"I'm saying that however he got it, it was earned off the misery of others." Jack's jaw clenched. "That fucker's hand was in everything."
I recalled everything I'd read. Jack's dad sounded more like a mob boss than anything else. But of course, if the stories were true, he practicallywas.
To Jack, I said, "But if it bothers you so much, why don't you just pay it back? I mean, you have the money, right?"
"And who would I pay?"
I tried to think. "Actually, I don't know."
"Yeah. And neither do I," he said. "That's the point."
At last, I understood what he meant. "Well, you could always just donate the same amount to charity or something."
"I could. And I did." He shrugged. "I still do."
"See?" I tried for a smile. "Then your account's settled, right?"
"It isnow."
"How so?"
"The book tour," he said. "Thatwas my payback."
And with those words, everything finally clicked into place. "So you were righting wrongs? As what? Some sort of penance?"
"Something like that."
"How many wrongs?" I asked.
"As many as I could. I had sixty people on my list. But some nights – hell more nights than not – I came up empty."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, there was nothing to find. Like maybe the person wasn't as crooked as they looked. Or maybe they did a better job of covering their tracks. Or maybe they kept their stuff somewhere off-site. You never know 'til you get there."
I was staring now. "So on that book tour, you went outsixtytimes? Really?"
"More if I count repeat visits."
I was beyond stunned and just a little horrified. Sure, I'd known that he'd been slipping out, but I hadn't realized the full extent of it until now. "So you were doing this like what, three times a week?"
"Give or take."
By now, I hardly knew what to say.
At something in my expression, Jack said, "Hey, you noticed more than you missed."
"This isn't about me," I said. "It's about you. That was really dangerous. And for what? To pay some imaginary debt?"
"It wasn't imaginary to me."
"But—"
"But nothing," he said. "I made a promise. And I had to keep it."
"A promise to who?"
"Myself."
