Cut and Run (Lucy Kincaid #16) - Allison Brennan Page 0,76

Paintings of cattle ranches and a famous Alamo scene decorated the pale green walls; two separate sitting areas provided comfortable couches and neatly arranged finance magazines; a coffeepot and water cooler for customers; and the tellers were behind a high counter without bars or plastic shielding. It was a warm, homey environment with the stately colors and cleanliness that said, You can trust us with your money.

Lucy and Nate sat in the chairs across from Pollero. He closed the door behind them and sat down at his desk, which was immaculate. Behind him on the credenza was a wedding photo—it looked recent, and Pollero was standing with a woman next to the bride. Next to it was a photo of the bride and her husband with a toddler.

“Your daughter?” she asked, nodding toward the photos.

He glanced over and smiled. “Penny. The joy of my life. And her daughter, Gracie. She just turned two.”

“Adorable,” Lucy said. “Again, thank you for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice.”

“I assumed it was because of the news reports Monday night—that you found Denise Albright’s remains. I’m stunned.”

“Her, and her family,” Lucy said. “They were murdered.”

She said it in a calm, reasoned voice—just like she asked about his daughter—and it threw him a bit.

“It’s awful,” he said.

“Based on forensics and our investigation, you may very well have been one of the last people to see Mrs. Albright alive.”

“I—I’m sure that’s not true.”

“According to your statement, she came into the bank on Friday, September 21, at ten fifteen a.m. She made changes to the Kiefer account, of which she was a signatory, and you indicated that she wasn’t under duress.”

“I honestly don’t remember the details, but if she was acting odd, I would have noticed. I knew Mrs. Albright for years. We gave her the loan on her home, when they only had one child. She had her business account with us, when she had a new client she always referred them to our bank. She was meticulous, which I appreciated. If there was a discrepancy in any of her accounts, we worked on finding it together.”

“So you saw her regularly? How often would you say? Every week? Month?”

“Once a month, maybe a little less. With online banking taking off, we don’t see our customers as often as we used to.”

“Did you know her husband?” Lucy asked.

“By sight. He only came in a couple times to sign papers, such as when they refinanced their home. Mrs. Albright handled most, if not all, of the family’s finances, which isn’t a surprise since she was an accountant.”

Interviewing a witness—as well as a suspect—meant quickly profiling the subject. Perhaps unfair at times, it almost always succeeded. Because Pollero was on the old-fashioned side, over fifty, had a daughter roughly Lucy’s age, and was in the conservative banking profession, Lucy and Nate made an unspoken decision that she would be the nice agent and Nate would be more aggressive. Though they hadn’t been partners long, they knew each other’s strengths well.

So when Nate spoke, he was more commanding. Coupled with his military background and intimidating broad shoulders, he came across as authorative.

“Didn’t you think it was suspicious that Mrs. Albright changed the account of one of her clients?”

“I— Um, no, I didn’t.”

“Why?”

“I knew her.”

“I know Agent Kincaid, but I would find it suspicious if she wanted to take her husband off their joint bank account.”

“This was completely different,” he said. “Mrs. Albright set up the account, she had the authority to change it.”

“But she set it up with Mr. Kiefer and he was one of the signatories who was supposed to approve any transaction over ten thousand dollars.”

“Yes, but she had the appropriate forms.”

“Which she could have forged or manipulated Mr. Kiefer into signing,” Nate pushed. “You didn’t even think to call him? Verify that he gave her permission to—essentially—control a three-million-dollar account?”

“I— She wouldn’t— I mean— I had never thought— It wasn’t that unusual.”

“You have a fiduciary responsibility to protect your customers’ assets, and you not only acted wholly unprofessional, but she was able to transfer the money that night without raising any red flags on your end?”

“I— I don’t see why—what—I mean, I followed all regulations for that type of transaction.”

“Agent Dunning, I’m sure Mr. Pollero trusted Mrs. Albright. He’d been her banker for years.”

“I did,” he said, jumping on Lucy’s out. “I trusted her explicitly.”

Lucy gave him a half smile and showed him the photo he had provided three years ago of Denise Albright coming