Milk Money (11 page)

He gazed at the paper, making his decision.

An hour later, Frank sat in a pew at Monkton Christian Church. Once the sermon finished, Frank mulled over the pastor’s words about forgiveness. Waves of heat washed over him when he stepped outside. People scurried to their cars, anxious to avoid the dreaded high temperatures.

He glanced around the sea of brown faces and stopped when he spotted Emily. Her white dress cascaded over her slim brown body, and her dark tresses were pulled into a severe ponytail, accenting her high cheekbones and full lips.

Kelly and Christine stood beside Emily. Laughter floated from the three women, and he wondered what they were talking about. Emily lifted her head, looking directly at him. Her smile faltered.

“Hi, Emily.” He then gazed at Kelly and Christine. “Nice seeing you again, Kelly, Christine.”

Kelly and Christine said hello. A mischievous smile played on Kelly’s full lips, and after a few more words to Emily, Kelly took her exit. “I hope she didn’t leave because of me,” Frank commented.

“No, she’s meeting somebody.”

Christine spoke up. “I need to go, too. There’s a sale going on at some of the stores at the Inner Harbor, and I was going to go and look around.”

Emily touched Christine’s shoulder. “Is everything okay? I don’t want you going shopping, buying things you can’t afford just to make yourself feel better.”

Christine shook her head. “I didn’t lose my job, but I just discovered they only went through the first round of layoffs. They’re going to do more within the next couple of weeks.” She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll just look around the stores and not buy anything.”

“Did you want to share lunch with me instead?”

Christine declined and bid them farewell.

They stood awkwardly on the hot sidewalk, and Emily spoke. “I was shocked to see you here today.”

Frank didn’t comment on her observation. People walked around them, and she touched his arm, leaning in a bit closer. “You don’t look like you feel very well, and your eyes are red. Are you sick?” Frank sighed, unsure of how to respond “Did you have too much to drink last night?”

He pulled his arm away. “I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

“Is there something else you wanted to talk to me about?” He touched her arm. “I never got a chance to talk to you about the audit the other day when you came to my apartment.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten all about that with everything you told me.” She clutched the strap of her purse. “I’m getting ready to eat lunch. I could call you this afternoon if you want.”

“Were you going out to eat?”

“Kelly, Christine, and I were planning to go to the Monkton Village Market for lunch, but they bailed on me. Christine is pressed to go to this sale, and I don’t have the energy to go shopping with her. She shops for hours! So we could go and get something to eat if you wanted.”

They drove to the vegetarian restaurant and entered. Emily ordered pancakes with fruit, a blueberry muffin, and a cup of tea. Frank’s stomach was still sour, so he purchased a bottle of water. He took out his wallet to pay for their food, telling the cashier their order was together. Once they’d sat at their table, Emily said, “You didn’t have to pay for my meal.”

He waved her comment away. “This is a business meal anyway.”

Emily bowed her head and blessed her food. Her long lashes fluttered when she opened her eyes.

“I’m surprised you’re eating at a vegetarian place,” Frank said.

“It’s just a change of pace. I’ve eaten at just about every place in Monkton since Laura’s been gone. They don’t have many places to eat here, and you know that I’m tired of making sandwiches every day.”

“Speaking of your stepmother, do you know when she’s getting back?” He couldn’t keep the anxiety out of his voice.

Emily raised her eyebrows, her dark eyes full of suspicion. “Why do you ask?”

“I needed to talk to her about something important. I can call her, but I’d rather talk to her in person.”

“What’s wrong? Is the audit not going well?”

“It’s not going well at all.”

“What’s happened?”

He thought about the latest development. “The numbers don’t add up.”

She frowned, staring into his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“There’s something wrong. There are large amounts of cash that are unaccounted for.”

She put her fork aside. “So there’s money missing?”

He ran his fingers over his head, frustrated. “Yes. When you e-mailed me those missing documents, I was able to piece this information together. I’m still trying to figure out what your father’s done. I was wondering if your stepmother might know something.”

Emily pushed her plate away. “I doubt it. I already told you we didn’t know much about the finances of our farm.” She appeared pensive as she continued to speak. “Laura and I are lousy with numbers.”

He frowned. “Really?”

“Yes. Back in grade school and even in college I struggled with math courses. The only reason I was able to graduate with my bachelor’s and master’s was because I hired a private tutor to help me with all my math classes. I can barely balance a checkbook.”

“You’re kidding.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not kidding. I’ve struggled with math my entire life, and Laura told me she’s never been good with math, either. My dad had this natural mathematical ability, so we just let him handle all the money. You probably wouldn’t understand since you crunch numbers all day.”

His mathematical abilities had always come naturally, so it was hard to understand how someone couldn’t balance a checkbook. He touched her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure there’s some explanation. Did you find your father’s missing tax returns?”

“No, not yet. I’ve been looking during my spare time.” She told him they’d been baling hay recently and the intense heat had been affecting the corn crop. “I’ve been busy on the farm a lot, and I’ve also been thankful that one or both of the brothers have been showing up for both the evening and morning milkings.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Emily began eating her pancakes again and Frank drank his water. Her lovely voice broke the silence. “Have you been okay? You have circles under your eyes.”

He set his water bottle back on the table. “Remember you told me about Devon Crandall?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“I showed up to a meeting.” Her startled eyes met his. “But I couldn’t go in.”

“Why not?”

“I just couldn’t. I stood outside the door for a minute, and I don’t think anybody saw me.” He gazed out the window at a couple who walked by holding hands. “Maybe I can give up the alcohol on my own.”

“You told me that you’d had alcohol problems before when you were in college. How were you able to quit back then?”

He recalled that time in his life. “They had AA meetings near campus. But …”

She grabbed his hand. “But what?”

“To tell you the truth, I’ve been doing some heavy drinking for over a year now. Back when I was in college, I’d only been drinking for a few months before it started becoming a problem. I think it might be harder for me to quit this time.”

“Maybe you should give it another try. Maybe you could have somebody go to the meeting with you.”

“Going to that group of people makes me nervous.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Devon is an understanding man. Maybe you can just meet with him to talk about what you’ve been going through.”

As she ate her lunch, Frank gave Emily’s advice serious thought.

During the next month, Emily’s days continued to be filled with farm chores. She was glad when they had almost two straight days of rain. The claps of thunder and bursts of lightning thrilled her, making her giddy. The heat and dry weather had worried her, and the moisture was just what her crops needed to thrive.

She’d called Laura about Frank’s questions, but her stepmother was shocked to hear about the missing money. As far as Laura knew, all of her father’s financial information was in his office. Laura had mentioned it was certainly possible that there were files elsewhere in the house, so Emily said she’d keep looking around to see if she could find any missing documents that would help account for the missing funds.

One morning when the milking was done, Emily and Jeremy stood at the sink, rinsing the equipment and cleaning the barn. The slender teen turned toward Emily. “My mom told me to ask if your mother was coming home soon.”

“She said she was coming home shortly. I’ve been talking to her every day.” She glanced at him, wondering if he understood the pain of losing somebody so close. “I don’t want to keep bothering her about when she’s coming home. But I do miss her a lot.” She gave the teen a smile and continued rinsing her equipment. She was a little hurt that Laura had not called to wish her a happy birthday. “Make sure either you or your brother or both of you are here tonight to milk the cows.”

“Oh, we’ll both be here.” He held up a cell phone. “You can even call us to make sure we’re here if you want to.”

A few hours later, Kelly and Christine arrived at Emily’s farm, and the three women rode to the state fair together. When they arrived on the fairgrounds, they assisted the rest of Monkton Christian Church’s hospitality committee. In addition to serving pound cake and bottled water, they’d planned on doing face painting to entice the children to their booth. After working all morning, Emily was ready for a break.

“Hi, Emily.” Frank’s voice greeted her ears like a soothing lullaby. Turning toward him, she enjoyed the sensations that skittered across her skin when he touched her arm. “Frank. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“The fair was advertised in the church bulletin, and you told me you were on the committee.” His dark eyes sparkled. “Can you take a break?”

She checked her watch. “Is it okay if I take my lunch break now?”

Kelly completed a child’s face painting. “Why don’t you go ahead with Frank and have a good time.” She reached for her purse beneath the booth. “If you don’t mind, you can bring me back something to eat.” She told her what she wanted for lunch. The rest of the committee members also produced money for lunches since they weren’t interested in walking around the fair.

Frank and Emily strolled away from the booth. “Why did you come to the fair?”

“I came to see you. Since I haven’t been coming out to your farm lately, I’ve missed you.”

His words warmed her heart, and she decided to be truthful with him. “I’ve missed you, too.”

They strolled around the grounds then bought hot dogs from a vendor and sat at one of the picnic tables. She bit into her hot dog and drank some soda. “How have you been?” she asked.

“I’ve been okay.” He stared at the crowd populating the fairgrounds. “Well, I wish I could be better.”

She took a deep breath before asking her next question. “Have you been drinking?”

“I’ve been working late, and that helps a little bit, but it doesn’t keep me away from the alcohol.”

“Did you call Devon Crandall?”

“No.”

“Why not? He’s very easygoing, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you called him.” He failed to respond. “Are you coming to church again tomorrow?”

He smiled before sipping his soda. “Yes, I plan on going.”

“You should try and talk to Devon after church tomorrow. He’s one of the ushers. He’s well over six feet tall with gray hair. His wife is so short that they look funny together because of his height.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

She bit into her hot dog. “How are Mark and Regina doing? Does Mark still call you a lot?”

He grinned. “Thanks for asking. Both of them are doing fine. Mark has been calling me just about every day. If I don’t hear from him, I’ll usually call. I’m glad he hasn’t gotten into any more trouble, and he seems excited to be back in school.”

“I’m glad to hear they’re doing well.” She observed the colorful tents on the grounds for a few seconds. “Oh, Frank, I almost forgot to tell you.” She abandoned her hot dog and clenched her hands together.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. This morning I found the tax returns you were looking for. There were also some other bank statements, too.”

He frowned, finishing his food. “Other bank statements? What kind of account is it? Is it checking, savings, money market?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“Were they to another account, a different one than the one I was looking at?”

“I think so. I didn’t realize he had an account there. This bank is all the way on the other side of Baltimore County.”

“Did you check the balance? Maybe that’s where the missing funds are.”

She told him the sum that was in the account.

His eyes widened. “Whoa. Why would he separate that much money into another account? It must be either a money market, savings, or retirement account.”

“You know, it’s the strangest thing …”

He sipped his soda. “What?”

“I didn’t find them in his office.”

Frank frowned again. “Where did you find them?”

“They were stuck in a manila folder in the hall closet.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand why he had all his other tax returns on his computer with the exception of those two. Why would he separate them like that?”