The Judge Asked Curtis Where He Got My Written Permission

Curtis arrived at the next hearing with a new story.

He said I had always let him handle business matters. He said the advances were part of our usual way of working. He also questioned whether I had used company money to buy the building.

That last claim made me grip the edge of the table.

Vera touched my sleeve.

"Let the records answer."

Amina sat on a bench behind us with the closing file. She had brought it in response to the request arranged through the lawyers. I had agreed to release my payment records for this hearing.

When she was called, she walked to the witness chair without looking at Curtis.

Vera asked what had closed that morning.

"A sale of real property from Inez Halberg to Fausto Almonte," Amina said.

"Was Relay Recreation the buyer?"

"No."

"Did the final payment come from its account?"

"No. The $60,000 wire came from Mr. Almonte's personal savings account."

She identified the ledger, the contract, and the recorded deed. The repair credits had been approved by Inez under their purchase contract. They were separate from my pay for work on the bowling machines.

Curtis's lawyer asked whether Amina bowled with me.

"In the same league," she said.

"So you are friends."

"The wire receipt does not depend on my bowling average."

The judge asked her to keep to the questions. She nodded and did.

I was next.

Vera showed me the furnace slip. I explained what I had repaired, where the paper had folded, and why I had sent Curtis a scan.

"Did you authorize him to place that signature on payment consents?"

"No."

"Did you approve any of the three personal advances?"

"No."

Nolan asked why I hadn't checked the bank account sooner.

"I should have," I said.

There was no good answer hiding behind a long one. Curtis had sent summary reports. I had trusted them and kept the lanes working. That choice had cost other people money.

"But you trusted him to manage?" Nolan asked.

"I trusted him to follow the agreement we both signed."

Then Curtis took the chair.

He admitted using the saved signature image. He said I had given permission over coffee the previous spring.

"Where is the written approval required by your agreement?" the judge asked.

"Fausto and I didn't need to write down every little thing."

"Eighteen thousand four hundred dollars is the amount at issue. Please answer the question."

"There isn't a separate paper."

Nolan looked down at his pad.

The judge did not settle the theft claim that day. She said the disputed payments and copied signatures required a full accounting. She kept the asset restrictions in place and ordered that Miles review any company disbursement while the case continued.

Curtis had to restore my access for the ordered inspections. All company records were to be copied and kept. The next steps would proceed on a set schedule.

He could still stand behind the counter. He could no longer empty it on his own say-so.

I wrote the next court date on the back of my work schedule. Beside it, I had already listed a cracked pit-board bracket and two worn belts. Neither kind of job would finish just because I wished it done.

In the hall, he caught up to me.

"You made me look like a thief."

"I answered the questions."

"You always had your little stack of papers ready."

I took the red washer from my pocket. It had pressed a circle into my palm.

"I kept the papers because I wanted what I paid for."

He looked at the washer, then walked away.

Bev waited by the outer doors. She hadn't come to cheer. She had come because her league wanted facts.

"Can I tell them you own the building?"

"Yes."

"And the money?"

"Still owed. All of it."

She nodded once.

"That answer, I can use."

By late afternoon, the equipment appraisal arrived. The old machines needed work, and two scoring units had failing screens. The appraiser valued the entire sale package at $18,000 in its present condition.

The searches found no equipment liens. Miles found no unpaid wages. The debt list held.

Vera called Nolan with a proposal. I would consider buying the assets through a new company. The sale would need proper notice, a lease surrender, an open accounting, and terms approved through the case.

Curtis would have to leave management and repay his personal withdrawals.

I went home before his answer came. My kitchen table still held the repair folders. I stacked them by year and put supper on the stove.

At seven, Vera called.

"He'll discuss leaving," she said. "But he wants the withdrawals called salary and a release of every claim."

I turned off the burner.

"He wants my signature again."