Relentless (Colorado Crimes Book 5)

Chapter 9

Natalie didn't want Noah to be guilty of dealing counterfeit bills. She liked him. Guilt burned inside her. She was lying to him and falling for him at the same time. Terrible idea. "I think I'll go to the bank and do some investigating this afternoon. Or ask if I can borrow cash from him."

Damon frowned, "Natalie, that's low."

She buried her head in her hands. "I know it is. But how else am I supposed to find the truth?"

"Maybe by starting with telling him the truth?" Raelyn suggested. "This is your mess Nat. We may influence Noah to stop his relationship with you, but you are the one who is going to have to tell him the truth."

Natalie groaned. "Fine." She stood up, leaving ten bucks on the table. "Have a good lunch. Sorry to bother you with your mom's request Rae."

Raelyn shook her head, "No bother. Good luck investigating. And please, tell him the truth."

"Thanks." Natalie hurried out of the café. She needed to get to Noah's bank and get some information.

Once at the bank, she walked up to the teller. There was one other customer in the bank and she had a little two year old kid to control, so she was paying no attention to Natalie.

Natalie smiled at the teller, "I need to look at your cash."

The teller stopped clacking away on her keyboard, "Excuse me?"

Natalie slid her PI ID on the counter, "My name is Natalie Thomas and I need to look at your bills."

The teller's eyes widened, "Are we in trouble?"

"No, nothing like that. I don't have an account at this bank, but I need to see the money. I will give it back as soon as I am done. If you need my driver's license I have that too. And my badge."

"Yes, I will need all of that." After the teller had examined everything, she told Natalie to follow her into the safe. 

Natalie stood at in the safe examining the bills thoroughly, comparing them all. None of them were counterfeit. She handed the bills back to the teller. "Thank you. I have a few questions to ask you as well." She noticed the teller's name tag read Cora.

Cora nodded, "Of course."

Natalie pulled up a picture of Noah on her phone, "Do you know this man?"

Cora examined the picture, "Yes, I think he comes into this bank once or twice a week."

"Does he deposit or withdraw?" Natalie prayed that the answer was that he withdrew.

"Usually he withdraws, he doesn't deposit very much. I'm pretty sure that he is wealthy already, but he withdraws for Fire Station 14."

The fact that he withdrew meant that he wasn't depositing counterfeit bills into the bank. A good sign. "Are there ever large checks or transactions that go into his account?"

"No, not since his last paycheck. Which surprisingly, he hasn't had one in awhile." Cora answered. She gave Natalie a skeptical look and Natalie knew she was pushing her limits. 

He hadn't had a paycheck in a while because he was still job hunting and was in no hurry because he had plenty of money from the NFL. It was also good that Noah hadn't had large transactions come into his account, because if he did, it meant someone was paying him. "Okay, thank you so much for all of this. You've been a big help."

Cora beamed, "Anytime. Have a good day."

Natalie waved and left the bank. When she had gotten back in her car, she decided to call Vincent Santiago, the man who wanted Noah investigated. She dialed his number and waited.