answered. 'First I give them a good sweeping, and then I get down on
my hands and knees and wash every inch of my floors.
I use vinegar and water, and when I'm done, the hardwood shines,
doesn't it Edward? ' 'Yes, it does, ' he agreed.
'You don't move the furniture, do you? ' Cole asked.
'I don't move the heavy pieces, but I move the chairs and the trash
tins. I get under the tellers' windows, under the desks, and behind
the file cabinets that aren't against the walls. We do a real thorough
job, ' she insisted.
'MacCorkle always inspected our work. Sometimes he'd get down on his
knees and look into the corners just to make sure we didn't miss a
speck of dust or a cobweb, and if he found any, he deducted from our
pay. He was real finicky about his bank.'
'He bought old, used-up furniture for the lobby and his loan officers,
but he told us, with enough elbow grease, we could make the wood shine
again. Some of those desks should have been thrown away years ago, but
MacCorkle wasn't one to waste anything, ' Edward said.
'He had fancy new furniture put in his office, ' Mildred interjected.
Cole spotted a basket of green apples on the counter. He took a coin
out of his pocket, tossed it on the counter, and then selected two. He
threw one to Ryan and took a bite out of the other.
'Ma'am, did the folks who came into the bank ever leave anything
behind? ' 'Sure they did, ' Mildred answered. 'I found a pretty
brooch once, and Edward found a wallet with six whole dollars inside.
Anything that's left behind is put in the lost-and-found box in
MacCorkle's office. It's in the corner by the safe.'
'Did you happen to find anything Tuesday night? ' Both Mildred and
Edward shook their heads.
'Do you remember cleaning under the desks Tuesday? ' Cole asked.
'Sure I remember, ' Mildred said. 'I clean under the desks every
night, but Sunday. Why are you asking? ' 'I was just curious, ' Cole
lied.
'Even if we were tired, we cleaned every inch of the bank because
MacCorkle wouldn't pay us our full wage if we didn't.'
'He was a hard man to work for, ' Mildred whispered.
