Honey Kisses

Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Show Me the Money

The day after Jackson sent her home to rest, Ann was back at work. He had come to the main house mid morning to check on her and let her know he was riding out to round up strays. He'd said that if she needed anything, she should call him on his cell phone. She'd played the actress, smiling and wishing him a good day. Now, closing his office door, she quickly switched on his computer, punched instructions that would record his keystrokes, switched the machine off again, and hastily left the room.

Two days later, after Jackson left with Sage to travel to Denver to check out a bull they were thinking of going partners on, she slipped into his office again. Powering up his computer, she punched in the code that would bypass the normal startup, and go directly to hidden files and folders. Reading her notes and using her hacking expertise, she printed several pages of code that had recorded his keystrokes. She shut the computer off and took the pages to the kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, and set about deciphering her printout. Within two hours she knew Jackson's login code and the IDs and passwords to his bank accounts.

Inhaling a calming breath, she decided it was time to call up his accounts and transfer the money to the bad man's account. Back in his office, she fired up his computer and had no trouble getting past his login and into his online banking. She did a double-take at his large balances. He had a ranch account, a renovations account, a retirement account, a personal account, a savings account, and two investment accounts. She finally decided to use the renovations account because it had multiple large transactions with regard to the remodel being done on the ranch hands' quarters. She had no illusions that the missing money would go undiscovered, she only hoped it didn't happened immediately. Slipping the piece of paper with the bank information from her pocket, her fingers trembled as she committed a crime. In the notation she wrote, "lumber for renovation." After checking the transit routing number and account number several times to make sure she had entered them correctly, her finger hovered over the send button for almost a minute before she pressed it.

Signing off, she ran from Jackson's office to the bathroom and threw up. Three hours later she received a text that said, "paid in full."

* * *

Jackson sat behind his computer. The bull he and Sage had purchased a week earlier was being delivered today. He needed to print a check for his share of the purchase price. While he waited for his computer to boot up, he thought about Annie. Something was still wrong. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but she seemed preoccupied or spaced out most of the time. Sometimes he had to call her name more than once before she responded. He was at a loss as to what to do. He was seriously considering insisting she see Doc Jones.

Turning his attention to his computer, he signed into QuickBooks, prepared the check and printed it. His contractor for the remodel had given him a bill for supplies and he decided to check the balance in that account. He accessed the renovations account and blinked. What the fu...!  No way had he spent that much money. He looked at the bank detail for the last transaction, 'lumber for renovation.' What! I don't remember authorizing that. He looked at the date of the transfer and then at his calendar. Shit! I wasn't even here. I was in Denver.

Grabbing his cell phone, he called his bank and asked for the manager. After a frustrating call, he placed a hold on all his accounts and made an appointment to come in and personally meet with the bank president. According to the manager, the transaction had originated from his computer and gone to an overseas account. When Jackson left his office, he went in search of Annie. It was suppertime and she was just pulling a casserole out of the oven.

She said, "Oh, there you are. I made homemade chicken pot pie. I'll just leave it on the sideboard for you. I'm not hungry so I'll pass on dinner tonight." She looked at him more closely. "What's wrong?"

"Annie, you know the day that Sage and I went to Denver, did anyone come to the house?"

"No. Why?"

"I'm not sure what's going on, but it looks like someone got into one of my bank accounts and stole a large sum of money that day. The bank manager said the transaction originated from my computer." Jackson watched Annie's eyes widen.

"Oh my goodness. That's terrible? No one was here that day."

"I have an appointment with the bank president tomorrow afternoon. Maybe I can get some answers. If not, I may have to involve the FBI."

Annie's face paled. "Oh, Jackson, I feel so bad."

* * *

Ann sat in a wingback chair beside the window in her darkened bedroom. She'd pulled the curtains open and cranked the window outward to allow the night breeze in. Absentmindedly, she snuggled Spike and petted his silky fur while tears rolled down her cheeks. A cloud passed in front of the moon and an owl hooted. Frogs sang at the river.

Jackson knows he's been robbed. Ann couldn't remember ever feeling this bad. At that moment she hated her dead husband. Sweet Jackson hadn't deserved this, but if she had it to do over again, she knew she'd do the same thing. She would steal from her own grandmother to keep Jacob and Julie safe. A cry wretched itself from her heart and she set Spike on the floor before clutching her stomach, unable to prevent the sobs pouring forth.