“Yes. He had been the assistant manager at the branch in Austin, then was promoted here,” Shreve said.

“Ms. Robertson, do you remember when my partner and I came in yesterday to talk to Mr. Pollero? It was yesterday morning.”

“Of course. One of the young tellers was enamored with your partner. She had hoped he would be coming back, wanted to give him her number. He’s very attractive, in that bad-boy kind of way.” She glanced at Shreve, then quickly looked down, a deep blush spreading from her cheeks to her chest.

Lucy hadn’t thought about Nate being attractive—she thought of him like a brother because he was so much like her brother Jack.

“After we left, how did Mr. Pollero act?”

“He didn’t really act any different. Though he took an unusually long lunch.”

“How long?”

“Nearly three hours. I thought he might have had a doctor’s appointment or something, though he is always good about informing us if he’s going to be out. He left at eleven thirty—I suppose that’s about thirty minutes after you left—and returned at two twenty-five. I only remember that because he had a two-thirty appointment with a longtime customer about refinancing their home. I was beginning to worry that he’d forgotten.”

“But he was back for the appointment.”

“Yes.”

“Did you ask him why he was so late?”

“Not in so many words. It would have been rude, and it’s not like he does it often. He’s a terrific boss, very organized, and understanding about staff issues. We had a sexual harassment issue between one of the loan managers and one of my tellers, and Mr. Pollero handled it swiftly and professionally. I was impressed. We all like him.” She hesitated. “May I ask what he did wrong?”

“We don’t know that he did anything wrong,” Lucy said. Just because he didn’t show up at work didn’t mean he was guilty—though she believed that he was. But guilty of what? She doubted he was guilty of murder, but accessory after the fact? Very likely. He may not have even known that Denise Albright was dead until it hit the papers. But someone told him to lie three years ago.

“Did you know Denise Albright?”

The teller glanced at the president. “It’s okay, Stephanie. We’re cooperating fully with this investigation. Anything you know about Mrs. Albright or the embezzlement will help.”