I pulled the paper from the envelope. My eyes went straight to the bottom of the page where the authorization lines were printed in small, faded ink.
“Richard,” I said, “there is a name on this document that does not belong there.”
He took his glasses back out and leaned in close to the paper. Beside my own scribbled signature, there was a second line, signed with a sharp, vertical slant that I had seen on dozens of birthday cards and store receipts over the last forty years.
“That is David’s handwriting,” Richard said, tapping the page. “But he is not on this joint account. The bank should have rejected the wire instantly without Martha’s physical signature.”
“It must be a clerical error,” I said. “The teller must have grabbed the wrong form.”
Richard shook his head slowly. “The manager, Mr. Henderson, personally signs off on any wire over ten thousand. He would not miss this.”
I took the paper back and folded it twice, putting it into my breast pocket. I needed to see my brother before the bank closed for the afternoon.
The bell above the door of David’s Hardware Store did not ring when I pushed it open. The air inside smelled of dry cedar and motor oil, but the shelves near the back were mostly empty, holding only a few scattered boxes of brass screws and mismatched plumbing joints. David was near the key-cutting machine, slowly sweeping a small pile of sawdust into a metal pan.
“I need to see the store ledger, David,” I said.
He did not stop sweeping. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, keeping his eyes on the floor.
“The ledger is at the accountant’s office in Lansing, Arthur,” David said. “There is nothing to see anyway.”
“Eighty-five thousand dollars,” I said. “Where did it go?”
“Inventory,” he said, his words coming in a rapid, apologetic burst. “I had to pay the distributors before they would ship the winter order. You know how those wholesale guys are.”
I reached into my pocket and held up the folded transfer receipt. “Your name is on the authorization line at the bank. How did you sign for a wire on my joint account?”
