Page 18 of Fresh Old Bounties

“The store had an account with Southguard.”

It was the same bank I used for the Tea Cauldron. They really had some excellent terms for small business owners. “What about his personal ones?”

“That I don’t know. Why?”

“I’m tracking down Satan spawn’s money. I thought Lewis might’ve used the same bank.”

A low chuckle rose from the haunted stool.

“You think I wouldn’t have drained him dry if I knew?” Dru replied. “I have no idea what the jerk did with his personal money, but from what your BFF said, he had nothing left on any account. That’s why the bank owns the shop now and Preston the bastard is about to buy it from them and open a shop in my shop and?—”

“Yes, you’re right,” I said soothingly before she got more worked up and threw her phone at the wall and then made me pay for it. “No way he’d have told you that stuff. He was a devious son of a witch.”

“Yes, he was,” she answered, a lot calmer. “But now that I think about it, maybe his accountant might know?”

“He had an accountant?”

“For tax season. He always said doing numbers gave him a headache. Should’ve known something was up.”

“Do you know which accountant?”

“Crane.”

“Crane,” I repeated, trying to imprint it into my brain. “Thank you.”

“Is that all you need from me?”

“No.”

“What else, then?” she asked caustically.

“I need your sunshine.”

“My…sunshine?”

“The one you bring into the shop whenever you come through the door.”

“Oh, shut up.”

I laughed as she hung up, even though I was a hundred percent serious. I hadn’t known how lonely owning my own shop could get until I’d opened the Tea Cauldron. Solo days like this one were nowhere near as nice as when I had friends around.

“Never trusted Crane,” Bagley said. “The man is cold like a fish.”

“The slug calling the snail slimy?”

“You make no sense, child.”

“I thought it was pretty witty myself.” I opened up a new tab in my phone’s browser and searched for local bank branches.

“The Lord save us all if that’s what passes as wit nowadays.”

“I’m not sure. I think you’ll get passed over on the way to Hell.” I ignored the first bank on the list—mine—and clicked on the second one, then their phone number link. “Now, shush.”

“Do not shush me, child. I’m several times your senior in age, power, and intellect.”

“Shhh.”

Bagley muttered, then remained quiet. Probably too curious to see what I was doing.

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