Ghost Memory Read Online Free Page B

that
chance?” I asked gently.
    “I’m sorry, Mr. Quinn, but Fi is
right. You should have your money in a bank.” Thulu immediately
backed me up.
    Mr. Quinn sighed heavily, “I
suppose you’re right. I have a small savings account, but mostly I
use my checking account. Peter and I always saved up for whatever
we needed and usually paid cash.” He paused thoughtfully. “Won’t
the bank want to know where I got this money?”
    “Yeah, probably. The documentation
should help, but I have an idea,” I said. I explained about Thulu’s
cousin, Evan, the family accountant, and said he might be able to
smooth the way. Mr. Quinn and Thulu agreed it would probably help
things. A large deposit of that kind of cash had to have some kind
of red tape. I pulled out my cell phone and called Thulu’s cousin,
Evan, our family accountant.
    Evan knew exactly what Thulu and I
could do as far as our abilities were concerned. He was used to odd
requests from us. A huge chunk of cash certainly wasn’t the oddest
thing we’d asked for help with over the years. It was reassuring
when Evan had our backs, and his excellent reputation would make
explaining the situation a lot easier. I quickly gave him a rundown
of our case.
    “Evan, is there a way to handle
that kind of money with as little attention and fuss as possible?”
I asked.
    Evan asked me if Mr. Quinn would
consider using our family’s bank as he knew people there and could
get things handled with a minimum of attention. I relayed the
question.
    Mr. Quinn thought for a moment.
“That will be fine. I’m not exactly attached to my bank
anyway.”
    We made arrangements to meet Evan
twenty minutes later at the bank where all of our large family kept
our numerous accounts.
    We helped Mr. Quinn get all of the
money into a few envelopes.
    “Do the two of you mind helping me
lock up?” asked Mr. Quinn.
    “We’re happy to,” I replied. I went
down a long hallway to secure the back door. It led to a
screened-in porch. Stepping out onto the porch, I saw a lovely
garden in the backyard. I didn’t take the time to admire it,
though. I made sure the porch door was latched, and bolted the back
door on my way back in.
    I met the other two at the front
door, where the three of us donned our coats and made our way
outside. The sun was weak and did little to warm us up as we walked
to our car. Traffic was starting to get heavy as we drove to the
bank, which wasn’t very far, but we still made it there before Evan
did.
    He arrived a few minutes after we
did and met us in the lobby. Thulu and I waited while Evan took Mr.
Quinn to see the bank manager.
    I figured we’d be there a while, so
I made myself comfortable in the lobby. I pulled out my tablet and
read a book while we waited. Thulu watched the people coming and
going, something he liked to do. He found people interesting and
liked to guess about their lives. I humored him and played the
people game sometimes, but I wasn’t as fond of it as he was.
    I hadn’t always been stand-offish.
Before my parents died, I was very outgoing. After the fiery crash
that killed them and their subsequent appearance to me at age ten,
I withdrew from people. The looks of pity from other kids when they
found out my folks were dead had only irritated me. I didn’t want
pity. I wanted my mom and dad back.
    Meeting Thulu had brought me
partially back out of my shell, but I never made it all the way
back. I was far more comfortable with the dead than I was with
living people. Except for Thulu’s gigantic family that is. I adored
them and had felt at home with them from the beginning. But the
rest of humanity I could do without most of the time. It was
something I didn’t want to examine too closely.
    Once everything was settled, Evan
led Mr. Quinn back to us. I gave Evan a hug of thanks.
    On the drive back to Mr. Quinn’s
home, he remarked how much nicer our bank was than his.
    “I made arrangements to transfer
all of my money over to this bank,”