Mr. Worthington. That was the name of the man who had warned him away from Victor’s house, and when the representative of the bank spoke, Nick immediately recognized his voice. A chill passed through him, and he wondered exactly how this assembly had come about. It certainly wasn’t typical. Ordinarily, assemblies were scheduled far in advance and were very school-centric: pep rallies, award ceremonies, band concerts, student performances. He could not remember one ever structured around an outside speaker. Especially a speaker representing a private business.

This wasn’t an assembly. It was a free commercial.

Mr. Worthington was explaining the history of the American banking system. Very few people were paying attention. Nick wasn’t really listening to what the man was saying, but just hearing that voice again made him feel scared, intimidated, and put him directly back on Victor’s front porch. He recalled the exact wording of the threat Mr. Worthington had made over the phone. “Get off Victor Clark’s porch, leave his yard, stay off his property and stop snooping. Do I make myself clear?”

Why had Mr. Worthington been so closely monitoring the Clarks’ house?

And where was Victor?

His friend had still not shown up for school, and staring down at the man from the bank, Nick could not help thinking that he had something to do with Victor’s absence. In the back of his mind lurked the idea that the Clarks’ house was as empty now as it had been the day he’d stopped by, that the entire family had somehow just…disappeared.

Mr. Worthington appeared to be looking directly at him—and smiling—and Nick stiffened, suddenly paying attention to the speech.

“Now, as a gift to you from the bank, in appreciation for allowing me to come here today and explain a little bit about how our financial system works, college saver accounts have been opened in all of your names, with the bank providing each of you with an initial twenty dollar deposit.”

A murmur of excitement passed through the assembled students.

“You may add to this amount at any time, earning even more interest on your investment, and of course, as education accounts, the earnings you receive from them will remain tax free.”

Nick frowned. This wasn’t right. Hadn’t some bank been fined millions of dollars for illegally creating accounts for people without their permission? The same thing seemed to be going on here, with a twenty dollar bribe thrown in to cover their tracks. Nick glanced at Aaron, sitting next to him. “What if you don’t want an account?” he whispered.

“What’s that?” Mr. Worthington was looking straight at him. “Did I hear a question up there?”

Nick shook his head, his mouth dry.