Page 129 of Out on a Limb
She glanced back my way. “Are you ready?”
“Yup.” I nodded as I chased after her.
And Andrew was worriedhe’dmess this up.
I kept pace with the woman as she went through the doors and into a space lined with rows of small doors, each containing two keyholes.
I only had one key.
My stomach hit my shoes, threatening to evacuate the lovely breakfast of ham, egg, and cheese croissants that Andrew made for us.
The urge to flee was strong, but there was no way to do that unsuspiciously.
So I had to keep plowing forward. Just like I had for the past year.
Pretend like I knew what I was doing.
The woman passed me a ledger that was lined with signature stickers. Half the page had already been peeled free.
She pointed to the next one in line. “Go ahead and sign there.”
I picked up the pen, trying to keep my hand from shaking as I wrote out the name I’d signed hundreds of times while working at the garden. On invoices. Accepting deliveries. Occasionally on checks when my grandmother was out of town and contributions needed to be made to one of the many causes she supported.
She’d taught me to sign her name when I was fifteen, going over it with me more times than I could count.
So I could beher helper.
My throat tightened a little as I curled the final N, bringing the tail up and around.
Like a hug.
That’s how she explained it and how our practice session always ended. She would wrap her arm around my shoulders and squeeze me tight.
Tell me to keep practicing because it was very important I knew how to do it.
Just in case.
The woman peeled the sticker from the page and went to a small podium-style table in the corner where she lifted out a large binder. She opened it across the top and flipped a few of the pages before pressing the sticker I’d just signed using my grandmother’s name to one.
I held my breath as her eyes fixed on the page.
Each second dragged out, seeming to take forever as I waited.
Suddenly she slapped the book closed and shoved it back into place.
Then she turned and walked from the room.
Shit.
I was wrong.
The box didn’t belong to my grandmother and now I was about to see Officer Dennis for the third day in a row.
And his third arrest in a row.
Was it illegal to try to get into a safety deposit box that wasn’t yours?
Probably.
