Chapter 18: No Digital Footprints, No Problems?

Amelia did have her ways.

Knowing that the identities of her clients were quite sensitive, Lulu was immediately averse to leaving any digital footprint for the transfer of funds.

After all, if a dead person suddenly transfers thousands of dollars to her account, what is she supposed to say?

'Yes, I see the dead and have taken your loved one on as a client. This has absolutely no relation to identity theft.'?

Good luck telling the police that one...

But despite Amelia's apparent conviction that she could pay, Lulu still wasn't prepared for the solution Amelia proposed.

"Gold bars," Lulu repeated flatly.

Amelia nodded, looking quite pleased with herself. "And silver. About twenty grand's worth."

Lulu stared at her. Then, very slowly, she said, "Amelia, I am not a 16th-century pirate. I can't exactly walk into a supermarket and pay for groceries with a hunk of gold."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Obviously, you'd have to sell them first. But it's all legit. I bought them as an investment a few years ago. One of my exes was really into the whole 'currency will collapse one day' conspiracy, and while most of what he said was nonsense, I figured precious metals were a decent hedge."

Lulu pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay. Sure. Fine. And where, exactly, am I supposed to retrieve these so-called 'totally legitimate' bars of precious metal? I am not breaking into another house!"

Amelia gave Lulu a strange look, "Another house? Nevermind, don't answer. You don't even have to worry about you breaking into my house. I didn't trust anyone enough to keep them at home, so I rented a storage locker."

Lulu let out a breath. "That's…actually pretty smart."

"Right? I didn't use a safety deposit box because banks don't let you insure what's inside. But a storage unit? You can insure everything inside of it, no problem. The only con is that the security isn't as good—anyone with the necessary codes can get in—but that actually works out perfectly for you!"

Lulu crossed her arms. "So you're telling me that there is, right now, a locker just sitting somewhere with twenty thousand dollars in gold and silver, and all I need to do is walk in and take it?"

Amelia nodded eagerly. "Yep! And it's self-service, open 24/7, so you won't even have to deal with anyone. And if you go after their office hours, nobody should even see you."

Lulu frowned. "And what exactly do I need to access it?"

Amelia beamed. "Just three codes."

Lulu blinked. "Three?"

"Yeah! One for the main gate, one for the building entrance, and one for my personal locker. Super secure!"

Lulu sighed and leaned back against her chair. "And you just…memorized them?"

"Well, yeah," Amelia said, looking mildly offended. "They were important."

"Right," Lulu muttered. "Because the numbers that will get me arrested for grand larceny are the important ones."

Amelia huffed. "It's not grand larceny if it's mine and I'm giving it to you."

"Sure, tell that to the cops when I waltz in and start loading up bars of gold. You didn't exactly leave them to me in a will"

Amelia waved a hand dismissively. "Just bring a duffel bag. Not to mention, the owners of the place were kind of sketchy, but it was all that I could afford. But even if they do open it up to find it empty, I doubt they'd call the cops"

Lulu groaned and dragged her hands down her face. This was insane. Completely, utterly ridiculous.

And yet…

Although she no longer had to worry about rent with Henry's help, she had paid for the rest fo the year in advance, meaning she still didn't have a whole lot in her account. Especially not after she caught up on her overdue bills.

Even if she had to go through the hassle of selling the bars, twenty thousand dollars was a huge deal.

Lulu exhaled sharply. "Fine. Give me the codes."

Amelia clapped her hands together excitedly. "Yes! Okay, first one—"

Lulu quickly grabbed her phone and opened a notes app. Amelia rattled off the three codes, and Lulu typed them in, triple-checking them before locking the note with a password.

Once she was sure she had them down, she took a deep breath and looked back at Amelia. "Alright. Last question."

Amelia tilted her head. "Yeah?"

Lulu narrowed her eyes. "Exactly how much trouble am I going to get into if someone else finds out about this?"

Amelia blinked. Then she grinned. "Oh, don't worry. The only people who even know about that locker are me and you."

Lulu decided to take Amelia at her word…praying that it wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass.