Chapter 20

Lily slowly walked down the sidewalk, humming to herself. She stopped in front of a large bank, peered in the windows, and cupped her hands around her eyes so she could see in. She watched the people standing in line and counted at loud, "One, two, three…" She stepped back from the window and entered the bank.

The tall security guard gave her a suspicious look. She was dressed in an old overcoat, large black combat boots, gloves, and a bright pink crochet hat. Her face was dirty, and her lips were chapped. She managed to smile at the guard and walked past him. A woman sitting at a desk noticed her and quickly approached her.

"Yes, hello, may I help you?" She gave her a look of disapproval and frowned.

"I need to see Mr. Franklin," Lily said calmly. She stood up straight as if her appearance didn't matter.

"Mr. Franklin is in a meeting," the woman replied. "Can you tell me your business here?" Lily looked around the bank and spotted Mr. Franklin's office in the back. She began walking toward the office.

The woman's face turned to horror as she reached for Lily. "Excuse me!"

Lily slipped her grip and walked hurriedly toward the office. The security guard, who was watching the exchange between Lily and the woman, jumped out of his chair and ran toward her. Lily turned to see him running toward her and quickened her pace.

"Hey!" he shouted.

She was about 5 feet from Mr. Franklin's office door when the security guard grabbed her by the shoulder. She yelled out in pain as he spun her around.

"You need to leave!" he shouted.

She quickly spun around and cried out, "Mr. Franklin. It's Lily Blass!"

The security guard grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the office door. Mr. Franklin, hearing the commotion, walked to his office door. "It's okay, Bill. Please let Ms. Blass go," he said calmly.

The security guard released her and shot Mr. Franklin a confused look.

"It's okay. Come in my office, Ms. Blass."

She turned toward the security guard and flipped him her middle finger. He squinted his eyes and quickly turned around and left. Lily looked around the bank and saw everyone staring at her. She adjusted her large overcoat and walked into Mr. Franklin's office.

Mr. Franklin closed the door behind her, then gestured for her to sit down. She looked around the office and chose a chair closest to the door. Mr. Franklin smiled and pulled a chair around so he was sitting next to her. He frowned a little at the lingering smell coming from Lily but did his best to hide his discomfort.

"Ms. Blass, it's been a long time. I must say, I'm surprised to see you," he said. She looked around the office and said, "I'm here about the money."

Mr. Franklin nodded. "Okay," he said. "Let me pull up your account. Do you have your ID or any identifying information?"

He watched as she opened her large overcoat and dug into an inside pocket. She pulled out a bottle of vodka and set it on his desk, then continued to rummage through the large pocket until she produced a badly worn ID card. He took the card from her, walked over to his desk, and began typing on the computer. After several moments, he spoke.

"Ms. Blass, the money was to be donated to a charity of your choice, as we decided several years ago. At that time, you chose the Marigold homeless shelter. Is that correct?"

She nodded.

He continued to type, then suddenly stopped and stared at the computer. He wasn't sure what to make of what he was seeing. The money was gone. The transfer had been stopped and the money drained from the account. He cleared his throat and continued typing.

Lily sensed something was wrong. "Mr. Franklin," she said, "what's taking so long? I just want to know if the money was transferred. The shelter is in need of the money. I signed all the papers."

Mr. Franklin was silent. "Lily, there seems to be a problem. It's going to take a little while to figure out."

"What do you mean, 'problem'?" she asked nervously.

"Like I said, I need a little time to figure this out. I'm happy to contact you in a few days. How can I reach you?" he asked.

Lily felt herself getting anxious. She grabbed the bottle of vodka from the desk, screwed off the lid, and held the bottle in her hand. She was shaking. She put the bottle down and began pacing around the office.

Mr. Franklin watched her pace around. She started mumbling to herself and rubbing her hands together. She was starting to make Mr. Franklin nervous.

"Ms. Blass, I found some irregularities, and I need to investigate," he said calmly. She stopped pacing and looked at him. Her eyes were sunken and sad.

"Where's the money?" she whispered.

Mr. Franklin didn't answer; instead, he stood up and walked over to her.

"Ms. Blass, I need a little time. Please sit down. I can call you a cab to take you wherever you want to go. When you come back in a few days, I should have some information." She didn't sit. "I trusted you, Mr. Franklin. You said you would help me."

She walked toward the door. "I know that money will help the shelter. I'm not crazy. I know what's happening around me. I may seem like I'm out of it, but I'm not. I'm not crazy." She placed her hand on the doorknob. "I'll be back to get my money."

She opened the door and walked out. As she made her way through the bank, she spotted the security guard. He was watching her. She flipped him her middle finger again and walked out of the bank.

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