“So how do I get the bank’s copy?”

“You file.” He wrote a figure on the back of an envelope and pushed it across the desk.

“One hundred and fifty dollars to petition the court to open the estate records.

Then the bank has to answer.”

I looked at the number for a while.

“I’ve got thirty-one dollars.”

Arthur folded his glasses into his shirt pocket, which I had never once seen him do.

“Then I’ll pay it.”