Ring of Lies (19 page)

‘
You’re
scaring me
, Jack
.
’

‘
Good.
’

‘
I had nothing to do with it, remember?
’

‘
I
believe you
, but others in authority might not.
In fact, they probably won’t.
Let’s hope
Daniel
didn’t use money he
scammed from his clients.
’
The elevator doors glided open.
He let go o
f
her arm.
‘
Come on, the bank is this way.
’

Downtown Miami bristled with life.
Office workers mingled with tourists
, newspaper
and street vendors.
Buses battled with taxis
, cars,
and delivery trucks
in a city where e
very building
appeared to
touch the sky.

Grace felt overwhelmed. S
he
ha
d never been comfortable in big cities.
To her they were places she visited
to shop
for that special occasion dress or a trip to the theatre, but she cou
ld never
live
in one.
She matched her stride to Jack’s
,
and kept close to his side as he
zigzagged
his way in and out of the pedestrian circus.
The hot, moist air felt oppressive
, and o
verhead storm clouds gathered
.
Sh
e wondered whether they were about drop their
contents
on
the city
or on her.

T
he First Apopka Bank
was situated in an older,
brick
building,
and
at only five storeys high
, i
t
was dwarfed by
the
skyscrapers on either side
.
Distinctly Spanish in design, the ornately carved façade reminded
her
of buildings she’d
seen
in Seville
on the
only
occasion she’d accompanied
Daniel on a business trip.

She tilted her head.
‘
What happened
here
? D
id the city run out of steel and glass?
’

Jack grinned.
‘
Give it another few years, and some crazy architect will tear it down and put up another glass monstrosity.
’

He held open the swing door and allowed her to pass.
Rather
than take
their
place in
the line of people waiting to be served by the tellers, he steered
her
toward
an advisor
sat at desk on the left hand side of the banking
hall
.

Grace paused to catch he
r breath, the
feeling
that Jack was about to be proved right
,
that Daniel had been embezzling his clients
, was
stronger than ever.
She swallowed hard, lifted her chin, and stepped
up to the desk
.

The dark-haired
young woman
in
a
smart
grey
business suit and crisp white blouse,
turned away from her computer screen to
study
them.

‘
Hi, there.
My name’s Tracy.
Please take a seat and
I’ll be with you in a moment.
’
She tapped away at her computer keyboard for a
nother
minute
until
satisfied with the entries she’d made
.

‘
So what can we do for you
,
Mr
.
and
Mrs.
?
’

‘
Jack
isn’t my husband,
he’s just a friend.
’
Grace answered quickly.
‘
I’m Gr
ace Elliott.
My late husband
held an account with your bank.
’

‘
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss,
’
Tracy said, with the appropriate
sadness
.
As quickly as she manufactured the condolence, she snapped back into business mode.
‘
How can we help you today?
’

‘
I wish to transfer
his
account
into my name.
I have the necessary documentation
,
a copy
of his
will, my birth and marriage certificates, along with a copy of the death certificate
,
to prove that I’m entitled to contents of th
e
account.
’

‘
And to any safety deposit box
Mr
.
Elliott h
a
d,
’
Jack added.

Tracy swive
lled her chair
and fixed her gaze on him
, then turned back to Grace
.

‘
You’ll need to speak to
someone more
senior
.
I’m not authorised to deal with such matters.
I’ll see if someone’s
available
.
’
She
picked up the phon
e and punched in a few numbers.
The brief conversation was held in hushed tones.

A
lmost immediately, a
short
balding
man
with spectacles approached the desk.

‘
Mrs.
Elliott,
it’s
good to see you again
,
’
he said, and shook her hand
warmly
.
‘
C
ome into
my office
.
’
He turned
on his heel and strode towards a door at the rear of the bank.

See you again
?
Grace
’s
knees buckle
d
.
She
stumbled
, and w
ould have fallen had not
Jack’s arm circled her waist
,
and pulled her to her feet.
S
he
bit down hard on her lip
,
lest the scream that was bubbling inside her should escape
.

‘
What’s going on, Jack?
’
she whispered.
‘
I’ve never met this man before.
’
She
took a deep breath punctuated with several even gasps, and clung to reality, praying she
wouldn'
t
betray her shock.

‘
I think I know what it means.
Stick close to me, I’ll explain later.
’

Grace stared at him, speechless.
Just thinking about all the lies and deceit made her feel physically
sick.

‘
Can you hold it together for a bit longer?
’
Jack asked.

Her voice wobbled.
‘
I think so.
’

He let her go.
His thumb skimmed her cheek as his fingers brushed the hair back from her face.

‘
R
emember what I said earlier about going along with whatever you’re told
?
’

Grace forced a smile and gave a tense nod of her head.

The bank official
held the door
to his office
open, and
motioned them
inside
.
As
she
entered
,
Grace
squinted at the name badge on
his lapel
.
She settled into the chair nearest to the large oak desk, and rested her hands in her lap.

‘
Forgive me,
Mr
.
Cody
, if I seem forgetful.
It’s been a difficult time.
’