“I’m good, Sarah and you?”Jamie asked.She’d been one of the few close friends from high school.There were some days he thought he’d never have survived the horrors of high school had it not been for her.
“I’m fine, just fine.”She looked him over.“You look good, Jamie.I was so sorry to hear about Ms.Mattie.She was one of a kind, the best kind.”
“Thanks, Sarah.I appreciate that.”
“I’d have been at the funeral, but I had work, and with the kids and all...well, it was near impossible to get away.”
“That’s okay.I understand.”He took a breath.“I need to see if Adrian Jackson is available.”
“I’ll check for you.”She went back to her desk and picked up the phone and punched in a few numbers.“Hi, Adrian.Jamie Puckett is here and wanted to have a word with you.”She listened for his response.“Will do.”
Sarah smiled at him.“I had no doubt he’d want to talk to you.”
“Oh?Why’s that?I don’t think I’ve met him before.”
“No, you wouldn’t have.He moved over here from the Agusta branch.Big step up for him.”She glanced over her shoulder and leaned in, “Your grandparents are...were really,reallygood customers, so I knew he’d come running.”
Sure enough, a not-quite-middle-aged man came walking through the lobby at a quick pace.As soon as he got close enough, he stuck out his hand.“Adrian Jackson at your service, Mr.Puckett.How can I be of assistance?”
Jamie took the outstretched hand.“Nice to meet you, Mr.Jackson.Thank you for seeing me without an appointment.I have some paperwork here and...well, I do have some questions.”
“That’s quite alright.Anytime.”He looked at Sarah, who sat smiling.“Thank you, Sarah.”
“My pleasure, Adrian.Jamie and I go way back.All the way back to grade school.”
“Why I like small towns,” Adrian said, smiling ear to ear.“Shall we go into my office?”
On the way, Jamie shared that his legal surname was now Throneaux.Once they were in Mr.Jackson’s office, the door closed, and each had a seat.Jamie pulled out all the paperwork he’d gotten from Glenn Brown.“I have all this paperwork that Mr.Brown said you would need.To be honest, I haven’t read most of it.”
“That’s fine.No need to worry about it.”Adrian Jackson pulled on a pair of reading glasses and had a glance.“I had no doubt that it would all be in order, knowing Glenn as I do.”He took off his glasses.“Now, what can I do for you?”
“Well, I guess I’d like to know how much is in the diner’s account.”
“Just the diner accounts or all of the accounts?”He put his glasses back on and turned to his computer, starting to type.
“Uh...how many accounts are there?”
The banker took off his glasses again.“I guess youdidn’tread through all that paperwork.There are two accounts for the diner and one for your grandfather, Mr.Solan, one for Ms.Mattie and one for you.Then there are the accounts for each of the rental properties.So that would make ten accounts in total, I believe.”
“Me?”Jamie’s brow furrowed.“I didn’t realize I still had an account here.I’ve not had an account here since I was a teenager.”
“Well, it’s still open and active.”He went back to his keyboard.“I’ll print out the last statements for all accounts, and you’ll have a hard copy to read from.”
Jamie heard the whir of the printer, which seemed to go on and on, at least to Jamie’s ears.When it stopped, Mr.Jackson picked up a small stack of papers from the printer tray, looked through them and handed the pile to Jamie.
“I’ll give you a moment to have a look, and then I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.Would you like some water or a soft drink?Coffee?”
When Jamie looked down at the first page, the name on it was his, and then he saw the available amount in it, he stopped breathing.He looked up.“Water.Please,” he managed to choke out.
While the banker was out getting his water, he took a quick glance at all the accounts.What he saw astounded him.His mouth had gone completely dry.He let the papers rest in his lap as he tried to wrap his brain around what and how this could be.
“Well, Mr.Throneaux, do you have any questions?”Mr.Jackson handed him a cold bottle of water.
“I can honestly say I’m in shock.”Jamie unscrewed the bottle of water and took a long drink.“I had no idea.”
Adrian Jackson sat down.“I can see that.I do want to,needto tell you that the Credit Union is only insured for up to $100,000.00 per account.As you can see, some of those accounts exceed that.”
“But...”Jamie picked up the top page of the account in his name.“How did this happen?”
