“You were here?” Ben ran through his mental roll call of faces from that day and knew this guy was not on it.
“Next door.”
Connor stepped back and gestured in the general direction of Kent’s abandoned desk chair. “Then have a seat.”
Everyone pivoted. Ed took up his old position at the door while Connor sat with Gary and ran him through a series of questions as Kent watched. No, while Kent stared at the large clock on the wall by the safe. The guy didn’t sit still. Gary must have noticed because more than once he glanced up and scowled at his supposed business friend.
It took Ben a second to realize he stood alone. He spun around and found Jocelyn back at the counter in the middle of the room with Joel hovering over her shoulder like the bodyguard he was.
Ben walked back to her. He was about to make a joke but he noticed her hands. She’d stopped straightening. She turned the slips over and studied the back.
He knew something ran through her mind. “What’s wrong?”
“Something.”
He balanced his palms against the edge of the table and leaned in, keeping his voice at a whisper level. “Can you be a little more specific?”
“The deposit slips.”
He still wasn’t getting it. “One more detail might help.”
“What about them?” Joel asked.
“No one gave me anything except Pamela.” Jocelyn held up a slip.
From what Ben could see, it was blank except for the preprinted blocks. “What are we talking about?”
“The first attacker talked about me having something.” The slip flapped when Jocelyn shook it.
Ben remembered the question the first attacker had asked her. They’d all turned it over many times. The team took turns asking her about it, trying to get to the heart of it. Was it something from a patient or doctor that the guy was after? But none of their questions had gone anywhere. “I thought we decided that was some sort of line to throw you off.”
“The last time I saw Pamela, I did some banking and she gave me the receipts. She put them in an envelope, just like she always did.” Jocelyn smiled. “Don’t you see what I’m saying? She handed me something.”
“And now she’s missing.” It didn’t take long to put two and two together and figure out Pamela was dead. When Jocelyn kept talking, Ben knew she hadn’t made that leap yet.
“I forgot because it was so mundane, and I assumed the attacker was talking about something that happened at the hospital.” Jocelyn’s voice rose as she talked.
Joel answered her in a whisper. “I’m thinking we can now assume Pamela is dead.”
The color ran right out of Jocelyn’s cheeks. She morphed from excited to pale in a second.
Ben hated the look of defeat he saw on her face. “Joel.”
“Being realistic here.” He shrugged.
Jocelyn waved her hand in front of her face. “It’s okay. I need to know.”
“But do you have any clue where you threw this slip or whatever it was away?” Joel blew out a long breath. “I mean, the chances of finding it are...what?”
“No.” Ben kept shaking his head. “She didn’t throw it away.”
“I have it,” she confirmed.
It took Joel a few more steps to catch up. “At your apartment?”
Still ghostly-white, Jocelyn managed to smile. “At Corcoran.”
* * *
GARY STOOD AT the front door, just inside the bank, and watched the Corcoran Team rush out of there. After a tap on his shoulder from Ben, Connor had listened and then hustled them all out of there. The man asked one wrap-up question and they were gone.
Kent rocked back on his heels. “They didn’t act like they knew you. I don’t think—”
“You shouldn’t because you’d be wrong.” Kent didn’t see it, but Gary did.
Kent frowned. “What?”
“Up until five minutes ago, she didn’t know she had the note.” From a few feet away, Gary had watched the realization dawn on her face. She went from mindlessly playing with the papers to holding one up. Her excitement spilled over until one of the men said something and then they mobilized.
She knew. In a few minutes, they would all know. Gary couldn’t control what was in the note from the teller, but he could get his hands on it.
“How do you know what she knew and when?” Kent asked.
Gary didn’t feel inclined to explain to a man who wouldn’t survive until morning. “The look on the woman’s face and the way they ran out of here.”
“The transfer is in a few hours.” Kent looked around but Ed was on the other side of the room. “You promised to let my wife go.”