But there is a notary verification stamp on the transfer ledger.”

I studied the purple ink impression stamped next to the withdrawal line.

“Richard isn’t a registered notary,” I said.

“He keeps a second notary stamp tucked away in his desk drawer at the Pine Street house,” Arthur said quietly.

“He ordered it from a mail-order supply company back in ninety-eight, when his real estate firm started taking on private debt.”

Across Maple Street, on the second floor of the brick office building, a tall man stood behind the window glass looking down at our booth.