The monthly bank draft receipt from Tyler was probably just an old utility refund or some small stock dividend Arthur Pendelton had set up thirty years ago to pay for Mama’s yard work.

A long wave of relief eased the hard knot between my shoulder blades.

I stopped at the yellow light in Athens and picked up a paper cup of water from the seat next to me.

I had spent three long days making a total fool of myself in front of Pastor Higgins and everybody at the gas station.

Carl had been right to warn me that the corporate district manager was coming to audit the registers.

I needed to keep my head down, keep my shifts clean and quit looking for bad motives where there were only old financial papers.