"I don't move the heavy pieces, but I move the chairs and the trash
tins. I get under the tellers' windows, under the desks, and behind
the file cabinets that aren't against the walls. We do a real thorough
job, " she insisted.
"MacCorkle always inspected our work. Sometimes he'd get down on his
knees and look into the corners just to make sure we didn't miss a
speck of dust or a cobweb, and if he found any, he deducted from our
pay. He was real finicky about his bank."
"He bought old, used-up furniture for the lobby and his loan officers,
but he told us, with enough elbow grease, we could make the wood shine
again. Some of those desks should have been thrown away years ago, but
MacCorkle wasn't one to waste anything, " Edward said.
"He had fancy new furniture put in his office, " Mildred interjected.
Cole spotted a basket of green apples on the counter. He took a coin
out of his pocket, tossed it on the counter, and then selected two. He
threw one to Ryan and took a bite out of the other.
"Ma'am, did the folks who came into the bank ever leave anything
behind? " "Sure they did, " Mildred answered. "I found a pretty
brooch once, and Edward found a wallet with six whole dollars inside.
Anything that's left behind is put in the lost-and-found box in
MacCorkle's office. It's in the corner by the safe."
"Did you happen to find anything Tuesday night? " Both Mildred and
Edward shook their heads.
"Do you remember cleaning under the desks Tuesday? " Cole asked.
"Sure I remember, " Mildred said. "I clean under the desks every
night, but Sunday. Why are you asking? " "I was just curious, " Cole
lied.
"Even if we were tired, we cleaned every inch of the bank because
MacCorkle wouldn't pay us our full wage if we didn't."
"He was a hard man to work for, " Mildred whispered.
"You shouldn't be speaking ill of the dead, " Edward told his wife.
"I'm speaking the truth, " she argued.
"We'll let you get back to your job, " Ryan said. "Thanks for your
help." Edward moved forward to let them out the front door. "Do you
think you could get MacCorkle's wife to pay us for the two nights we
cleaned? " "I'll be happy to talk to her, but if she doesn't pay you,
I'll make sure the new manager does." s Edward shook his head. "If we
can be of any help catching those men who killed our friends, you let
us know, Marshal."
"I'll do that, " Ryan promised.
The marshals started down the boardwalk. "Now what do we do? " Cole
asked.
"Go back to the bank and box up all the papers from yesterday's
business. It won't take long."
"Do you think the restaurant's still open? " "No, it's too late. Your
apple's going to have to do for the moment. I wish we could go talk to
those three women now, but I don't know where they live."
"We can get the addresses from the sheriff as soon as he gets back with
his posse."