“Why do you care what they say? We’re both single and over twenty-one. And we’re not related now.” He knew what my next objection was going to be.
“People still look at us as brother and sister.”
“People are wrong. Besides, that was a long time ago, and we were never blood related. There’s nothing wrong if I want to do this.” Putting his finger under my chin, he tipped my head up, placing a soft kiss on my lips. My arms had been pinned between us. When he lifted his head, they were wrapped around his waist, holding him close.
“Get a room.” June had just left the auditorium. She gave a merry laugh and kept walking when we jerked apart.
“Not yet,” Drake called after her, causing her to laugh harder.
“Darn it, Drake.” I slapped his arm.
“What? You were enjoying that as much as I was.”
“That’s not the point. I just moved here. I don’t want people gossiping about me.”
“Okay,” he shrugged. “Let’s go to your place. Or mine,” he added when I shook my head.
I wasn’t sure how far he planned on this game going, but I wasn’t willing to find out. My high school crush was still alive and well. I needed to keep my distance. I didn’t trust myself.
Laughing, he opened my door for me to slip inside. Before closing it, he leaned down giving me another kiss that rocked me to the soles of my feet. I watched him in my rearview mirror as I pulled away. He didn’t make any attempt to follow. I couldn’t decide whether I was disappointed or glad.
A light rain began to fall as I made my way home. The temperature was dropping steadily. Snow was in the air. Thanksgiving was only a few weeks away. Then it would be Christmas and the New Year. No matter what family I’m with during the holidays, there is always a big celebration. I’m always thankful for everything God has given me. But this year it didn’t feel like there was much to celebrate.
CHAPTER SIX
My lips tingled from Drake’s kiss. I didn’t know what to make of that little episode. Was he serious, or toying with me? He knew I’d had a crush on him in high school. Would he take advantage of that now? How well did I really know him? I willed my heart rate to slow down, but it wasn’t listening to me. Someone had said “Your heart wants what it wants.” In my case, my heart wanted Drake.
My mind was still struggling with these questions when I pulled into the driveway at my small house. Once again I’d forgotten to leave the outside light on when I left that morning. Away from the street lights in town, it was extremely dark. Still the moon and stars gave off enough light that I could see someone was sitting on my front porch.
My heart began pounding in my chest again, only this time Drake wasn’t the cause. The shadows shifted when the person stood up, and my breath came out in a whoosh. Pushing open my car door, I stepped out onto the gravel drive. “Darn it, Bill. You almost gave me a heart attack. Why didn’t you call to let me know you were going to be here?”
He lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I came to see what happened at the town meeting tonight.” He didn’t come into town very often. He preferred being in the forest. In fact I hadn’t seen him since the night of Max’s funeral. I didn’t know if he’d found where Max had been hiding. What if I’d guessed wrong because of the dirty clothes Max had been wearing, and sent him on a wild goose chase? I didn’t know where else he could have been hiding though.
“If you knew about the meeting, why didn’t you attend?” I asked, unlocking the front door, and holding it open for him. “I’m sure your dad would have appreciated the moral support.”
“I’m not much for crowds. Besides, this gives me a reason to visit you.” A smile tilted his lips up.
“You don’t have to have a reason to visit me. Just call first, don’t sneak up on me. You don’t like crowds, I don’t like surprises. We should both remember that.” His face turned pink at my scolding tone.
“Sorry,” I said, giving a sigh. “I have to discipline the teenagers in the library so often I tend to forget when I’m talking to an adult.” Maybe it was also because he acted like a sullen teenager part of the time. I kept that thought to myself though.
“So, how did the meeting go?” He flopped down on the couch, propping his feet up on the cedar chest I used as a coffee table.
Moving his feet off, I sat down beside him. “Did you know that one of those big box stores is trying to build here?”
“No, I hadn’t heard anything about that. That kind of store would ruin most of the small businesses in town.” He shook his head. When he draped his arm along the back of the couch, letting it fall over my shoulders, I moved to put some space between us. “Dad doesn’t need that on top of Uncle Max’s murder and the missing money. Does that have anything to do with his murder?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Your dad just learned of it this morning. That’s why he called the meeting. People needed to know what was going on. Jim said Max was trying to stop them from building here.”
He sat up, frowning at me. “What did Drake have to say? Does he think that’s why Max was killed?”
“You know he can’t say much about an ongoing investigation, but he’s looking at all angles.”
“Yeah, right. He just wants to keep everything to himself so he can be the hero when he solves the case.” He sounded bitter.
“Stop it, Bill. You know that isn’t how Drake feels. He’s just as concerned about finding the killer and the money as you are.”
“Except he doesn’t share any of his information with the town, does he?” I wanted to tell him to stop acting like one of the teenagers in the library, but decided that would only make matters worse.
“You know he can’t divulge information about the investigation. Were you able to find out where Max had been hiding in the forest?” Changing the subject seemed like a good idea.
“Yeah, there’s an old shack a few miles from here. It looks like someone’s been there recently.”
“That’s great. What did Drake say?” Maybe this was the trail Max had told me to follow.
His expression darkened. “I haven’t told him. There wasn’t anything there, just the empty shack.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Big brother isn’t going to like me sticking my nose in his investigation,” he grumbled.
“You can’t go looking for a killer by yourself, Bill. You need to tell Drake about that shack.”
“So he can tell me to butt out? I don’t think so.” His jaw was set stubbornly. At that moment, he looked very much like his older brother.
He abruptly stood up. “I’d better get going. I’ll see you later.”
“Bill, please wait. Tell me what you found.”
“So you can tell Drake?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You always had a thing for him. I don’t imagine that’s changed any. Besides, Drake already knows about that shack. It’s been there for years. We used to go out there as kids. It’s in a lot worse shape now. If Uncle Max had been there, he didn’t leave anything behind. It just looks like someone had been in there recently. I’ll keep looking. If Drake doesn’t think to go out there to find where Max was hiding, that’s not my fault.”
Trying to ignore the jealousy in his voice, I followed him to the door. I put my hand on his arm to stop him. “Please be careful. Whoever did this to Max won’t hesitate to kill again if he thinks you’re getting too close.”
“Did you tell Drake that too? Or is that advice just for your little brother? In case you’ve forgotten I’m not that much younger than you. I’m all grown up now. And I’m not your brother anymore.” Before I realized what he was going to do, he pulled me into his arms, pressing his lips against mine in a hard kiss.
Struggling, I pushed him away. “What are you doing?”
“I’m kissing you, but I suppose you’d rather have Drake instead of me.” He slammed out of the house, disappearing into the dark forest.
I shut the door, resting my head against it. I didn’t kn
ow what to do about Bill. I cared for him, but not the way he wanted. Drake was another matter. I was more than half in love with him, and probably always had been. He’d kissed me, but was this simply a game with him? Or did he care for me in the same way?
This wasn’t getting me anywhere. I turned my thoughts to the night’s meeting. When chain stores moved into a small town, it wasn’t always a benefit to the town. Small businesses would close, and that would hurt a lot of people.
Jim said Max had been trying to stop the store from building in Pine Mountain. What would a corporation do if someone opposed them? Killing the opposition seemed a little extreme. There were other towns that would welcome a big store, just not ours.
What about the town’s funds? Drake kept saying the bank was working on it. But what was taking so long? Someone had to know where the money had been sent. It wouldn’t be hard for someone with good computer skills to hack into their system. Is that what happened? Is that why it was taking them so long to recover the funds?
If this was one of the major banks, it would be harder, but not impossible, to hack their system. As a small local bank, their system was less secure. There still had to be safeguards in place so things like this didn’t happen. Transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars should require special authorization, maybe even two signatures. So how had it been done? I would love to see who had the authority for such a transfer. Emptying the accounts should have raised a red flag.
Someone else in the treasurer’s office should have access to the codes. Drake said he’d talked to Jack Johnston. Had he checked him out? I shook off that thought. Of course he had. Drake knew his job. Max said he was to blame, but he hadn’t taken the money. What did that mean?
What if the accounts had been hacked? Maybe security in the treasurer’s office was as poor as that at the bank. That would mean anyone anywhere could have taken the money. All it would take was someone with good hacking skills. They could wipe out hundreds of accounts.
I fell asleep with these thoughts swirling around in my mind.
The next morning I decided to do a little digging of my own. I’d promised Drake I wouldn’t hack into the bank. He said he’d arrest me if I did anything illegal, and I believed him. I couldn’t talk to anyone in the treasurer’s office, but there was nothing to stop me from asking questions about my own accounts at the bank. As long as I didn’t ask about the town’s accounts, I wasn’t doing anything illegal.
I called Linda to give her a heads-up that I’d be late. Saturdays aren’t very busy, and the library is only open until noon. She could handle things until I got there.
“Did that woman con you into watching her baby again? That poor little thing needs a mama who loves her, not just her daddy’s money.”
“Um, ah, no, this has nothing to do with Jane or Hannah.” It didn’t take a mental giant to know who she was talking about. Bill wasn’t the only one with a jealous streak. “I need to run an errand. It shouldn’t take me long. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
I hung up before she started on another tangent. Linda had worked at the library when I lived here. I had been surprised when she hadn’t applied for the head librarian position. I’d been afraid there would be some resentment from her, but she seemed happy doing what she did.
Forgive me for this little deception, Father. I said my prayer as I pushed open the bank door promptly at nine. I have good intentions. I hope that counts for something.
“Hi Beth Ann, how are you this morning.” I hoped I didn’t look as nervous as I felt.
“Holly, hi. What are you doing here? I mean, how can I help you?” Her hands shook as she picked up the pen on her desk.
“I need to speak to someone in your wire transfer department. Could you point me in the right direction?”
“Are you helping Drake find the town’s money?” She leaned across her desk, her eyes nearly popping out of her head.
“Are you kidding?” My horrified gasp wasn’t for show. “Drake would arrest me if he thought I was interfering in his investigation.”
“No, he wouldn’t.” She gave a little laugh. “That man’s been in love with you since you were kids. I bet you could do just about anything, and he wouldn’t mind.”
I could feel heat moving up my neck now, looking around to see who was close enough to hear her. “I think you’re imagining things, Beth Ann. Drake and I are just friends.”
“Friends with benefits?” She giggled like a school girl at that. By now my face felt like it was on fire with embarrassment.
“Could I speak to someone in the wire transfer department?” I needed to put a stop to this conversation before it went any further.
“Oh, um, sure, I’ll take you. Fred is right down this hall.”
It turned out that Fred was fresh out of college. Or maybe high school, I thought when I got a better look at the young man. He probably hadn’t started shaving yet. I thought that was a little young to be working in a department with so much responsibility.
When it became obvious she wasn’t going to leave, I smiled at her. “Thanks a lot, Beth Ann. I’ll stop by on my way out. We need to get together for lunch sometime.” That was another lie I needed to ask forgiveness for. Beth Ann wasn’t one of my favorite people. Not only had she enjoyed teasing me, she had also manipulated people and situations. I doubted that had changed any.
“Oh, sure, that would be great. Take good care of her, Fred. She’s the Mayor’s step-daughter.” She reluctantly shut the door on her way out.
“I…I didn’t know Mayor Cox had any step-daughters,” Fred stammered. I wondered if he was nervous because of Beth Ann’s pronouncement, or because he’d done something wrong. “Isn’t Jane…I’m mean Mrs. Cox too young to have a daughter your age.”
Jane, huh? I thought. Just how well does he know her? I guess in a town the size of Pine Mountain, you know most of the people by their first name, even if you don’t have a personal relationship with them.
“Actually, Jane and I are about the same age, and I’m not Jim’s step-daughter any longer. He was married to my mom years ago. I have a few questions I would like to ask about having funds transferred to another bank.”
“Are you working with the chief?” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he gulped. He gripped his fingers so tight the knuckles were white.
“No, why would you think that?” Maybe Drake needed to take a look this young man. Put a little pressure on him, and he might tell everything he knows.
“Oh, um, I thought since you’re like Mayor Cox’s step-daughter, um never mind. What do you want to know?” He finally managed to get his nerves under control.
“I’m supposed to get some funds wired into my account from an investment. Are there any papers I need to sign?” I’d spent six months in the wire department when I was interning at the bank in Phoenix. Let’s see if he knows his business, or if things had changed much in the last few years.
He relaxed. “No, you don’t have to sign anything when you’re receiving a wire. Will it be a large sum?”
“Yes, well, large for me.” I laughed. I was beginning to get nervous now. An old saying I’d heard as a child came to mind. “Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” I didn’t want to get caught in that web. “I’ll be transferring it out again within a few days. Do I need to sign any forms for that?”
“Yes, I can get you all set up, and you simply need to call me when you’re ready to make the transfer.” He reached for some forms in a drawer. “Do you know how much you’ll be transferring?”
“How secure is a wire transfer? There isn’t any way someone can redirect the funds, is there?” I ignored his question.
“You mean like embezzling them?” His face had lost some of its high color now.
“Well, yes, I suppose that what I mean. I want to make sure it will be secure.”
“A wire transfer is more secure than sending a check, and is done immediately. There is not hold placed on the funds at
the other end either.”
Nothing new there, I thought. Nothing incriminating either. “Do I need to have more than one signature to authorize a transfer?”
“Are you the only signer on your account?” He frowned at me. I nodded my head, afraid I’d gone too far with my questions. “As long as you are the only signer, it will only require your signature.” He continued to frown at me.
“That’s great. I just want to make sure it’s secure. I don’t want anything to happen to my money. It’s all I have.”
“If you’re worried that someone on the other end will steal your money, maybe you should deal with a better investment company. I can assure you that your funds are extremely secure here. We have an investment professional here. Maybe you can talk to him. Then you wouldn’t have to worry. Your money will all be in one spot.” He had his sales pitch down pretty good.
“Let me think about that.” I stood up to leave.
“What about signing the transfer forms?” His nerves had turned to suspicions now.
“Well, if I decide to invest through the bank, I won’t need them. I’ll let you know when the funds are going to be wired in. Thanks for the information.” I quickly left the office. Making an appointment with an investment counselor was going a little farther than I had planned. I would get caught in my own lie for sure.
Stepping into the lobby, I stopped when an argument erupted between two men. Wally Miller was arguing with a man dressed in a fancy suit. Everyone in the lobby turned to stare at them. I couldn’t hear all that they were saying, but there was no doubt that Wally was angry.
“I told…need to stop…” Wally’s gravelly voice rose and lowered with the words, making it difficult to understand what he was saying. Fancy Suit managed to keep his voice low enough that others couldn’t overhear what he said.
“Gentlemen, please, this is a business. I can’t have you making a public display.” The bank manager stepped between Wally and his opponent.
“That’s too damn bad. These people can’t come in here and take over our town.” Wally shoved Fancy Suit out of his way as he stormed out of the bank. If there hadn’t been an automatic stop on the door, he would have slammed it hard enough to break the glass.
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