by Jeff Shelby
She certainly wasn’t wasting any time.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” I suggested.
Her pretty face puckered into a frown. “I thought you already knew. You said Vivian already told you everything.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “She told me the bank account was empty, but she didn’t have any idea what might have happened.”
“I don’t know either,” Sophia said. Her eyes were wide, and still wet with unshed tears. “I know how much money is supposed to be in there, to the penny! I’m the treasurer, for goodness sake!”
I nodded sympathetically. “Have you talked to Walter about it?” I asked. “I mean, he would be able to access the account and see what type of withdrawal was made, right?” My knowledge of banking was pretty much nil, but I figured he could do something like that. I imagined it would be as easy as pulling up the account and seeing when the last withdrawal had happened, and where and by what method. Vivian had even hinted that Frank, one of the bank employees, had been about to do that when she’d abruptly left the bank.
“Not yet,” she told me. The little dog positioned herself in Sophia’s lap, lavishing her chin with kisses.
“But that is something he can do, right?” I repeated.
“I imagine so,” Sophia said. Her hand had found the dog’s nape and she was stroking it, her long red nails disappearing between tufts of snowy white fur.
“So this should all be cleared up soon,” I said, smiling. Inside, though, I was trying to fight back the irritation I was feeling.
Why on earth had I let her guilt me into coming over? She didn’t have anything new to tell me. All she’d wanted was a shoulder to cry on, someone to commiserate with, and I had jumped like a dog coming to heel.
“Is Walter at work now?” I asked. Maybe she could call him while I was there, and I could at least get the satisfaction of hearing the explanation of what had actually happened to the missing money.
She glanced up at me. “What?”
“Walter,” I repeated. “Is he at the bank right now? Looking into it?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. But then she shook her head. “I mean, no.”
I frowned. “Which one is it?”
“Yes, he’s at the bank.” The little dog had settled in Sophia’s lap and was eyeing me with big brown eyes, its little pink tongue panting as it studied me. “But he had a meeting first thing. He said he would look at the account details when he was done.”
My frown deepened. Why hadn’t he looked up the account first thing? Why would he decide to wait? It shouldn’t have taken more than a minute or two to at least pull it up and get a preliminary idea of what might have happened. I stole a quick look at Sophia. She looked just as pretty as ever, but it was clear how upset she was: her eyes were still moist, her features drawn: anyone with a stitch of humanity could see that she was upset about something. If Walter knew how worried she was, wouldn’t he have moved heaven and earth to get her some answers prior to the start of his meeting?
“I’m sure it can be easily explained,” I said, even though I really did have my suspicions.
Sophia nodded. “I hope so. I mean, as treasurer, this looks really bad if something happened on my watch. And with my husband as the banker!”
I cocked my head. Was she really more worried about her reputation than the funds of her charity organization?
The dog whined and wiggled on her lap, and she reached out for a covered crystal dish on the end table next to her. She lifted the lid and grabbed a handful of something. I peered closer: dog treats. She had a covered dish filled with dog treats.
She fed one to the dog. “She won’t eat anything unless I hand feed it to her,” Sophia explained. “Just like a little baby,” she cooed, more to the canine in her lap than to me.
I frowned. Pets didn’t have to be high maintenance, but this one certainly looked to be that way.
I tried to steer us back to the conversation at hand. “Do you have any reason to suspect that someone might have…stolen the money?”
She let out a small gasp and the dog jumped, letting out a little yelp. Sophia fed him another treat. “Of course not! Who on earth would steal from a women’s charity?”
Probably the same people who set up fake Go Fund Me accounts, and who stole money from Girl Scout cookie booths, and who stole Christmas presents that were designated for the less fortunate. As much as I believed in the basic goodness of the human race, working with Mack at Capitol Cases had solidified the belief that there were definitely bad apples in the barrel of life. And those bad apples could wreak havoc.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “But the fact that the money is just…gone…well, that’s a little suspicious.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you accusing me of having something to do with this?”
I held up my hands. “No, no, not at all.” The thought actually hadn’t even occurred to me. “I’m just saying that those kinds of things, where thousands of dollars just vanish, aren’t usually the result of a computer error.” I didn’t know this for a fact, but there was one thing I did know: I’d trust a computer’s computation skills any day over the ethics of a human being.
“I asked you to come over because I thought you’d offer some comfort,” Sophia said, sniffling. “And instead you’re sitting here accusing me of embezzling money from my own charity!”
I shook my head. “Sophia, that’s not what I’m doing.”
“Yes, you are!” Her eyes blazed, and a single tear streaked down her cheek. Her dog noticed her agitation, because she sat up in her lap and yipped a couple of times, looking anxiously at me before turning back to Sophia. “You think I did it! You think I stole money from the Ladies Society. As if I need three thousand dollars!”
This was not how I’d anticipated the morning going.
“I’m not accusing you of anything, Sophia,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “I’m actually trying to help you.”
She sniffed again. She was still frowning but her eyes had lost their fire and she looked more irritated than angry. “I would hope not,” she said primly. “My husband owns the only bank in town and I own my own business. We are both upstanding citizens of Latney. We would have no reason to steal from a charitable organization, much less one that I am the treasurer of.”
In theory, I was in complete and total agreement. But part of me was silently thinking, the lady doth protest too much.
I hadn’t accused Sophia of anything. And, like Vivian’s call the day before, Sophia was the one who had contacted me. I had zero interest in the ladies society’s finances; actually, I had zero interest in the society, period. So when I asked questions, it wasn’t because I was suspicious of Sophia. If anything, I was simply trying to ferret out information, to see if there were missing pieces I could help her cobble together that might point to an explanation.
Sophia was many things: she was a gossip and a busybody. But not once had I thought she might be a thief.
“I understand,” I said. “I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation, and I’m sure Walter will get to the bottom of things when…when he’s done with his meeting,” I finished lamely.
Sophia nodded. “Of course he will.”
We sat there in silence for a moment, the tension and awkwardness tangible between us. Sophia had said that she’d asked me to come over to provide comfort. I wasn’t sure what in our previous encounters had given her the impression that this was one of my skills or talents. I didn’t even know how to pretend to be comforting.
“So,” I said, drumming my fingers on my thigh, “um…”
The front door opened and I whirled toward it, grateful for the diversion.
Walter Rey stalked into the living room and I knew one thing right away.
He wasn’t going to be comforting, either.
EIGHT
Walter’s expression changed as soon as he saw me.
The dark, thunderous look disappeared, replaced by a ca
lm and easy smile. It was like someone had immediately wiped away his former expression with the swipe of an eraser. I blinked a couple of times, wondering if I’d imagined it.
“Rainy,” he said as he stepped into the living room. His short brown hair was combed neatly, not a strand out of place despite the brisk breeze outside. He adjusted his tie as he walked toward us. “What a pleasant surprise.”
I stood and we shook hands. I had socialized with Sophia on a few different occasions, mostly in her store and at church, but my relationship with her husband hadn’t really moved outside of the business realm. He was still very much my banker, the man who handled my money.
“Nice to see you,” I said. I didn’t sit back down; it actually felt like a really good time to get the heck out of there.
Walter’s gaze darted to Sophia before returning to me. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”
I glanced at Sophia. She was feeding her little dog more treats, a look of complete adoration on her face.
I wasn’t sure what to say. Did I tell Walter that I knew about the missing money? Or did I lie and come up with some other reason for being there?
“Sophia invited me over.” The middle ground felt like the safest option.
Walter raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
I nodded.
“Any particular reason?”
I looked to Sophia again. She stood up, clutching her dog. “I need to take her outside. She has to go potty.” She shot me a pleading look.
Before either Walter or I could say anything, she flounced out of the living room and into the kitchen, presumably to take the dog into the backyard.
I scrambled for something to say, something to distract him, something that wouldn’t hint as to the real reason I was there, because she clearly didn’t want her husband to know.
“I heard you just got back from Miami,” I said. “Sounds like a fun place to visit.”
Walter’s amiable expression returned. “Oh, were you and Sophia talking about our trip?”
Bingo. He’d just given me the opening I needed and I willingly took what he was offering.
“I’ve always wanted to visit that part of Florida,” I said. This was not a lie. “I’ve only been to Orlando, and even then we didn’t make it off the Disney property.”
Walter smiled. “Miami is beautiful. Gorgeous beaches, good restaurants—the perfect place for a little R&R.”
“Was a weekend long enough?” I asked.
I’d asked the question as it related to being able to experience all of what Miami had to offer, but Walter’s response spoke to something entirely different.
“It’s never enough,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s never enough time,” he said. His eyes clouded behind his wire-rimmed glasses and a frown threatened his smile. “I’d like more—more trips, more time—but the store keeps Sophia pretty busy. Too busy, if you ask me.”
“Doesn’t the bank keep you busy, too?”
“Well, sure,” he said. His eyes drifted downward and he stared at the floor. “But I have Frank, you know. I have support staff, I can afford to take time off. But that boutique? It’s a one-woman show. Sophia needs to be there.”
His tone shifted on those last words, and I could hear resentment creep in. This was a surprise to me. I’d always thought Walter was supportive of Sophia’s business; he’d never given any hint that he felt otherwise. Of course, I reminded myself, I didn’t have anything but a professional relationship with him so I would have no reason to think otherwise. He wouldn’t let his personal feelings about his wife’s business slip into his professional conversations; no one would.
“She has a wonderful store,” I said.
He didn’t respond; just nodded, a little stiffly, it seemed.
“And people seem to love it,” I added. “In town, I mean. And she obviously loves it.”
“She sure does,” he grumbled. “Spends enough time there.”
“Has she ever thought about hiring some help?” I asked. “You know, someone who could take over some of the responsibilities so she isn’t the one who always has to be there?”
“She likes being there,” Walter said. “I think it’s her favorite place to be. Unless she’s with Tallulah.”
“Tallulah?”
“The dog.” He said the words with disdain. Clearly he wasn’t as enamored with the little white pooch as his wife was.
“Oh. Well, perhaps you can take more vacations soon,” I offered. “More little getaways. Once this blows—” I clamped my mouth shut, biting off my words.
His eyes narrowed. “Once what?”
My eyes widened and I quickly looked away, but there was no way I could walk back my words and no way he could interpret them to mean something else. ‘Once this blows over’ meant one thing: the missing money.
And I had been determined not to mention it to him.
I reached for my purse. “My goodness, look at the time!” I didn’t have a watch on and there was no clock visible in the living room, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from blundering my way through an excuse. “I…I have an appointment I need to get to. Do me a favor and let Sophia know I had to leave. We’ll have to continue our conversation another time. Bye!”
I brushed my way past him and hurried out the door before he could say a word.
NINE
My phone was ringing the minute I stepped into my house.
I didn’t want to answer it.
Because the number flashing on the screen belonged to Sophia and I was pretty sure I knew exactly what she was going to say. She would be upset with me because I’d told Walter I knew about the missing money.
Even though she’d been the one to invite me over, and even though she’d left me stranded in her living room with him, right in the middle of him asking questions, it would somehow be my fault.
I knew what I should do: let it roll over to voicemail.
But I also knew that if I did that, Sophia would just call back, again and again.
Better to just answer and get it over with.
I kicked off my shoes and swiped my phone to accept the call.
I took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry—”
Sophia didn’t let me finish. “Walter knows!” she practically shouted.
“I know,” I said. I grabbed my empty mug from the counter and poured more coffee into it. I stuck it in the microwave to warm it up. “I’m sorry.”
“How do you know?” she asked. “Did he tell you before he told me?” She was practically shrieking now, she was so hysterical.
“What?” I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“He knows what happened to the money! What are you talking about?”
The microwave dinged and I grabbed the steaming mug. “What did he say? What was he able to find out?”
“There was a check,” Sophia said. She was openly crying, her voice hitching on every other word. “He was able to find it in the bank system. It was cashed in Richmond.”
“Richmond?”
“A check signed by me!” Sophia wailed.
“Did you sign a check?”
“No!”
I leaned back against the kitchen counter. “Who was it made out to?”
“Me!”
“You?”
“Me!”
“So there is a signed check—by you—made out to you?” I repeated. “But you didn’t sign it or cash it?”
A fresh sob escaped. “No. I didn’t sign or cash anything!”
“You’re sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!” Her voice was agitated now. “Don’t you think I would remember signing a check? Or cashing it?”
I was sure she would. Anyone would. In an era where most banking was done online, cashing checks in person was not a run of the mill activity.
The phone hummed with silence because I wasn’t sure what to say.
If there was a check that Sophia had signed, an
d the check had been made out to her and cashed somewhere, what did that mean? Sure, someone could have forged her signature, but who could have cashed a check without photo ID?
The uneasy feeling returned.
Nothing Sophia was telling me was adding up, and I was forced to admit the one thing I’d vehemently denied thinking.
I was beginning to suspect Sophia was more than just a busybody and a gossip.
She might really be a thief.
“I don’t know what to say,” I admitted. I took a sip of my coffee and made a face. I hadn’t warmed it up long enough. I shoved it back in the microwave.
“What should I do?” Sophia asked. The hysteria in her voice was back.
I had no idea what she should do but I had a good inkling as to what was best for me.
I needed to extricate myself from the situation, pronto.
Because I had a sneaking suspicion nothing good was going to come out of my involvement with this.
“I don’t know,” I said again.
“Well, I need you to come up with something,” she told me.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” she said. “I need your help.”
There was a knock on my front door and I sprang up and away from the kitchen counter. “Look, I have to go,” I said. “Someone is at my front door. We can continue this conversation another time.”
That was a lie. I had no interest in pursuing this particular dialogue with her. I wanted to forget everything I knew about the missing money.
I ended the call just as I reached for the front door handle.
And my heart sank.
Because Sophia Rey was standing on my front porch, her phone still pressed to her ear.
And she did not look happy.
TEN
“Well, this is certainly a surprise.”
Sophia lowered the phone and dropped it back into her purse. For the first time since I’d met her, she looked a complete and total mess. Her eyes were red and puffy, with streaks of mascara trailing down her cheeks. Her nose was a similar shade of red, and her braid was mussed, as if she’d been continuously running a hand up and over her scalp.
