He kept his eyes on my face, his fingers rubbing the back of his neck again.

“I told the hotel manager there was a regional computer delay,” Mark said.

“All you have to do right now is call the bank and clear the pending four-thousand-eight-hundred-dollar balance until we get home on Monday.”

“I’m not unlocking the account,” I said.

The passenger door of the black SUV opened with a sharp metallic click.

Ruth stepped down onto the gravel, her brown orthopedic shoes sinking two inches into the dry dirt by the rear tire.

“Mark,” Ruth said.