THE plan had a particular elegance that Amelia appreciated, not because it was complicated, but because it wasn't. The most effective traps, she had always believed, were the ones that required the target to build their own cage. All you had to do was hand them the materials and step back.
Amelia had been the one to suggest the cheques. They were sitting in Sandra's living room on a Tuesday evening, wine untouched on the table between them, both women leaning over a notepad where Amelia had been sketching the outline of what she was beginning to think of as a controlled demolition.
"He is going to ask me for money again this week," Sandra said. "He always builds up to it the same way. Very attentive for a few days, lots of compliments, lots of making me feel like the most interesting wom
