‘Certainly, ma’am. The account is in the name of?’

‘Joshua Waldstein Lassiter.’

Harold Leighton’s eyebrows raised.

Her heart skipped. ‘Oh… is there a problem?’

‘Not a problem as such, ma’am. It’s just… I still have the paperwork here on my desk.’

Maddy shook her head. ‘Paperwork?’

‘The paperwork setting up the safe deposit account. Joshua Waldstein Lassiter, I presume he is your…?’

‘Uh?… My uh… yes, that’s right, my father.’

‘Well, your father was here not more than an hour ago. Actually, I dealt with him myself. He brought a very nice jewellery box with him and we carried it down to the safe room and put it in a deposit box together… as I say, not more than an hour ago.’

‘Oh,’ was all she managed to say after a few moments. ‘Yes, well, that’s quite right.’

‘And you wish to withdraw something from the safe deposit box already?’

She nodded. ‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘Well… that is highly irregular.’

‘We’re a funny old family, us Lassiters,’ said Maddy, looking back over the chair. ‘Aren’t we, Liam?’

Liam stepped forward. ‘Oh yes, that we are, dear sister.’ He grinned at the teller. ‘She sometimes calls me Liam, although my name is in fact Leonard,’ he said, nudging the small of her back.

Maddy mentally kicked herself for being such a dumb-nuts.

‘You are brother and sister?’ Harold Leighton looked up at Liam. ‘And it seems you, sir, are Irish?’

‘Yes.’

‘But,’ he said, looking at Maddy, ‘it seems, ma’am, you’re not?’

‘I… uh…’ Maddy’s mouth flapped uselessly. ‘Oh…’

‘I was brought up in Cork,’ cut in Liam. ‘My dear sister in California. Father likes to keep a home either side of the Atlantic, so he does.’

The young teller cocked an eyebrow. ‘So it seems.’ He sighed and spread the bank account details out in front of him. ‘Well, it appears your father did specify his children as fellow signatories on the account, so… you, ma’am, I presume are Emily Lassiter?’