Chapter 12: The Banker's Box

The party emptied out in about four minutes.

Nobody ran.

The staff took their coats off the backs of their chairs and filed past me one by one, and each of them touched my arm or said my grandfather's name.

The Seattle men left without a word.

One of them handed me his card on the way past.

I let it drop on the floor.

I walked out into the parking lot behind the warehouse with Russ a step behind me and the aunt on the loading ramp, crying into her sleeve.

The yard lights had come on.

At the far end of the lot, Nolan and Kristen were already shouting.

Neither of them had waited for a private place.

"Sixty!" Kristen said. "You told me fifty-fifty, you lying bastard, I did the work!"

"You did nothing. I did the work. I sat through three years of Sunday dinners."

"I sat through ten years of her!"

"You were supposed to keep your mouth shut."

"And you were supposed to stand by me and the baby!"

Marlene reached them and grabbed Kristen's arm.

"Lower your voices, both of you. People are watching."

"Let go of me."

"You stupid, grasping girl. You've ruined everything."

"I ruined it?" Kristen shook her off. "You paid off the Spokane woman. You knew."

A silence fell over the lot.

Marlene's face did not change, which was how I knew it was true.

Behind me, Russ went still.

"I knew about the money," he said quietly. "I didn't know she knew."

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