and may try to impersonate me in order to withdraw money from my accounts when the bank opens on Monday. Of course, she has none of my ID or authority. I want my money transferred immediately to an offshore bank, to preempt any misdeeds. Give me a call on my cell as soon as you get this email. Thank you. Best, Bennie
She proofread the email, clicked SEND, and counted down
“Bennie, I got your email. I’m calling from my cell. Goodness, this is bad news, and I assure you that in Wealth Development, our paramount concern is your security and privacy. We would never permit any unauthorized withdrawals from your accounts.”
“I wanted to stay ahead of the curve on this. Prepare for the worst and all that.”
“Of course, you must!” Marla cleared her throat. “We should transfer your funds to a new temporary account we’ll open for you with one of our offshore partners. This way, USABank retains you as a client, until this bad patch is over. We work with the best banks in the Caymans, Singapore, Belize, Andorra, and the Bahamas. This will be easy and quick, too. It’s not as if you’re seeking to avoid taxes.”
“I favor the Bahamas, since there’s been trouble with bank closures in the Caymans, of late. I use Swiss and other European banks when a client has a child in boarding school, for example, in Scotland or at the Sorbonne.”
“Could I withdraw from the Bahamas account, as I wish? I have a business to run.”
“Yes, easily. You can authorize withdrawals just as you do now, by phone or by calling me and following up with an email or letter, or online. They’d set you up with an online password, too, if you wish. How does that sound?”
“I’ll get in touch with the lawyer we use, and he can set that up for you on Monday, when the Bahamas bank is open. Our partner is BSB bank, in Nassau. On Monday, I’ll messenger you the paperwork and the signature cards to open the account.”
“You can’t do it today?”
“Unfortunately, no. I’m in New York today with my family, and the office is closed.”
“Understood. How long will this take?”
“Three business days. BSB won’t be able to let you use the account until they receive the signature cards with your original signature, but they can open the account as soon as you fax or scan them to me. So I’ll send you the cards, and you messenger them back to me. I’ll overnight them to Nassau on Tuesday, and BSB will get them on Wednesday. The account will be ready for use first thing Wednesday morning.”
“I’d like this done sooner. What if I sent the signature cards to the BSB directly? Then couldn’t it open the account a day earlier, on Tuesday morning?”
“Why, yes. I suppose that’s more efficient.” Marla sounded disappointed at being left out of the loop. “When I send you the cards, I’ll include a DHL package addressed and ready to go. We’ll wire your funds into the new account as soon as you scan or fax me the signature cards, and you’ll be official first thing Tuesday morning.”
“Great, thanks.”
“My pleasure. Will there be anything else?”
“Not at all. Thanks again.” Alice hung up, pleased. All she had to do was play Bennie on Monday and she could be on a plane to Nassau Monday night. She could pull it off, especially for one business day. She had para legal training, and she was a scam artist, which was a lawyer without the student loans.
She skimmed Bennie’s Filofax, and saw that other than Rexco, there were no meetings, depositions, or other proceedings scheduled for Monday. Alice would sit behind the desk, move papers around, and duck most of the phone calls. She’d have to go through with the Rexco meeting, but it shouldn’t be too hard to get up to speed. There would be a case file, and she had read plenty of those. She had drafted pleadings, briefs, and done legal research. Hell, people faked being doctors, and this wasn’t brain surgery.
She turned around and opened the file drawer, which was jammed with red accordion files, just like they used at PLG. She checked the first few labels,
She pulled the file, took a slug of warm soda, and got to work.
Chapter Twenty-two
Mary was on the phone, telling Anthony about her conversation with Bennie, but he was sounding less than enthusiastic.
“Honey,” he said, “let me get this straight. Bennie turned you down for a partnership, and you feel
“She didn’t turn me down.”
“She did, for now.”
“Only for a week or so.”
“Okay, so why do you feel more like her partner? Isn’t that ironic?”
“Not really.” Mary sipped her coffee, but it was cold.
“Why can’t she decide now?”
“Because we said September.”
“She’s stalling you.”
“No, she’s not.” Mary’s good mood wilted. The sun was defeating the air-conditioning in her office, and her gaze flitted over her desk cluttered with Xeroxed cases, empty coffee cups, and the elbow end of a cheese hoagie. “She said she appreciated me.”
“But what did she say about partnership?”
Mary wanted to hang up. She’d called him for a break, but she should have called Judy. Sometimes it was hard to choose between best friend and boyfriend, and she should have gone with the ovaries. “Don’t be so hard on her.”
“I’m not being hard on her.”
“Yes, you are. She has things on her mind, problems like everybody else, she just doesn’t let it show. She takes care of everybody else instead of taking care of herself.” Mary wasn’t sure if she was talking about Bennie, herself, her mother, Judy, or all four. Maybe she was talking about every woman she had ever known, or maybe every woman ever born. In the world. And galaxy.
“I don’t like her putting you off.”
Mary realized she hadn’t mentioned her father’s breakfast with Fiorella, so she told Anthony that story, too, but he just laughed.
“You’re so fired up today, babe. Is this what happens when we don’t have sex?”
Mary cringed. “What do you think? Weird or not, that he ate out with Fiorella?”
“Not. They ate after they went to the hospital. What’s wrong with that?”
“Why didn’t they eat in the hospital cafeteria?”
“Did you ever eat in a hospital cafeteria? Don’t think anything of it. Tell me you love me, I have to go to the library.”
“I love you, I have to go to the library.”
“That’s original.”
“But it’s still funny.”
“Whatever you say.”
Mary felt stung. “You’re being mean.”
“No, you are, but I love you anyway.”
“Love you, too.” Mary pressed END, grateful that he hadn’t mentioned house-hunting. She speed-dialed Judy, who picked up right away, sounding weak. “Jude, what’s the matter?”
“Somebody’s giving me the evil eye and the evil head and the evil stomach. Can we call Fiorella? I need a
