Chapters (62)
- Cover
- A PENNY
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- A Sample Chapter of Don’t Take Any Wooden Nickels
- About the Author
- Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark
- About the Publisher
“It was all a matter of time,” Gwen replied. “In those last two days, every minute was important. Calling your boss to borrow some of his readily available cash was a lot quicker than trying to secure it other ways. Every minute counted, Callie. Wendell felt he was watching the clock tick away the final hours of his life, and he had to act fast.”
I sat back, knowing she was right. The doctors had given him one day to get his affairs in order. He had scrambled to right these wrongs the quickest way he knew how.
“Who killed him, Gwen?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied, allowing herself to fall back in her chair. “I’ve asked myself that a million times. I was right here. I should’ve heard something. I should’ve seen something.”
“Do you think it was Alan and Judith?”
She put her head in her hands.
“I don’t know, Callie,” she sobbed. “I just don’t know.”
Forty
Forty
I let Gwen cry for a few minutes; then I handed her a Kleenex and told her that Harriet and I needed to sit down at a computer and go into Smythe’s online banking system without the knowledge of Judith, Alan, or Derek.
“None of them are here today anyway,” Gwen replied, blowing her nose.
“We have the list of bank transfers from Feed the Need to Smythe,” I said. “We just have to figure out once and for all who authorized them.”
“Yolanda Washington can help you,” Gwen said. “I’ll take you to her office.”
I tied the scarf back on my head, and Harriet and I followed Gwen as she walked us down a short hall until we came to a large cubicle. The woman at the desk was very heavy, in her late 20s, with thick black hair and a dark mole on her chin.
“Hey, Gwen,” she said as we peeked into her office. “Can I help you with something?”
“This is Callie Webber,” Gwen said, gesturing toward me, “and her associate Harriet Blanchard. They need to find some things out, and I think you’re the one to help.”
“It’s something we need to get to right now,” I added quickly. “It’s very important. Can you help us?”
Yolanda nodded her head.
“Like what?”
“Financial data,” I said, going around behind her desk and pulling a chair up next to hers. Harriet plopped her purse on the floor and looked around for another chair. Yolanda seemed startled. “Tell her we’re authorized, Gwen.”
“Give the ladies any information they need,” Gwen said, coming around to stand behind us.
I pulled a few pages of financial data from my briefcase and skimmed through them. Harriet disappeared into another cubicle and came back with a rolling chair, which she slid into place beside Yolanda.