"I understand."
"And protect the complainant. Your mother shouldn't find out the accounts are frozen again just because the manager is embarrassed."
Darius looked at the calendar. He could not repair forty years of institutional negligence by shouting in a lobby. But he could stop one manager from continuing to exercise authority while the institution determined what had happened. The audit committee approved interim action for Thursday morning. Sarah arranged the necessary authorization, and Darius agreed to attend as the executive who had witnessed the incident, with independent counsel present to supervise the process.
He called Loretta before bed. "I'm going to the bank tomorrow. The review has reached the point where we can act."
"Then act properly," she said. "Don't use me as a reason to skip the rules you say are important."
"I won't."
"And Darius?"
"Yes, Mama?"
"When you talk to that man, don't forget what he did to the people who couldn't call the chief executive afterward."
He looked at the folder marked WITNESS STATEMENT beside his laptop. "I haven't forgotten," he said.
Thursday morning smelled of rain. Low clouds hung over downtown, and the air pressed against the glass windows of Harland Community Bank as if a storm were waiting for permission to begin. Loretta arrived shortly after nine carrying the same manila folder, now reinforced with a second paper clip because she had opened it so many times. She was tired enough that her knees ached, but she had dressed carefully and braided her gray hair into a neat roll at the back of her head.
She was not there to ask Gregory Harlon for another chance. Martin had arranged for an independent customer-service representative to receive her documents, and Loretta intended to give the institution one final opportunity to record them properly. She still hoped, against the evidence of the past three days, that somebody might simply apologize and process the transaction. It is difficult to give up the hope of ordinary decency, especially when so much of your life has depended on it.
Harlon saw her before she reached the counter. The smile he put on was familiar by now, and so was the quick adjustment of his tie. Barnes came closer. Nina, seated at the second teller station, met Loretta's eyes but did not speak. She had received a message asking her to remain available for a formal interview later that morning, and she could barely hold her pen still.
"Mrs. Johnson," Harlon announced. "I really thought we'd reached an understanding."
"I understood that you refused to verify my settlement check and then destroyed it," Loretta said. "I understood you restricted my account without giving me a reason. I haven't understood why any of that was necessary."
"We have explained the fraud concerns repeatedly. I can't allow you to interfere with branch operations."
"Then show me what concerns you're relying on."
The security guard took another step. A younger man waiting at the lending desk shifted his chair to see around a planter. Harlon spread his hands, inviting the room to observe his patience.