His name tag said BRANDON PIERCE, BRANCH MANAGER.
I’d heard about him.
Everybody in Millbrook had heard about him. He’d been transferred in from the city in April. The corporate office sent him. Heartland Bancorp, out of Des Moines, who bought most of Farmers & Merchants back in 2015.
He’d only been here two months. But people talked.
He’d taken the peppermint bowl off the counter. Said it wasn’t hygienic. Ruth Abernathy at the beauty shop said he’d made her fill out a form to deposit her Social Security check. Earl Lindquist said Brandon had asked him if he was “sure” he wanted to withdraw two hundred dollars from his own savings.
“Like I was a child,” Earl said at the diner. “Like I didn’t know my own mind.”
I’d thought they were exaggerating.
I slid the check under the glass.
“Good morning,” I said. “I’d like to cash this, please.”
