Mrs Maria Fontaine walked slowly into the small centre of the village she had lived in for almost sixty years. She knew it well and probably over ninety percent of the people that lived there, of course she did, Mrs Fontaine was approaching eighty years of age and had lived in this small place most of her life. And it was for that reason alone why it was going to make, what she had to do today somewhat difficult. She pulled the small blue trolly towards the bank. This particular bank hadn’t been in the village that long, one of those modern day ones. She thought. She being a lady of a certain age mostly dealt with her affairs in the village post office. But today was different. She just hoped Linda, who worked in the post office wasn’t about to see where she was going. The last thing she needed was questions being asked, or her being the centre of some village gossip. Mrs Fontaine being who she was, liked to keep her business private.

Getting closer to the bank, she wondered what was going to be waiting for her inside. It had been her son that had given her the card and told her to withdraw the cash. She hadn’t quite understood why he had wanted her to do it, but after she had asked several times, the answer had been. “Because no one will suspect you.” He had said that to her before handing her a second card telling her to transfer the money into that account. She had of course pushed for answers again. “There bribing me mum, that’s all I can say.” To know that her son was in any trouble at all had her doing her motherly duties and running to his defence. So it was this that had led Mrs Maria Fontaine the eighty year old woman, pulling her blue trolly all the way to the modern bank, all because of a bribe.