“Did he draw the withdrawal on the shop account?” I asked.

“He took every cent right out of his personal emergency savings,” Marge said.

“He cleaned out his ledger balance entirely.”

The cashier at the front register rang up the degreaser, the two blue tubs, and the wire strainers.

The total on the little green screen came to exactly twelve dollars.

I took a ten and two ones out of my envelope and slid them across the glass, which left exactly thirty dollars in my checking envelope.

The back porch steps were slippery with wet oak leaves when I dragged the first blue plastic tub out through the screen door.