Chapter 3 - The Emergency Account
The emergency account had held $84,600.
Daniel and I had built it over thirty-two years. We called it "the sleep-at-night account"—money for hospital bills, a broken furnace, a job loss, anything serious enough to scare you at two in the morning.
The banker pointed at the screen.
"There have been eleven transfers in the past eight months."
I stared at the numbers.
$4,500.
$7,200.
$3,800.
$9,000.
The total was $46,350.
My mouth went dry.
"Where did it go?"
"Most of the transfers went to an account ending in 4418."
"Whose account?"
She hesitated. "It appears to be jointly held by Harrison Bennett and Sloan Bennett."
I gripped the edge of the desk.
The handbag.
The dinners.
The weekend at a resort Sloan had claimed her sister paid for.
The new phone Harrison said came with a promotion.
Every memory rearranged itself.
"Can you freeze access?"
"Yes. Since you're the primary owner, I can remove the authorized user and place an alert on the account immediately."
"Do it."
She studied me. "Do you recognize the transfers?"
"No."
"Then I need you to speak with our fraud department."
I was still signing forms when my phone rang.
Harrison.
I let it ring.
It rang again.
Then Sloan.
Then Harrison.
The banker looked at my phone and then at me.
"They may have received an automated notification."
I laughed, but there was no humor in it.
Of course they had.
I answered Harrison's fourth call.
"Mom, what did you do?"
No hello.
No how are you.
"I removed you from my account."
"You can't just do that."
"It's my account."
His voice dropped. "We need access to that money."
I looked at the banker.
"Why?"
Silence.
Then Sloan took the phone.
"Evelyn, don't make this dramatic. Harrison was borrowing money."
"Forty-six thousand dollars?"
She went quiet.
I felt something cold settle behind my ribs.
"What did you buy?"
"We'll talk when you get home."
"No. You'll explain now."
Another pause.
Then she said, "You should ask your son."
And hung up.
The banker glanced at me.
"Ms. Bennett, there is one more thing."
May you like
She clicked another tab.
"Someone also applied for a home equity line of credit using this address."
