“Most of the time; depends on which bank it is.”
“I don’t know its name, but it’s an independently owned bank in Bristol, Rhode Island.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Hang on while I look it up.” Cantor clicked some computer keys. “I’ve got the Bristol Trust, the only independent in town. What’s the name on the account?”
“Last name Strong; first name either Mildred or Mrs. Caleb.”
“What do you want to know?”
“I want to know if any deposits were made yesterday or today.”
“Here we go. Only one deposit has been made this month, and that was yesterday, a check in the amount of half a million dollars. Nice deposit, but it’s still uncollected.”
“How long does it take a bank to collect on a deposit?”
“Depends on how hard they’re trying, I guess. I’d allow a week.”
“Any information on the account that the check was drawn on?”
“An account number at the Central Manhattan Bank.”
“Can you see who the account belongs to?”
“Hang on. I’ll have to bust into that bank’s accounts.” More typing. “Well, well, it’s drawn on the account of one Charles Crow.”
“Can you get into that account? I’d like to know of any large deposits this month and where they came from.”
“Gee, you want a lot, don’t you?”
“Always.”
More typing. “Here we are. Charlie deposited half a million bucks yesterday, and… Wow!”
“What?”
“Six and a half million dollars today.”
“From where?”
Much typing. Stone paid attention to not running into the huge truck ahead of him.
“It’s not from a bank; it’s wired from an account in a brokerage firm, Swensen-Styne, a big Internet firm.”
“In whose name?”
“That’s odd. The account name is encoded; all I can see is two series of asterisks with a space in between.”
“How many asterisks?”
“Five in the first group, six in the second.”
“Can you decode it?”
“The short answer is maybe, but it could take days or even longer. You want to pay for that kind of time?”
“No, I don’t,” Stone said. “I’d rather guess.”
“What’s your best guess?”