A Thousand Little Blessings by Claire Sanders Page B

a family-owned bank, Mr. Owens. The State Department doesn’t have a lot of say in the dealings of privately held banks.”
    “That’s true for now, but things are changing all over the country.” He removed his suit jacket and hung it on the coat tree in the corner. “Since I have experience with the way your bank is organized, I already have an idea where to begin.” He fingered the ledgers on the bookcase near the desk. “But before I lose myself in these books, please tell me you’ll join me for dinner this evening.”
    “Are you sure it wouldn’t be better to conduct your investigation without a hint of influence from me?”
    “You couldn’t possibly sway my findings one way or the other, Henrietta. I’ll ferret out the root of your problem and that will be that.” He stepped closer to Etta and lowered his voice. “I’d hate to lose the opportunity to get to know you better while I’m here.”
    “I’m not free in the evenings, Mr. Owens. I—”
    “Please call me George.”
    “I have to check on my father once I close up the bank. As I told you, he had a stroke and−”
    “You don’t mind me calling you Henrietta, do you?”
    “Uh, no…if you’d like, but—”
    “What about this Sunday? I’ll put the top down and we’ll drive out to the lake.”
    Etta backed out of her father’s office. “Can I let you know later? I should ask my father.” The telephone on her desk rang, and Etta sprinted to take the call. She tried to listen, but her mind flitted from one concern to another like a June bug trapped against a window screen.
    “Yes, Carolina, I’ll be right down to look at the transactions.” Etta pushed away from her desk and headed downstairs without glancing into her father’s office. Best to leave George Owens and the audit to themselves.
    Carolina Swanson and James Walters had their heads bowed over a stack of papers when Etta walked into the tellers’ workroom. Etta still hadn’t bought that wedding gift for James and his new wife. She’d take care of that today.
    “Here she is now,” Carolina said with a nod toward Etta.
    James moved out of the way, and Etta stood next to Carolina. “What’s the problem?”
    “There’s a shortage of five hundred dollars, but there’s no teller’s receipt to match. It’s almost as if someone helped themselves to the money.”
    “When did this happen?”
    ”I reconciled the amounts in the cash drawers last night before I left,” Carolina explained. “But this morning, I discovered the amounts were different.”
    “Which of the cash drawers was short?”
    “Both of them. James is missing two hundred, and I’m short three hundred.”
    “Have you checked the teller’s log books?”
    James picked up a black book with red binding. “I checked them both. There isn’t any notation about withdrawals of those amounts.”
    “Normally, this would point to the teller helping himself to an unauthorized pay raise,” Carolina said. “But both of us are missing cash.”
    “Someone is trying to make us look guilty,” James said. “But one of us is always on duty when the bank is open, and our cash drawers are locked when we step away.”
    Etta laid her hand on the stack of tellers’ receipts. “Where did you put the cash drawers when you left yesterday?”
    “In the vault room, just as I always do,” Carolina answered.
    But not in the vault itself. That’s where the majority of the bank’s cash was kept and it remained closed and locked. Etta and her father were the only ones who knew the combination.
    “And before you ask,” Carolina said, “I’ve started keeping my keys with me at all times.” She pulled a black grosgrain ribbon from beneath her blouse. Three brass keys were suspended from it.
    Etta had ordered the lock on her father’s office door to be changed, but she hadn’t thought about the vault room. She patted Carolina’s arm. “All right. You’ve reported the matter to me, and that’s where your