“Andrew made his own choices, Claire,” I said.

“You did this to him,” she said, her voice rising. “You couldn’t handle that he was successful. You had to destroy us.”

“He stole military funds, Claire,” I said. “He compromised the readiness of this entire brigade.”

“And what about me?” she cried, her hands flying to her chest. “What am I supposed to do now?”

She looked around the room as if searching for an escape.

“Everyone out there is going to know,” she whispered, her voice suddenly dropping.

“They already know something is wrong,” I said.

“The colonel’s wives,” she said, her eyes wide with panic. “The charity committee. The country club. They will all be talking.”

She gripped the back of the chair to steady herself.

“They will look at me and see a criminal’s wife,” she said. “They will strip me of everything.”

“You should be more worried about the legal implications, Claire,” I said.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“The investigators are going to look at every bank account,” I said. “Every signature on those housing vouchers.”