by Maisy Morgan
“Seriously? Both of you are messing with me about the robbery,” Mary groaned. “Hello, Eddie, it sure is going to be easy for me to remember your name now isn’t it? It’s hard to forget people who go through something like that with you.”
“It’s the same for me,” Eddie said. “Are you here to make a deposit?”
“Actually, we’re here to open an account,” Mary said. “Is that something you could help us with?”
“Definitely,” Eddie said, waving one of the other tellers out from the back so that she could watch the counter. He brought them to one of the side offices where he plopped down behind the desk and started typing away on his computer. “Is this another account for you?”
“Nope, for me,” Tripp said proudly.
“Awesome,” he said. “Is this your first checking or savings account?”
“Both,” Mary said. “I want it to be able to connect to my account. I’m his grandmother, and I would like to be able to transfer money directly into his account. Can you do that?”
“I can,” he said.
“I work at her shop,” Tripp said smiling.
“Excellent, well, this will make it easier on you,” he said. “You could also set up a direct deposit option if he’s an employee of yours. Do you do that with your other employees?”
“Right now, it’s just the two of us, but I might revisit that option later when I look into hiring more help,” Mary said. “For now, just set the kiddo up with his own checking and savings account and a debit card.”
“No credit card?” he asked.
“Definitely not,” Mary said slightly laughing. Eddie seemed rather busy with what he was doing on the computer, but Mary couldn’t help but bring up the robbery again. “How has everyone here been holding up since the incident?” she asked.
“As well as can be expected I guess,” Eddie said. “I think the fact that one of the guys got away has us all a little on edge. I mean, it’s not like he would be stupid enough to come back here, but it still makes us nervous. I am kind of messed up after seeing the SWAT team shoot the first two. Especially the woman. Call me old fashion or whatever, but that one kind of got to me.”
“I understand,” Mary said. “I wish it didn’t have to go down that way, but they did point their guns right at people.”
“I know,” he said. “It was just a little rough. I wish I knew more about what was going on with the investigation.”
“Have you heard about what happened at Horton Lake?” Mary asked.
“No…”
“This man named Roger was stabbed and pushed into the lake. One of the missing pearls from the robbery was found at the crime scene with his blood on it. Then, when his car was searched, some of the missing cash was found,” Mary explained.
“Whoa, so the guilty guy is dead then?” Eddie asked stopping what he was doing on the computer for a moment.
“Not exactly,” Mary said. “They’re not sure if Roger was in fact the robber. See, he has a locked down tight alibi.”
“Really? Wait, Roger who?” Eddie asked.
“Roger Stout,” Mary said.
“As in Josephine’s boyfriend?” he asked.
“Ex-boyfriend,” Mary said. “They broke up the morning he was killed. You know him?”
“Yeah, I’d say so,” Eddie said. “He was here that day.”
“He was waiting for Josephine in the parking lot after he found out about the robbery,” Mary said.
“Yeah,” Eddie said in agreement. “He wasn’t a member of the bank here. I don’t remember seeing him around until afterwards. I saw him in the parking lot with Josephine for a little while. He wanted to make sure his girlfriend was okay. He seemed like a decent guy. I think he talked to Martha. Hey! Martha!” Eddie shouted out the office door, and after a moment Martha, one of the other hostages from the day of the robbery, stepped in the office.
“Yes hun?” she asked.
“You remember Roger Stout? He was there that day the bank was robbed?” Eddie asked.
“Yeah, I remember standing with him in the parking lot after they got me and the kid out of here,” Martha said while smiling slightly at Tripp. “We talked for a bit.”
“Did he say anything weird to you?” Eddie asked. “Apparently, he was killed the other day.”
“Oh, geez,” Martha said. “No, I don’t think so. Not really. We talked for a minute. He was really freaked out about Josephine. When everyone else was finally out of there, he was pretty relieved. He stood with her for a while.”
“Did he say anything of significance that you can remember?” Mary asked. “Did he do anything?”
“I don’t know,” Martha said with a slight shrug. “I mean, after the robbery, I saw him go into the bookshop next door. He said he had to go to the bathroom.”
“That’s not really helpful there Martha,” Eddie said with a slight laugh. “Thanks anyway.”
Martha eventually left them, and after a brief period, Eddie eventually had Tripp all set up with a checking and savings account, and was handing him over his very first debit card. They deposited his first paycheck with half going straight to savings as per their agreement, and by the time they were leaving the bank Tripp was acting really giddy with excitement. “I know I said I was going to try to be really responsible or whatever,” Tripp began, “but, it would be really cool if, well, would it be okay if we went to a game shop for me to look at this game Draco was telling me about?” he pleaded, giving Mary some award-winning puppy dog eyes.
“Lucky for you there’s a game shop here in the shopping center,” Mary said. “So, sure, we can swing by there before going home. First though, I want to go into this bookshop Martha mentioned.”
“Seriously? To find out whether or not our dead guy peed there?” Tripp asked, and Mary popped him on the back of the head.
“No, Tripp,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m going to see if they have security cameras pointed outside the building. Maybe they caught something.”
“Oh,” Tripp said, and he shut up after that.
They headed inside the small bookstore and looked around for a moment. Mary couldn’t help it. There was something about being in a bookstore that distracted her more than anything else. She was an avid reader, so she enjoyed the warm, comforting feeling she got being surrounded by books. Eventually though, after leaving Tripp to browse a bit himself, she made her way to the front counter. “Is there a manager here today?” Mary asked the man standing behind the counter.
“That would be me. What can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you have security cameras,” Mary probed.
“Um, yeah. Why, are you scoping out the place?” he asked with a laugh.
Mary laughed as well. “No, nothing like that. I’m sure you know all about the bank robbery?”
“Yeah, hard to miss that when you share a wall with the bank,” he said. “I’m Steven, by the way.”
“Steven, good to meet you. I’m Mary. My grandson and I were in the bank that day. I guess I’m looking for closure. I was wondering if your cameras caught anything that day?”
“Maybe,” he said. “Do you want to take a look?”
“I would love that,” she said.
Steven called for someone to come watch the counter, and while Tripp continued browsing about the store, she followed the man into the store’s backroom. Their security system wasn’t anything fancy, but they stored tapes up to two weeks back which was plenty of time to look through film from the day of the robbery.
As Martha had told them, they were able to spot Roger casually entering into the bookshop. “That’s who I’m looking for,” Mary said, pointing to the man. “He was killed a few days ago, and he was found to have some of the stolen items on him. However, police don’t think he was the robber who got away. But…I can’t help but feel that he was somehow involved.”
She watched as Roger walked to the back, disappearing from the cameras for a moment. “That’s where the restro
oms are,” Steven said. “I don’t know if this is going to do you any good. We have another bit of film from a camera pointed closer to the storefront. Hold on.”
He pulled the other footage for her. This camera looked towards the front of the shop, and they could see the exterior windows. There were people running about outside, but Mary couldn’t see their faces thanks to the angle of the camera. However, she saw Roger enter the shop. His face came into view once he was inside, and he dipped out to the bathroom just like he had done in the other bit of footage. However, he disappeared from view a bit sooner this time. “Okay, so far I’m not seeing anything too unusual,” she said still watching the footage.
After a few minutes, Roger reappeared, this time leaving the shop. However, he appeared to bump into someone just outside the shop, and the two men stood speaking to one another with their faces once again blocked from view thanks to the camera angle. Mary stared. Their body language said a lot. They were having some sort of confrontation. The more Mary stared, the more the second man in the film started to seem familiar. He was wearing the same clothes as the robber.
“Roger talked to the robber,” Mary said in shock. “He talked to the robber who got away!”
“You sure?” Steven asked.
“I was there. He has the same body build, same clothes, and same mannerisms,” Mary said still watching the footage. Roger continued to wave his arms about angrily. Was he confronting the robber? If so, why didn’t the robber shoot him or act more aggressively? The robber’s body turned slightly, and she could see the duffle bag at his side along with his gun. The man stuffed his gun away, and then he and Roger walked off in opposite directions. The robber still had the duffle bag that had been found in Roger’s car. Why had Roger let the robber walk? Perhaps he had blackmailed the guy? Mary couldn’t be sure.
“I need to call one of the officers investigating Roger’s murder. Do you mind?” Mary asked.
“Nah, you’re good,” he said. “Do what you gotta do.”
Mary pulled out her phone, and it only rang twice before Preston answered. “Preston, I’m in Peachtree City inside the bookshop next to the bank. I think I found something that you need to see.”
“Oh? What did you find?” he asked.
“The bookshop has footage of Roger speaking to our missing robber,” Mary said. “You can’t see the robber’s face, but I don’t think the guy is wearing his mask anymore or someone else would have noticed. However, Roger definitely seems to recognize whoever it is. I think Roger knew our third robber.”
“Okay, that is some serious evidence Mary,” Preston said. “I’m going to call the lead detective on the bank case and have him meet me there. I’m sure they are going to need this for their investigation as well.”
“Agreed,” Mary said. “I’ll let the manager here know that you’re on the way.”
“Are you still going to be there?” Preston asked with a hint of hopefulness in his tone.
Mary smirked. “I’d like to be, but I think Tripp would lose his mind. He’s got himself a debit card, and he’s itching to use it for the first time at a game store before it closes.”
Preston laughed. “Well, that’s a big deal. Don’t let me keep you. Thanks for the tip Mary.”
“Anytime,” she answered.
Chapter Twenty-One
Mary’s doorbell rang, and she hurried to go answer it. Tripp had set up his video games in the living room almost as soon as they got home. The kid was zoned out on his new game that he had purchased with his own money, so Mary wasn’t enforcing her hour-long game rule too harshly that evening. She was letting him enjoy his moment.
When she opened the door, she was not too surprised to see Preston smiling back at her. “Do you mind if I come in?” he asked.
“Of course not,” she said stepping aside. The two of them headed into the kitchen just far enough to where Tripp wouldn’t overhear every word they said, but thanks to the open floor plan, they could see him clearly through the archway separating the kitchen and living area.
“He seems happy,” Preston said as they sat down at the kitchen bar.
“Are you kidding me? You should have seen him in that game shop,” Mary said. “He stood there for half an hour debating on which game to buy and whether or not to buy two or just one. I’m proud of him. He opted for just the one.”
“Good for him,” Preston said. “I took a look at the video, but Peachtree City police took it for evidence. Tell me what you thought about it?”
“Well, from what I saw, I would definitely say Roger knew the robber personally. I don’t doubt that for a second. Their body language was one of familiarity, and the fact that Roger didn’t mind confronting the guy who was standing there with a gun says a lot. They knew each other for sure,” Mary began.
“I agree completely,” Preston said. “The Peachtree City cop I watched the video with seemed to feel the same way, but the robber left with the duffle bag, not Roger.”
“I think Roger either blackmailed the robber or convinced the guy it would be safer in his hands,” Mary said. “I don’t doubt that whoever was behind that mask killed Roger to keep him quiet, and I think I have a suspicion about who that robber might be.”
“Your suspicion is probably the same as mine.”
“Nathan?” Mary asked.
“Nathan,” Preston answered.
“He got into that argument with Roger right before he was killed. It was heated enough for Roger to punch him in the face. I think Nathan was the robber. They definitely weren’t arguing about their property line and about the stupid deer Nathan told us about. They were arguing about where the money was and how much Roger was going to get to keep quiet. Roger might have even stolen it from Nathan. They’re neighbors, so Roger would have recognized him. He maybe would have even known where he would have hidden it. He could have been blackmailing him,” Mary said.
Tripp suddenly appeared right at their side causing Mary to jump. “Nice,” Preston said laughing.
“Okay, that was a little too Draco- like,” Mary said. “Please make a little noise when you walk, Tripp.”
“Sorry,” he said laughing. “I was just wondering if it would be okay if I went to Draco’s for a little while? He is texting me and Hannah, and he offered to show me some cheat codes to the new game if we could come by.”
“Are his parents aware that he invited you both over?” Mary asked.
“Yeah, they know,” Tripp said. “He texted, ‘Mom said you guys can come by if you want, and I can show you those cheat codes’ right here,” Tripp said, practically shoving the phone in Mary’s face with excitement.
“If he’s not here, you and I could go talk to Nathan,” Preston suggested.
“All right, looks like you’re getting a police escort,” Mary said, and Tripp smirked.
The three of them loaded up, and soon they were pulling up outside of Draco’s home in Preston’s patrol car. Draco met them in the driveway looking very excited. “Hannah’s coming too!” he said, and the two of them disappeared before Mary could talk about what time to expect her back. Anna, Draco’s mother, laughed from the doorway.
“Don’t worry about the boys. I can handle them for an evening,” she said with a wink. “Just let me know what time to expect you back.”
“Shouldn’t be more than a few hours,” Mary said.
“Sounds good. I’ll have dinner ready in a bit, so no worries there. Tripp and Hannah can eat here,” she said as Mary and Preston headed off.
“That worked out nicely,” Mary said as they sped out of the neighborhood.
Preston managed to get Nathan on the phone, and the man told him that he was home and that they were welcomed to come by if they needed to talk. When he hung up, Preston looked rather relieved. “I’ve already interviewed Nathan a few times about what went down that day at the park,” Preston said. “I’m surprised he’s not getting irritated yet.”
“I imagine it’s annoying, but he does look pretty guilty,
” Mary said.
“I think he knows it too,” Preston said, and soon they were pulling up outside of the small ranch-style home.
Nathan was seated on the front porch with a beer in his hand after what must have been a long day since Nathan wasn’t much of a drinker according to Preston. They approached him, and he waved with his hand towards two empty rocking chairs. “What is this, a follow up to a follow up interview?” Nathan asked half-heartedly. “You know, Preston, I’m getting a little annoyed.”
“I understand,” Preston said. “I do appreciate your cooperation.”
“I’m only cooperating because I know how this must look,” Nathan said. “I mean, the guy gave me a bloody nose just a couple hours before he was found dead in a lake. It doesn’t exactly look good on my part, and I get that, but I’m beginning to feel a little harassed.”
“Well, we don’t really want to talk too much about the day at the lake,” Preston said. “We’ve come to realize that whoever killed Roger is the same person who got away the day of the robbery out in Peachtree City.”
“The bank robbery?” Nathan asked looking confused. “Why would some idiot who robbed a bank want to kill Roger?”
“We have reason to believe that Roger was blackmailing or possibly even helping the robber. We are certain that he knew the identity of the third robber, and we believe that this is possibly what got him killed,” Preston explained.
“Good, so at least you don’t think it’s me anymore,” Nathan said with a laugh, but he realized that Mary and Preston were still staring him down. “Oh, so I’ve gone from just a murderer, to murderer and bank robber. Is that it?”
“Nathan, you and I both know why we’re looking into you. You and Roger got into a serious confrontation right before it happened, and you and Josephine were the only other people at the lake other than me and the kid,” Preston said. “We’re looking into Josephine just as much as you. We just need to weed you out. It’s the job Nathan.”
