Chapter 10: The One Thing She Never Expected Me to Find
Dad and I sat at the kitchen table for nearly an hour, staring at the bank statement.
The fifty-dollar check lay beside it, untouched.
I couldn't stop looking at the transaction.
Three thousand four hundred dollars.
The date was three weeks earlier.
The account number belonged to Aunt Rachel, my mother's younger sister, who had died unexpectedly the previous spring.
She had been the only relative who visited us regularly after Mom's death. She brought homemade cookies, told embarrassing stories about my mother, and never allowed me to leave her house without a bag of leftovers.
When she died, I had felt as though I had lost the last person who remembered my mother the way I did.
Now I was looking at evidence that money had been sent to her account months after she'd passed away.
"Could it be a mistake?"" I asked.
Dad shook his head.
"The transaction was authorized from our joint account.""
"Maybe the bank sent it automatically.""
"Then we need to find out why.""
He called the bank.
After answering several security questions and explaining that he needed to investigate an unfamiliar transfer, he was told that the account had been linked to an automatic payment arrangement.
The representative couldn't disclose details about Aunt Rachel's account, but she confirmed that the transfer had been initiated by a person authorized to access Dad's joint account.
Dad thanked her and ended the call.
We looked at each other.
"Tara," I whispered.
Dad nodded.
"Most likely.""
He took a breath and dialed her number.
She answered after four rings.
"Daniel?""
"I need you to explain a payment to Rachel's account.""
Silence.
Then Tara asked, "What payment?""
"The three-thousand-four-hundred-dollar transfer from last month.""
She exhaled sharply.
"I was wondering when you'd find that.""
Dad closed his eyes.
"Why did you send money to Rachel's account?""
"I can explain.""
"Then explain.""
"I didn't steal from Rachel.""
"I didn't say you did. I asked why you transferred money to her account.""
Tara was quiet for several seconds.
Then she said, "Rachel had lent me money before she died.""
I looked at Dad.
He put the phone on speaker.
"How much?"" he asked.
"About three thousand dollars.""
"When did she lend it to you?""
"Last year.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I was embarrassed.""
Dad rubbed his forehead.
"Did you owe her three thousand dollars, or did you owe her something else?""
Tara hesitated.
"I owed her money.""
"Then why was the transfer three thousand four hundred?""
"Interest. And some other expenses.""
Dad's voice grew colder.
"Rachel never charged interest on money she lent to family.""
"You don't know everything about her finances.""
"No, I don't. But I knew her for years. She wasn't a lender, Tara.""
"She helped me when I needed it.""
"Then why did you keep sending money to her account after she died?""
Tara said nothing.
May you like
Dad repeated the question.
"Why?""
