Chapter 22 - More Than Meets the Eye

I'd said goodbye to Silver after another block as he turned back towards the bank. I was a little curious why he hadn't stayed with the others in the first place but I had more important things to think about. Before the sheriff's men arrived I needed to brief Smith, then make a phone call to brief someone else. My boss back in Richmond. That was going to be an interesting call.

"You're kidding." Smith had a frying pan in one pan and a spatula in the other as I entered the kitchen. It seemed early to be cooking but she'd been getting ready to try out new recipes for the freezer. French fried baby okra pods, french fried thick-sliced yellow squash, french-fried sweet potato fries. They all sounded delicious to me. She put down the utensils.

"Tell me what happened," she said as she pulled out a chair and poured the both of us a mug of black coffee. We sat at the kitchen table as I told her as briefly but completely as possible about the missing bank employees.

"No struggle, no blood, nothing? They're just gone?"

"Gone. Nothing seems disturbed in the bank but I don't know for sure about the vault. The vault door was shut but Johnson opened it. It seemed fine. I'm guessing Johnson or somebody will be checking that out a little closer as we speak." We sipped our coffee a few minutes while I debated with myself whether to mention my pending phone call.

"Smith, you know what I do for a living, don't you." She nodded. "Then you know that money laundering and off-shore accounts, all the stuff that goes with it, that's part of my own field. I have a bad feeling about this, a really bad one. I think I'm going to check in with my office in Richmond. I know it's a different state but sooner or later we're going to have the feds down here, considering there's a bank involved." I didn't say anything else for a moment, just watched Smith's face as I drank down the rest of my coffee.

Her brow wrinkled, she glanced down at her coffee mug before replying. "That's probably just as well, Avery. You're certainly right about having the feds down here."

She picked up our empty mugs and rose from the chair, turning her back to me as she poured refills. Setting the mugs down on the table, she added with a sigh, "Matter of fact, the feds are already here. They've been here quite a while."

I sat glued to my chair as she slowly explained a few more things about Simsville, things I didn't know. As she talked, I began to think they were things I should have known, should have figured out for myself. This strange little town wasn't just strange, it was downright peculiar, and no doubt unique.