“At the hospital.”
The line stayed open.
I waited.
Caroline said, “Eight thirty.”
Then she hung up.
The drawer beside the lamp had been left open by half an inch, and I could see the corner of an old invoice inside it.
I pushed it shut with two fingers and looked at the clock. Eight twenty.
By eight thirty, I was in the vineyard office with Caleb and the bookkeeper, standing beside a cabinet that had been emptied onto the floor.
Caleb lifted another box and set it on the desk.
“These are from the lake lot sale.”
“Why are they here?”
“Because the cabinet was full.”
He gave me a small smile and moved another box.
The bookkeeper kept checking the invoice stack without looking up. I took the top folder and opened it.
The first pages were ordinary enough. Closing costs. Property taxes. A survey charge. Then I saw the number.
41,200 dollars.
I put my finger beside it.
“What’s this transfer?”
Caleb stopped with both hands on the next box.
