Family Money(18)

“I’m just trying to sort out some of his financials.”

Mark began typing on his keyboard and squinted at his laptop screen. “The money came in from Pioneer Bank.”

“The entire sum?”

He nodded. “Yes. One large transaction. Don’t you remember? We barely had, like, a thousand bucks in the account, and then it all changed overnight.”

“Yeah, that was quite the day.”

I opened the financial folder that Craig Kinney had given me on my father-in-law and scanned through the paperwork. Joe’s main bank was Wells Fargo. There was no mention of Pioneer Bank anywhere in the folder. Why had Joe used a different bank?

I left the office and drove straight to a Pioneer Bank branch near my neighborhood. A thirtysomething brunette banker named Missy warmly greeted me and invited me back to her desk cubicle just off the main lobby.

“How can I help you?” she offered.

“My father-in-law has an account here. He passed away a few days ago. As the executor of his estate, I’m trying to sort out his financial situation and hoped to get some information from you.”

“Certainly. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you have an official letter of testamentary?”

“Not yet. Working on it. But I have a copy of his Last Will and Testament. I’m not looking to do anything with his money today. I just need information.”

I showed her the paperwork I’d carried with me, along with my driver’s license. She began to type on her computer.

“It actually doesn’t look like Mr. Dobson still has an account with us. He closed it three years ago.”

“For how long was his account here open?”

She again examined her computer monitor. “Only for a week. He opened it with a transfer, wired the money back out, and then he proceeded to close his account. All in the same week.”

“One transfer?” I asked her.

She nodded. “Yes. One in, one out.”

“Five million dollars?”

She looked over at me. “Correct.”

That was odd. Joe had opened the account here only to wire the initial investment money in and out to us. Why? “Can you tell me from where the money originated?”

More typing from Missy. “An investment bank called Wallow House.”

“Wallow House? Where is that?”

She squinted at her screen. “Cayman Islands.”

I pitched my head. Why would Joe have kept money in the Caymans?

“Are there any other names attached to the transfer?”

“Just one,” she replied. “Ethan Tucker.”

I recognized the name. Joe had just mentioned Ethan the night before our trip to Mexico. It was the first time I’d heard my father-in-law say anything about him.

All our luggage pieces had been opened on the bed. Taylor was busy folding clothes—for her and both of the girls—and placing them inside the luggage, while I did my usual last-minute scramble to gather whatever I felt like I needed. I drove her crazy with my frenzied approach to trips. I could hear Olivia and Nicole in the living room, singing as loud as they could while they put on a song-and-dance performance for Joe and Carol. Based off their costumes, tonight’s show was all about Frozen II. Olivia was dressed as Anna, and Nicole was Elsa. I could hear my youngest belting out “Into the Unknown.” I was afraid she might burst a vocal cord.

I could feel a headache coming on quickly. My in-laws had come over a few minutes ago to help watch the girls while we tried to finish packing. It was nearly impossible to pack with them jumping all over the bed and pulling stuff in and out of their little pink suitcases. Like trying to brush your teeth while eating Oreo cookies. We were grateful for the extra help.

“It’s going to be hard to put them down tonight,” Taylor said. “They’ve been bouncing off the walls about the trip all day.”

“I’m glad they’re excited.”

“You might not feel that way when they’re still up at midnight.”

I laughed. “Maybe we should send them home with your parents tonight.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think we should do that to my parents.”

“Why not? Isn’t that what grandparents are for? Dumping kids?” I sidled up next to her, placed a pair of my old running shoes inside my suitcase. Then I moved in behind her, wrapped my arms around her waist, kissed her on the neck. “Besides, we could use a night alone. We’re about to have two restless kids in our bed for the next week.”

She smiled. “That’s true.”

I kissed her again, went back into our bathroom.

“You packed our passports, right?” Taylor called after me.

“Of course,” I replied. Then I doubted myself. “I’d better double-check,” I said, crossing through the bedroom again.

She rolled her eyes at me. “Yeah, you’d better. I’d hate to make you drive all the way back here tomorrow by yourself.”

Walking through the living room, I smiled at my girls, who were dancing in front of our big fireplace while Joe and Carol sat on the sofa and watched. Olivia and Nicole begged me to also stop and watch, but I told them I had to keep getting things together for our big day tomorrow. I was also excited about bringing them down to the orphanage. We had done several family trips together the past couple of years—Disney World, skiing in Colorado, the Bahamas—but this was something entirely different. I had high hopes that being with less-fortunate kids their age might help my girls realize how blessed we were as a family. Life had been so good to us the past couple of years. We needed to share that goodness with others. I was also glad that Joe and Carol had wanted to come with us. Joe had a big heart for those in need. I had a good feeling about this trip.