Page 42 of Keel

She shook her head. “But Forest is filthy rich. Or his family is.”

“Yes, but for some people, a lot of money is never enough. They need it all, and they will use any means available to take advantage of whoever they can.”

She showed Mable her driver’s license, thankful she still had it. If Forest had taken that, she would be in trouble. She took down the information for the drug testing facility, glad that she didn’t have to go to the place for a few more days. They exchanged information, and Mable did the swab before she grabbed her bags and stood to leave.

“I’ll get back to you about the swab. In the meantime, take care of yourself.”

Frankie walked her to the door, shaking her head. “This just seems like a lot for so little money. From what I remember, after getting my degree, it was only a few thousand in the account.”

Mable stopped walking and turned to face her. “Oh, no. That was just your college fund.”

She narrowed her eyes, unsure what was being implied. “What do you mean?”

“Your college fund was separate. This fund is different, and it has been years, and the fund manager was very smart. Let me show you the papers.”

Mable pulled out a folder with rows and columns filled with numbers. Frankie stared at the page, wondering if the numbers were real. The total at the bottom seemed absolutely unfathomable.

“This has to be some kind of mistake. Forest told me I had no money.”

Mable put her hand on Frankie’s shoulder and squeezed. “Honey, that’s because he was trying to steal it from you.”

“Crap. I don’t need that. I don’t even know if I want it.”

“Do you understand why we’re having you do the drug testing? If you come out clear, then the restrictions will go away in a few years. We don’t want that money ruining your life.”

She shook her head, the numbers playing through her mind like a skipping record. There was no way she had that much money, but it was there on the page. Maybe they’d made a rounding error, and she wouldn’t actually get access to that kind of money. She certainly didn’t need it.

Mable squeezed her shoulder again, her smile warm. “Once the drug tests come back negative, we can set up appointments with a financial planner. Then you can decide what your goals are.”

Frankie watched the woman leave as panic swept through her. She didn’t trust herself or anyone else. Maybe she could trust Garnet and Ansley. But would they take advantage of her like Forest had? No, they were good people.

And what about Keel? Would he treat her differently? She would have to wait to find out because he wouldn’t be back for a while. She already missed him, and it hadn’t even been that long. She blew out a breath, knowing the last thing she needed was to spiral. She could do this, she could keep her life together, even if she was alone.

Chapter 23

On Friday afternoon, before heading to Ansley’s place, Frankie stepped out to get the mail and saw an elderly woman across the street looking confused. She hadn’t seen any silver alerts for the area, but worried that the woman might not know where she was.

“Hello,” Frankie called out.

“Oh, dear. I lost my cat.”

Frankie pulled out her phone and set the house alarm, not wanting to even cross the street without the alarm being set. She checked the street, making sure it was clear before heading over.

“Do you have a photo of your cat?”

The woman nodded and reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone. The splash screen showed an orange cat with a regal look, like maybe he’d been a king in a past life, if that was even a thing. This cat probably thought a lot about himself based on how he sat.

“He looks impressive.”

“Oh, he thinks highly of himself. He turns his nose up at cheap cat food and only likes the expensive stuff. Thank goodness my husband, God rest his soul, was good with money or his majesty would starve to death.”

Frankie snorted a laugh. “What is your cat’s name?”

“Mr. Wiggles. Not a regal name, but he was so wiggly when he was a baby. I wonder if he’s mad at the name now. I should have called him Lord Wiggles.”

Frankie snickered at the name, thinking the woman was probably right. Lord Wiggles would fit the cat better. “Let me walk around and see if I can find him.”

The woman reached back into her pocket and handed over a tin of sardines. “If you find him, he will follow you forever for a sardine. Just lead him back this way. Oh, and my name is Sonja.”