Betsy was the first one up in the morning, followed by Molly who required some explaining as to how she went to bed in one house and awoke in another! However, she was thrilled that baby Claire was in residence. Martha was more than willing to let anyone respond to her daughter's needs while she tried in vain to shake a world class hangover. After some negotiations Martha was allowed to remain in bed while the rest of us, Claire included drove back to our house.
Betsy was in a chipper mood considering all that was going on. She seemed untroubled that her best friend tried to seduce her husband. She elected to remain at home and play house with Molly and Claire, giving me the freedom to do business at the office without the worry of curious ears over hearing. After a shower and breakfast I was on my way.
It was too early to contact the west coast contingent so my first call was to Merrill Cooms. I was tardy in keeping him informed, especially concerning Julie, now a sort-of member of our group. He listened without saying a word as I revealed everything, including Julie's effort to collect the million dollars.
"Two pieces of advice," he said. "Put safety first and be careful. That should be foremost in all of your minds. Don't put yourselves at risk, ever. If harm gets too close, stop your activities. Secondly, I realized when we began this venture; it would have its run and then be over. Don't for a minute think you disappointed me in any way. While I'll be devastated, as I'm sure you will be when it ends, be comforted in what you've accomplished. It doesn't matter what causes its termination, there were always a myriad of possibilities something could go wrong. When it happens, it matters little which was the cause." His final admonition was that I take whatever course I felt would produce the best results. In spite of his kind words, the conversation left me with the feeling we'd disappointed this incredibly generous gentleman.
My next chore was to check in with After. Unfortunately I couldn't tell them about the break in at Julie's place without it adversely impacting our anonymity. I was desperate to learn more details and could have used their help. I missed talking with Daniel Brennan. Since he'd dropped into seclusion there were any number of times I could have used his council. This was one of them. I trusted Brennan sufficiently to reveal Julie's identity and the burglary. That wasn't something I felt I could do, this early in our association, with After.