I could see why she was depressed. It didn’t sound like the kind of chore that could be finished in record time, which is, of course, what she wanted to do to make a good showing.
“Could be a bit of a sticky wicket. Who is this chap, anyway?”
“The name is Hoos. Sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss, doesn’t it?”
“Actually, it sounds like a bank.”
“How’s that again?”
Instead of repeating myself, I simply pointed. Across the street and three doors down was a building prominently labeled Hoos National Bank.
Tananda was on her feet and moving in a flash.
‘ “Thanks, Chumley. This may not be so bad after all.”
“Don’t forget. We’re terribly close to the police station,” I cautioned, hurrying to keep up.
“What do you mean, ‘we’?” she said, stopping abruptly. “This is my assignment, big brother, so don’t interfere or get underfoot. Capish?”
Realizing I was here to try to keep her out of trouble, I thought it ill-advised to start a brawl with Tananda in the middle of a public street, much less in front of a police station.
“Perish the thought. I just thought I’d tag along . . . as an observer. You know I love watching you work. Besides, as Mums always said, ‘You can never tell when a friendly witness can come in handy.’ “
I’m not sure if my words assured her, or if she simply accepted that a confirming report wouldn’t hurt, but she grunted silently and headed into the bank.
The place was pretty standard for a bank: tellers’ cages, tables for filling out deposit or withdrawal slips, etc. The only thing that was at all noteworthy was a special window for Inter-Dimensional Currency Exchange, which to me indicated that they did more demon business than might be expected for such an out-of-the-way dimension. I was going to point this out to Tananda, but she apparently had plans of her own. Without so much as a glance at the windows, she marched up to the manager’s office.