Madelaine outlined her simplistic plan for their visit to the bank, opting for basic and easy along with getting in and out as quickly as possible. The less they had to interact with others in the bank, the better.
She glanced at Jack. “Thanks for coming in with me.”
“No worries. Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
They headed for her rental car, parked back under the carport, as Madelaine took a couple of seconds to think about her role. She considered her attitude and how she needed to behave while inside the bank, setting her mind to act like someone completely different.
Haughty and snotty, here I come.
Chapter Nine
Jack drove Madelaine’s car to the bank, arriving soon after lunch. There was not much traffic on the way, which worked well for them and Madelaine’s plan to be incognito. She planned to use a foreign accent to throw off anyone who thought she might look familiar. Secretly, he couldn’t wait to hear it.
He helped her out of the passenger side of the car. She placed her hand on his forearm like she was queen of the world and wanted everyone to know it.
Once inside the quiet bank, Madelaine walked up to the only teller and said, “I need to speak to your manager.” She used a light Romanian accent. She paused a beat, then snapped, “Now!”
The female bank teller, a middle-aged woman with salt-and-pepper hair styled short and curly, seemed instantly confused.
Jack tried to catch her eye and give her a sympathetic gaze, as if he was the long-suffering partner to Madelaine’s snotty personality, but the teller didn’t look his way.
“Mr. Preston is in his office,” the teller said, as if that explained everything. It did not.
“Do you not understand the wordnow? How aboutthis instant?” Madelaine asked, disdain dripping from her accented tone.
The bank teller—her name tag identified her as Norma—started to frown, but seemed to catch herself, nodded onceand picked up the phone next to her window. She dialed a couple of numbers and then whispered Madelaine’s request for managerial assistance into the receiver.
It took a long, slow count of fifteen before Mr. Preston appeared from a hallway on the other side of the bank’s lobby. He was straightening his tie as he approached them.
“How can I help you, ma’am?” he inquired.
They were the only non-employees in the room and very easy to spot. Aside from Norma the bank teller, a security guard—an older gentleman who looked like this low-key job might be his retirement plan—stood passively by the glass double doors at the front of the bank.
“Safety deposit box,” Madelaine said imperiously, as if the man should know why they were there.
“Oh? You wish to acquire one?” he asked, clearly confused as to their agenda.
“No. To access one.” Madelaine nodded at Jack as they’d prearranged, and he pulled the key from his pocket and showed it to the manager.
Mr. Preston did not take the key. Instead, he looked like he was about to pick a fight with Madelaine. His demeanor changed from conciliatory to annoyed in the blink of an eye.
“Well, you don’t need me for that. Miss Weatherby can help you.” He pointed to the bank teller who’d called him to come out of his office.
“No. I wantyouto do it,” Madelaine said haughtily. “That’s why Miss Weatherby calledyouout here.”
He squared his shoulders and it seemed to Jack like everyone in the bank—that being the bank teller, the security guard and the two of them—thought Mr. Preston was about to take a stand and refuse.
He surprised them all when he said in a harsh tone, “Box number?”
“One eighty-eight,” Madelaine said, her tone drenched with Romanian condescension.
That number certainly made an impression on the bank manager.
In one more blink of an eye, Mr. Preston turned from put-upon manager to appeasing and obsequious fanboy. “Oh, my goodness. Forgive me, ma’am,” he said in a tiny voice. “I would be delighted to help you. Follow me. Right this way.” He turned and led the way across the expanse of the bank to the hallway he’d emerged from, stopping twice to wave them along with him.
Madelaine, in perfect snobby form, frowned as she followed the man. Jack closed his hand around the key and kept pace with Madelaine.
