outta 'eah on the next breeze!"

When all the windows were finally opened wide and the sheers billowed out and up in the gusts of cool air, she turned and faced me.

"That nice lady's in trouble?"

"Yeah, well, no. Divorce. Her husband's a dirtball and his lawyer is an animal, that's all. They don't scare me."

"That's good! Good! Good for you!" She swung her fist through the air, socking the jaw of an invisible opponent. "Go get 'em!"

I had to laugh with Daphne. She was such a little wiry ball of energy-not really understanding what was going on but wanting to be supportive. How did that character Byron have such a fabulous little sister? Maybe Byron was fabulous too?

Later, when I arrived at Huey's and while we waited for Rebecca and Claudia to arrive, I took Byron aside and said, "I am totally in love with your little sister, Byron. She is exactly what I needed!" I handed him a check with his finder's fee.

He arched his eyebrows and said, "She's my momma's true pride. Someday my little sister is going to rule the world. Thanks."

"You might just be right!"

Rebecca and Claudia finally came through the door, and Rebecca looked flustered. Huey took Claudia's arm to take her to Miss Olivia for the introduction and the inquisition that was sure to follow. I turned to Rebecca.

"What's up? You look a little discombobulated."

"Nat called. He broke up with Charlene. He wants me to call off the dogs. He wants us to sit down without lawyers and divide everything down the middle. He said, You know I'll be fair with you, Rebecca. Haven't I always been fair?"

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I didn't think he knew the meaning of the word."

SIXTEEN.

RISING TIDE.

OVER the next days, some things improved and others did not. Huey, Rebecca and I were at the gallery talking about the September show. It looked like Tom Blagden, the award-winning photographer from Charleston, was going to open the season, and Huey was out of his mind with excitement.

"Do you understand what this will mean for us? It's huge! Huge!"

"You'll have to cater that one, Huey."

"You're right! And press! We'll have press everywhere! Goodness! We'll need the right invitation! I mean, after all, the right invitation makes all the difference!"

"Huey! Don't worry about it!" Rebecca said. "I'll take care of the invitations for you! There's a new stationery store right..."

Life was moving all around me. Huey was planning his season. Claudia was coming by before she flew back to Atlanta. Rebecca was becoming more entrenched in life at Pawleys. And I was the one with the shovel, digging Rebecca out of her hole that she found rather cozy. Everyone seemed to be making forward motion except me. I had stepped back into my past. Maybe it would redeem Rebecca; maybe I would learn something. I didn't know then-only that we were too far down the road to turn back.

Seeing Claudia had done Rebecca a world of good. There was simply no substitute for an old friend and all those years of shared history. She praised Rebecca's watercolors, and naturally, Rebecca framed one for her as a gift.

"You can't give me this!" Claudia said when Rebecca gave it to her.

"I think it's the very least I can do," Rebecca said.

Claudia was thrilled.

"Gosh, y'all, this has been the best vacation! But I guess it's time to go home and lypo some fannies!"

"What a way to make a living," I said.

"You said it. But then, after I do a hundred chins and noses for vanity's sake, along comes a kid with a cleft palate and I'm glad I hung in there."

"Claudia goes with a bunch of doctors to Costa Rica every year and does free plastic surgery for kids who need it."

"Yeah, me and thirty men. You'd think I would've found a husband by now. I've got doctors coming out of my ears all the time."

"You'd never marry a doctor," Rebecca said.

"Why not?" I said.

"Humph! They all think they're God!"

"So do lawyers," I said. "And I should know."

"Yeah, but you're one of the good guys," Rebecca said.

I shook my head, hoping Rebecca was right.

Claudia gathered her things and said, "I gotta catch the shuttle. Rebecca, you ready to go?"

"Sure."

"Hey, listen, if y'all get a date for court, I'll come back for sure, and if you need me to testify, Abigail, just try to give me some notice."

I felt reasonably sure that we would never go to court. At that point I had enough incriminating information on Nat Simms to put him behind bars if it ever became public. Even if Nat wasn't smart enough to realize it, surely Harry Albright was, but so far Harry hadn't budged. I thought that they were still counting on Rebecca's former weaknesses of character to carry the day, that ultimately she wouldn't fight back.

If dealing with Nat and Harry Albright wasn't annoying enough, there was the weather to talk about.

The storms brewing in the southern Atlantic Ocean were a national obsession and a regional migraine. A tropical depression, to which I was paying some degree of attention, had become Tropical Storm Alex and then Hurricane Alex with a category three rating and winds of one hundred twenty miles an hour. Behind Alex was Bonnie and Charlie, and before I knew what was happening there were so many sightings of the Gray Man that I imagined he was grinding trenches on the shores of Pawleys Island. Too bad he couldn't charge overtime. He would've been the wealthiest specter beyond the veil.

Ah, hurricane season! August was to be a month of hurricanes, disappointments and surprises.

We had our hearing over Rebecca's order of protection. All four of us were there. The judge asked me to define the terms of it, and while I could have used the opportunity to bring up other issues, I stuck to only those things relevant to Rebecca's safety. I had taken Nat's temper and Jeff Mahoney's warning of it very seriously. We said that we wanted Nat to stay away from Rebecca, that he was not to come within five hundred feet of her and that if he had any business in the Pawleys Island area he was to give me forty-eight hours' notice. The judge looked at Nat Simms in disgust, signed the papers and whacked the desk with his gavel.

Deposing Nat was an exercise in frustration. Before a deposition, my obligation was to inform the opposing attorney of everything I had found during discovery, which of course I did by putting it in the hands of the U.S. Postal Service the night before, knowing Harry Albright wouldn't receive it on time and that he would be forced to attend the deposition, as I was always fond to say, naked. Shucks. I should've used FedEx, but golly, counselor, I wasn't thinking! So sorry.

Albright reluctantly agreed that I could depose Nat in his office, and naturally, I took Rebecca with me. I told Rebecca to dress very conservatively, which she did. She was not allowed to say a word while I interrogated Nat, but I encouraged her to glare. Albright sat quietly by Nat while a court reporter recorded everything. Like the interrogatory, Nat's answers to my questions were sworn testimony and perjury would be punishable under the law.

Nat lied like a cheap rug almost every time he opened his mouth. It went like this.

"Mr. Simms, have you ever rented a hotel room with Charlene Johnson?"