Wild Fiction

‘Right here,’ Rebecca replied producing the key. ‘All the bank details are in my head.’
‘Write them down,’ the author said.
‘No, it’s too risky.’
‘What do you mean it’s too risky?’
‘If I write them down then I’m not needed any more. I’ll become a disposable character that you can write out of the story. Quietly bumped off in a dark alley one evening.’
The author let out a small guffaw. ‘I’m not going to kill you. Where did you get that idea from?’
Rebecca blushed. ‘There was a film on the plane where that happened to someone.’
The author chuckled. ‘Trust me, you’ll be okay, now what are the details?’
‘You promise I’m not going to die?’
The author paused and the smile disappeared from his face. ‘Look, I can’t promise anything. You want to be in a best seller and I want to write one. If somebody has to die to make it a best seller, then that’s what has to happen. However, I can’t see any harm coming to you. What I can say is that I’ll promise to try to make it a promise. How’s that?’
‘It isn’t the guarantee that I want but I’m not going to get anymore now am I?’
The author shook his head slowly keeping his eyes fixed on her. She scribbled the details down on a piece of paper and handed it to him.
‘Which bank is it?’ he asked.
‘That’s just the problem, there was no bank specified on the document.’
‘That’s not a problem. The sort code will identify the bank and the branch.’
The author picked up the phone and dialled. Minutes later he hung up. ‘The bank’s in the West-End. It’s the Overseas Bank of China. Clever of Sir Betelgeuse to use an obscure bank. It would be impossible for the fraud squad or the insurance companies to check every bank in London. The account is a numbered account and not one that bears a name. Even if they did track down the bank, it would be difficult to associate the account with him. As for the safety deposit box, all we need is the account number, the pin, and the key. There’ll be an electronic keypad on each box that you have to punch the pin into.’
‘I’m ready to go and get it,’ Rebecca said standing up.