Think Twice

“You got six bullets in there. You need more?”

“If I do, I’m in trouble.”

“Ha!” Joh

“Thanks, man. Wa

“What’s he doin’, smokin’ up?”

“What do you think?”

“Nah.” Joh

“Ha! Old married man, eh?”

“You got that right.” Joh

“You guys good to go?” she asked.

Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen

Alice stood behind Knox while he rang the doorbell of a modest house of yellow stucco. The windows were dark, and in the driveway was an old Neon with a BABY ON BOARD sign. The air smelled fragrant from a flower garden that filled the front yard, and tiny plastic starlights lit the walkway.

Alice poked Knox in the back. “Ring again.”

Knox pushed the bell, and it rang just as a light went on in the second floor.

“Stick to the script,” Alice said under her breath. In the next minute, a light went on beside the front door and a woman’s face appeared in its window.

“Julie, it’s Knox Balderston. Remember me? Can you let me in?”

“Knox?” The door opened, and Julie Cosgrove stood there in a white bathrobe. She was short, overweight, and had plain features, her dark skin pitted on her cheeks. Her hair was pulled back in a stiff ponytail, which she patted self-consciously as she smiled. “Hey, how’ve you been? Why’re you here at this hour?”

“This is my friend, Be

“Been a long time. I see Letty in the market sometimes and she tells me you’re doing well.”

“I am, thanks. You, too?”

“So far, so good, now that I divorced Joey.”

“I knew he wasn’t good enough for you.”

“Why’n’t you tell me?” Julie shot back, and they both laughed as she gestured them into a blue patterned sofa and chairs. “Here, please.”

“Letty says you got promoted at BSB.” Knox sat down, and Alice followed suit.

“Yes.” Julie nodded, with pride. “I’m unit manager now.”

“Good, good,” Knox said, and Alice lost patience with the soft sell. She leaned forward in the chair.

“Julie, I’m Be

“My.” Julie frowned, taken aback.

“Can I stop that from happening? We’re talking about three million dollars.”

Julie’s dark eyes flared. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, very.”

“You’re in private banking, then. Which bank is it, in the U.S.?”

“USABank, in Philadelphia.”

“I believe they’re a partner bank with us, are they not?”

“Yes, they are.”

“That makes it easier, if one’s goal is to prevent us from freezing the accounts. Your bank, USABank, has probably already emailed us a request to put a hold on the account, because it originates with them. If one wanted to be sure that the message didn’t get to us, one could intercept the email and delete it.”

“How would you do that?”

“It’s not difficult.” Julie paused, thinking. “Simply put, that sort of email comes in to a special account, and I have access to that account. All managers do. One could just go in and delete the email. Or it could be forwarded to the wrong department, and that would delay it until somebody figures out the mistake.”

Bingo.

“In fact, that happened the other day. We didn’t get a request for a transfer of funds because a manager forwarded the email to the wrong Christine. We have three Christines, upstairs. It was supposed to go to Christine G. but it went to Christine K.” Julie looked sheepish. “Needless to say, our president wasn’t happy.”

“Look, I need you to do this for me, and I’m willing to pay you very well.”

“No.” Julie shook her head. “This is against procedure.”

Knox patted her knee. “Can’t you help us, Julie?”

“Julie, please, woman-to-woman. It’s my money, and I only want to keep what’s mine. Look, here’s proof.” Alice reached in her messenger bag, found the wallet and passport, and handed them over to Julie, who examined them and handed them back.

“It’s still improper.”

“But not illegal. It’s not theft, since it’s mine.”

“The bank would never let you withdraw the full amount on such short notice, anyway.”

Alice wasn’t taking no for an answer. “But you could wire it to another bank, couldn’t you, the same way it was wired to BSB?”

“Yes, of course, if you requested it.”

“Then that’s what I request, to intercept the freeze on the accounts, to fund my account tonight, and to transfer the money out immediately to a bank in Switzerland or someplace like that, where he can’t get it.” Alice paused for effect. “If you help me, I’ll pay you $50,000.”

Julie’s mouth dropped open. “That’s a year’s salary!”

“You’ll see, it can be yours in a few hours.”

Knox nodded. “Do it, Jules. I am, and she’s good for it. We’re in it together, and if you do it by forwarding the email to the wrong department, like you said, nobody will be the wiser. You can keep your job and the money.”

Julie was thinking it over, her forehead wrinkling as she glanced at Knox, and Alice could see she had to close the deal, fast.

“It’s a good plan, Julie. Knox is right. It’s a lot of money, and if you have a child, you can use it, right?”

“How do you know I have a child?” Julie’s frown reappeared, and Alice worried she’d said the wrong thing.

“On your car, I saw a BABY ON BOARD sign.”

Julie fell oddly silent.

Knox brightened. “You have a child, Jules? I have three sons.”

Julie managed a smile. “I have one. James is his name, James Albert. He’s two and a half years old.”

“Where is he?” Knox glanced upstairs. “Asleep?”

Alice realized that there were no toys around the well-kept living room and they hadn’t awakened a baby when they’d rung the bell.

Julie answered, “He’s in the hospital, going on his third week. He’s got leukemia.”

“Oh, no.” Knox touched Julie’s knee again. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’m praying for the best. The doctors say I should keep up hope.” Julie sighed heavily, and Alice saw her opening.

“Well, then, don’t you want the best medical care that money can buy? It can make all the difference in the world, can’t it? If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for him.”

And Julie blinked.