Free The Begining (The Navigator Book 1) by Ben Winston Page B

expensive suit came in to talk with them.
    “Good Morning, Frau Anderson, I am Hans Totenkopf. I am the foreign accounts manager here. As I understand it, you have some questions about an account?”
    Laura smiled and shook the man's hand. “Good morning, this is my friend, Jed Freeland, who was good enough to accompany me today.” The man turned and offered his hand to Jed as Laura continued. “Yes, I do have a couple of questions regarding an account opened I believe by my late husband.”
    “I would be happy to assist you. May I have the account numbers?” Hans asked politely.
    Laura complied by sliding a piece of paper across the table to him. He smiled at her and quickly typed them into his tablet.
    “Yes, I have that account right here, what would you like to know?”
    “Well, first of all, I should probably know what the balance is,” Laura said.
    “In U.S. Dollars?” Hans asked.
    “Yes please, my conversion skills are not what they used to be.”
    “Thirty-two million, seven hundred ninety-seven thousand, four hundred and forty dollars and fifty-two cents. In addition, there is a safe deposit unit included with this account,” Hans replied without even blinking.
    The amount took both Laura as well as Jed completely by surprise. Once they found out the numbers were to a bank, they knew there was probably a lot of money involved, but they never dreamed it was this much.
    “Whoa,” Laura said. "If there's that much money in there, I wonder what's in the box?” she said the last looking at Jed.
    “Herr Totenkopf, we didn't find a key for a deposit box,” Jed said.
    “Do you have a copy of Mr. Anderson's death certificate?” Hans asked and Laura handed it over.
    “I will need to make a copy of this, but you will not need a key. The bank key opens the door to remove the box, but each box has a thumb print scanner built into it. However, since Mr. Anderson is no longer with us, I can have the locking mechanism cleared and reset so you can seal it with your thumbprint,” Hans said. “Would you like us to bring the box in here?”
    “Yes please,” Laura said.
    “Please excuse me while I handle the paperwork, will you be making a withdrawal today?” Hans asked.
    “I hadn't planned on it, besides, I can just transfer it if I need it, right?” Laura asked.
    “That is correct, however, if you decide to transfer a large amount, you may wish to speak with an American financial adviser and perhaps an attorney before you do. The United States has very specific laws regarding the import of large sums,” Hans offered. "I'll return in a few moments.”
    When the door closed, Laura fell back into the chair. “If he had all this money all along, why have we been struggling just to get by?”
    “I'm sure there were some very good reasons, Laura. I know for a fact that not having money to pay all the bills really bothered him. On the other hand, even if he only transferred a hundred thousand every year, you two would have had more than enough to live on,” Jed said.
    “None of this seems like the man I knew. Yeah, he told me about his past, but all of this is just way too 'James Bond' for me, you know?” Laura said.
    “So, that would make you 'Moneypenny'?” Jed asked, trying to get her to smile.
    “Well, if everything he told me was the absolute truth, then that role would have been filled by the woman, Sharon, that left that note,” Laura replied. “Honestly, I think I'd like to meet her someday.”
    “Well, if she's looking over you like she said she was, then you might get your wish. If I may ask, why would you want to meet her anyway? I got the impression from Joe that he wasn't too fond of his superiors back then.”
    “Oh, he wasn't. But I got the impression, from listening to him talk about her, I think he was in love with her. I mean, he hated her for what she had to do, but loved her because of what they'd become to each other,” Laura said.
    Jed cocked his head at her. “I'm afraid I