had a manicure. Wagon Mound wasnât exactly a metrosexual metropolis and all this spit and polish sure seemed overkill or just demeaning for the insurance guy. Dan wished the sweater he was wearing didnât have pilling around the cuffs.
After introductions, Lawrence remained standing. âWell letâs get this tour started.â A smile finallyâmore grimace than positive emotion, however.
âIâd like to see your check-in and out log for August. I assume those entering this area needed to sign in first?â
âOf course. Even though everyone knows everyone in this town, we follow strict procedures. After sign-in the personâs box was retrieved by Stephanie there or myself,â Lawrence paused and nodded to a woman sitting to the right of what looked like the door to a vaultâ¦âshe would seat the owner in this alcove,â a gesture to the left, âthe property would then be delivered to the area. You may notice the recipient was always in line of sight.â
Dan thought âgoes with the hankyâ but he followed suit and nodded at Stephanie who gave him an anemic smile. He made a mental note to question herâ¦something along the line of helping him to profile Gertieâas tough and unfeeling as that sounded. He tried another smile but Stephanie quickly looked down. Dan glanced back at his host in time to catch a frown directed her way. Odd. Interaction with the investigator must be equivalent to goofing off.
âWhen the box holder was finished, he or she would buzz Stephanie and she would buzz me. I would then return the safe deposit box and make certain the log was signed.â
Seemed like a couple extra steps, Dan thought, and a lack of trust. Wonder why Stephanie wasnât more involved? Micro manager came to mind.
âAre the logs stored here on the premises?â
âYes. Stephanie, would you get Augustâs sign-in log for Mr. Mahoney?â
Stephanie leaned down and unlocked a file drawer in her desk and after a thumbing of files marked by month, she separated August and placed a bagged and time-stamped log on her desk.
âMrs. Kennedy has reported that she removed the insured items on August tenth.â
âYes, hereâs her signature.â Stephanie had turned a few pages then scooted the log forward for him to see.
âAccording to her calendar, thereâs some confusion as to just when the items were returnedâsome problem with the vaultâs door needing repair and access was denied due to this servicing.â
âI remember now. She came to the bank withâ¦â Stephanie looked up ââ¦her property and we advised her to wait until we notified her. We anticipated a two-day delay. In fact,â Stephanie turned a page, âhereâs her signature on the day she removed her property and hereâs my notation when she returned and I informed her that the door needed to be fixed, August seventeenth.â
Dan leaned forward and looked at the note.
âAnd hereâs the notationâtime and dateâof my call informing her that the vault door was repaired. Well, I didnât do the calling; I was on vacation but my replacement Amber Medger didâon the eighteenth. The AM notation here? Those are her initials.â
âAnd Mrs. Kennedy returned to replace her property that day?â
âOh, this is so silly talking about âher propertyââ¦weâve all seen the necklace and know the story of the Titanic and the mother, the father with the clubfootââ
âThatâs enough, Miss Walters.â
Well, that was going to get Miss Stephanie Walters a stern reprimand once he was gone, Dan thought. But how interesting. It was easy to imagine Gertie showing off the prized possessionâ¦and easy to realize how it could be a target. He suddenly noticed that Stephanie was rifling through several pages of the log biting her lip and appearing increasingly