Page 41 of Night Watch
“And he found forty thousand dollars in cash in the safe.”
“Oh.” Finley’s relaxed expression didn’t change.
Not the response Kennedy expected. “Did you know about it?”
“Not exactly.”
“But you’re not surprised?”
“No.”
“Come on, Finley. Why would Mom have that much cash? It makes no sense.”
Finley shrugged.
Kennedy wouldn’t let it go at that. “Did Mom ever express concern about keeping money in banks?”
“Not to me, no.”
Kennedy searched her sister’s face for any hint of what she was really thinking. “Okay, what gives? Why are you being so laid back about this? It’s forty grand. That’s a boatload of money.”
“I don’t know anything about it.”
“Then why aren’t you surprised.”
She squeezed her knees. “I don’t want to say bad things about Mom. You know. With her dying and all.”
“It’s okay. You can tell me.”
“It’s just, you know how obsessed she was with her work. She often forgot to do the basic things of everyday living, like banking. Stuff piled up. It got so bad that even I couldn’t stand it anymore and had to nag her or she would’ve had her utilities cut off. So maybe she kept the cash so she could access it at all times of the day.”
“But you can access an ATM at all times of the day too. And you can’t pay bills with cash unless you go into offices, and that would take even more time. So that doesn’t make sense to me.”
“You’re right.” Finley looked away. “I don’t know then.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Could it be illegal money from Dad’s past?”
“The cash is newer than that.”
Finley crossed her arms. “If you’re thinking Mom was up to something illegal, you’re wrong. She would never break the law.”
“I agree.” Kennedy sighed.
“What do we do about it? Do we spend it?”
“For now we leave the money where it is because the police will need to see it.”
Finley frowned.
Kennedy took a breath before asking her next question. “Do you need money?”
Finley’s eyes opened wide. “What? Why would you ask that?”
“You seem eager to get it.”
Finley raised her chin. “I was just asking. We have to deal with it eventually.”
