The Benchminder

by Stan Mason

  The minute hand of the electric clock on the wall moved towards three twenty-five which seemed to fire the starting pistol for a flurry of reporters to pace along the corridor. The Press release of the bank’s results should have been handed out over then minutes earlier but an administrative error caused the delay. It failed to enchant the newspaper men who had no choice but to wait patiently for the document. Their frustration was expressed in terms of criticism concerning the inefficiency of banks... Imperial Bank in particular. As the papers were dispensed, they grasped them greedily and hurried off to the central lifts to make their way back to their offices.

  After the sound of scampering feet faded away, Betty Brewer contacts the Public Relations Department and reported back to her boss. ‘Our profit figures are eighteen per cent higher than last year.’ she commented.

  The expression on Rigby’s face gave little away, ‘What happened last year. How high was the profitability then?’

  ‘Twenty per cent higher.’

  ‘’When I was a kid,’ he told her with a dreamy look in his eyes, ‘there was an expression of contempt we used. “Big deal!” we would say with a shrug of our shoulders to indicate the meaninglessness of a particular comment or statement.’

  ‘Is that how you feel about the latest profit figures?’ ventured Ben Howard blandly.

  ‘Last year twenty per cent. This year eighteen per cent. Next year twenty-two per cent. So what! Big Deal! What’s the point of it all? We simply fill the coffers to the brim.’

  Rigby took another cigarette from the packet on the desk. He lit it and watched the smoke drift slowly to the ceiling. Whatever the profit figures amounted to, nothing would change for him or for thousands of others employed in the bank. Eighteen per cent in a profit increase. Big Deal!

  Chapter Eight

  The rule of law, in an imperfect world, is established either by decree or accepted in an unwritten sense... whether applied by means of despotism, tyranny, or by democratic process. In the field of corporate business, there exists an unwritten law which is known as the rule of conduct. Those who ignore it, do so at their own peril and, if they do, it may cause corporate collapse. Rigby toyed with the thought for a while as a small smile played at the corners of his mouth. He was not the kind of man to drool over the misfortunes of other people but Cornelius Strangeway had left the Assistant Chief Executive waiting in vain without offering him the slightest excuse for his irrational behaviour. It was a matter of record that the man had flaunted the rule of conduct by disobeying the command of a senior executive of the bank. Clearly, his future would be in jeopardy if he failed to come up with a very good excuse. MacDonald’s face had been a picture to observe when he realised that he had been stood up by Strangeway.

  Apart from the distress caused to the Old Man who smarted from the fact that a subordinate had breached the rule of conduct, and the smugness of Wiz Prescott, there had to be an underlying reason for Strangeway not to appear. Rigby speculated that the man had been involved in an accident at lunchtime... a possibility ignored by the other two men at the meeting. On the other hand, what other reason did he have not to show up?

  ’Get me Strangeway in Computer Division, will you,’ he asked his secretary decisively. ’If he’s not there get his assistant. I’m going to get to the bottom of this if it’s the last thing I do. He’s in for a roasting one way or the other.’ He noticed a number of documents which had been deposited in his in-tray and proceeded to go through some of them as he waited, dispensing with some of them by placing them deftly into the out-tray. There was no need for him to action papers relating to his predecessor. Functional Control was now under new management.

  ’Your call is on line one,’ announced Betty Brewer eventually. ’Mr. Strangeway isn’t available but his assistant, Mr. Hexham, will speak with you.’

  ’Hexham, he began with a tinge of concern in his voice. ’Do you have any idea where Mr. Strangeway might be. He had a meeting with the Assistant Chief Executive at two thirty but he didn’t show up.’

  ’The last time anyone saw him was at eleven thirty this morning,’ came the reply. ’He left the bank but didn’t mentioned his destination to a soul... not even to his secretary. I don’t know when he’s coming back.’

  ’Well the Assistant Chief Executive is blowing his top. Is there anything you can tell me that might offer a clue?’

  ’Just a minute,’ cut in Hexham. ’His secretary’s just found an envelope on his desk. It says on the front: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. Should she open it?’

  ’Yes... open it and read it out loud to me.’ His attention was riveted to the telephone as he waited for the man to reveal the contents.

  ’Right, here we go,’ declared Hexham clearing his throat noisily. ’TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. I wish to apologise for failing to tell you I will not be attending the meeting in the office of the Assistant Chief Executive today. I have good reason for my inaction as you will shortly understand. Mr. Rigby rang me asking to see me and there was no cause for alarm but when he told me I was summoned to Mr. MacDonald’s office, I realised that my indiscretions had come to light. I do not know how it was discovered that I had been transferring funds from the bank to accounts I hold elsewhere. As far as I was concerned, my method was fool-proof. Naturally I have to cease such activities for my own safety. ‘I’ll not tell you how much I transferred. You’ll find that out in due course. Tracking me down will be a waste of time. In the words of the old song ’Clementine’: I am lost and gone for ever, dreadful sorry... Clementine. Thank you for all the money, Imperial Bank. Much appreciated! If I had more time, I would have gathered a glittering fortune, but never mind. Yours sincerely and gratefully, Cornelius Strangeway.’

  ’That’s some letter!’ remarked Rigby with admiration for the computer man’s nerve. ’You’d better show it to the Head of Computer Division as fast as you can.’

  ’Well that’s rather hard to do,’ continued Hexham flatly. ’You see a short while after Mr. Strangeway disappeared, the next two senior men in the Division vanished as well.’

  ’The next two?’

  ’There was a small management pyramid her comprising three senior men with Strangeway being one of them. All we have now are junior managers, none will any serious experience of running a Division.’

  Rigby snorted angrily. ’Do you mean to tell me that the bank allowed its valuable computer operations to be run by only three senior managers with support?’

  Hexham’s dismay was portrayed by the tone in his voice. ’We complained to senior management time and time again about the disparity,’ he defended strongly, ’but they didn’t seem to hear us. They refused to pay exorbitant salaries for experienced computer staff.’

  ’Typical! The bank won’t pay for a few experts so we have to sort out the mess! The cost could end up in millions. Bloody fools! Why can’t they plan properly without scrimping on cost all the time. We make enough profit as it is!’

  Mr. Strangeway tried very hard to get more senior staff,’ related Hexham quietly. ’They kept turning his down with half-promises and massive delays. You put in a request and nothing happens for yonks. I think he decided to teach them a leson in the end. You know, give them something to think about.’

  ’Well he certainly did that’ uttered Rigby, surprised that a man would fritter away everything merely because he couldn’t get his own way on one particular point. There was really no point in fighting it out with the establishment so he tired of the effort and took his own revenge.

  ’You didn’t know him, did you?’ replied the junior. ’He wasn’t really worried about the material things in life or status. He loved computers and producing information. It meant a lot to him. It was his life. He could make a living anywhere in the world on computers.’

  ’Has anyone found letters from the other two executives yet?’

  ’Nothing’s come to light but
I’m sure it will. The bank now finds itself very short of experts in the Computer Division., that’s all I can say.’

  Rigby screwed up his face as he tried to size up the debacle. ’Do you have any idea how much money’s been transferred from the bank by these three men?’

  ’Not a clue, sir.’

  ’What was it he wrote... thank you for all the money!

  The junior rustled the letter nervously. ‘Thank you for all the money,’ he reiterated. ‘In a little more time I would have gathered a glittering fortune.’

  ‘A glittering fortune,’ repeated the Head of Functional Control thoughtfully. ‘How much is that worth? A hundred thousand... a quarter of a million... more?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ wailed Hexham dolefully.

  ‘We might assume with luck that we caught him in time. Is there any chance that the other two executives might be lunching late?’

  ‘Neither has listed any meetings on their schedules for this afternoon.’

  ‘You’d better write a note to me immediately about all this and attach a copy of the letter with it. I’ll need to show it to Mr. MacDonald.’

  ‘Yes, Mr. Rigby,’ returned the other man obediently.

  ‘Before you go, Hexham, have you any idea where Mr. Strangeway might have gone? Somewhere abroad perhaps. Did he ever mention a place he always wanted to visit?’

  ’He once told me he wanted to go to Bermuda for a holiday but that was a long time ago.’

  ’All right, Hexham. Send me the note and the letter and leave the rest to me.’ He replaced the receiver pensively and stared at his secretary with a look in his eye that she recognised instantly. He was keyed up now as a sprinter at the start of a race with his adrenalin running as he prepared to streak off at full speed. ’Get me New Scotland Yard... not Chief Inspector Church... anyone but him! Cornelius Strangway and two senior executives in Computer Division are missing. It’s almost certain they’ve taken a considerable amount of the banks’ funds with them. They can’t have more than three or four hours start so there’s still a chance they may be caught. Send them descriptions of the men with photographs, etc. etc. You can handle this one, Ben.’

  Before Howard could consider the matter or offer an answer, Betty Brewer began to telephone the police. The younger man pulled a face as he realised the amount of work piling up in his office.

  ’Remind me, Betty,’ continued the senior executive, ’to contact Personnel Department tomorrow concerning computer experts. Someone will have to go through all the accounts with a fine toothcomb starting as soon as possible. I wonder how much they go away with.’

  ’It might not be half as bad as you imagine,’ ventured Howard trying to make light of the problem.

  ’Do you honestly believe that three senior executives of the bank gave up their well-paid secure high-level jobs on the spur of the moment for peanuts. I don’t think so! Sam Elliott knew what he was talking about when he started the hare running on computer frauds.’ He paused for a moment as the name of his adversary crept into the conversation and he looked up to gaze into the eyes of his secretary.

  ’He knew that something was going to happen somehow, didn’t he,’ she said, reading his mind.

  ‘This time he’s miscalculated, hasn’t he. I’ll get the kudos instead of him. He’s made a slight error of judgement there.’

  ‘Strangeway must have warned those other two executives he was doing a runner,’ ventured Ben Howard.

  ‘But how did Elliott know it was going on? That’s what fascinates me. He definitely know. Anyhow, we can now take action to prevent it from happening again. Take a staff instruction, Betty, headed Computer Security.’

  She reached quickly for her notepad and picked up a pencil with an extremely sharp point.

  ‘The following are areas of activity where precautions must be taken. One. Different employees must be responsible for the development, operation and maintenance of the system and report through different lines of supervision. No single person will be allowed to carry out the function of another or conduct all the functions of any one program. Two. The details for computer systems, ie. What they do and how they do it will be precisely and clearly recorded and kept up to date. Three. The records of the contents of computer programs themselves must be kept under lock and key. And all areas to them properly authorised and recorded. Four. No single person may be the expert on anything. Duties will be rotated and staff must always use their holiday entitlement. Five. All access to computer input documents must be tightly controlled and a system will be set out for cross-checking. Six. At all times there must be at least two people in the computer area, one of whom should be a senior member of staff. Seven. Regardless of their level of rank in the bank, any employee in Computer Division must report any irregularities in any of the accounts directly to the Assistant Chief Executive without going to the senior manager of Computer Division.. A full circular incorporating these facts and details of new security systems will be issued shortly.’ Rigby licked his lips as he ended the note. ‘That should give those computer people some guidelines and a sense of awareness for the future.’ He had little time to consider his administrative powers further, however, because the telephone rang on Betty Brewer’s desk.

  ‘Mr. Carlisle’s on line two and he sounds pretty awful,’ she informed him.

  Rigby felt the knot tighten in the muscles of his stomach. He had forced himself to believe that Croydon branch was home and dry. It was always the case in life! One would be winning the race easily with only a hundred yards to go and suddenly there would be a roar from the crowd as a competitor started to catch up very fast like a steam train under full power. Now with a hundred yards to go, the crowd was starting to roar. ‘Yes, Carlisle,’ he uttered tentatively. ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘We’ve done it!’ exclaimed the Assistant Manager jubilantly. ‘We’ve done it!’

  ‘What have you done?’ asked Rigby, swallowing hard as he waited for good news.

  ‘We got the bank robber... at last. We’ve got him!’

  ‘Who got him? Where is he now? What’s happening?’ The senior executive almost held his breath with excitement.

  ‘The police have him! isn’t it marvellous? It’s all over!’

  Rigby closed his eyes for a moment as if in silent prayer and he allowed his body to go limp. For some inexplicable reason, he felt very tired to the point of exhaustion almost as though he had turned to jelly. After all the hours of stress and concern it was over. It was a real triumph for him on his first day as Head of Functional Control with such a successful coup but he felt too weak to enjoy the pleasure of the moment. ‘How did it happen?’he asked after a short period of time had transpired.

  ‘I did as you ordered. I contacted the other branch for the duplicate keys and the codes which they brought to me. I opened the general safe and took out the money... ’

  ‘Did you give the one to Dennis or to Mr. Brown,’ cut in the senior executive quickly.

  ‘It never came to that. In fact that’s how the man was caught in the end. I never gave the money to anyone.’

  The face of the banker took on a puzzled expression. ‘Carlisle,’ he uttered. ‘You’re not making any sense!’

  ‘I had every intention of carrying out your orders,’ continued the Assistant Manager. ‘All I had to do was to take the money from the safe and give it to Dennis. Then I thought about your conversation with the manager. I felt that same as you did that he was Old Guard. As I took the money out of the safe it was as though someone waved a wand over my head. Everything that Mr. Brown said suddenly made sense. I felt bound by the rules and realised it was up to me to save the honour of the branch.’

  ‘What did you do?’ asked Rigby listening to the story with an element of disbelief.

  ‘There I was in the safe thinking how immoral it was fro Dennie to walk into th
e branch and demand money saved by other people or earned by the bank. Then my eye fell on one of the painting on a metal rack in the safe.’

  ‘Will you get to the point, Carlisle!’ demanded the senior executive impatiently.

  ‘I realised that it was a small painting but sufficient to carry out my plan. If I could pin Dennis to the chair, at the same time keeping his arms apart, he wouldn’t be able to set off the bomb. I took it down off the shelf and unwrapped it. Then I walked into the Manager’s office with the money held up against my chest with one hand and the picture in the other. I dumped the money on the floor and before Dennis could blink, I rammed the painting over his head so that the frame pinned both his arms to his sides. Mr. Brown and I then removed the holdall from the man’s lap and called in the police who were waiting outside.’

  Rigby puffed out his cheeks with relief, daring not to thing if the action went wrong. ‘Thank God for that!’ he managed to say. ‘Can you tell me why you didn’t carry out my orders and give Dennis the money?’

  Carlisle was stunned by Rigby’s attitude. ‘I saved all the money,’ he bleated.

  ‘Why did you disobey my orders,’ reproached the senior executive sharply.

  ‘I thought I explained that. I saw the light!’

  ‘You saw the light! Were you aware of the enormous risk you took?’

  ‘I used my initiative,’ defended the Assistant Manager. ‘It worked out all right, didn’t it?’

  ‘Have you thought what would have happened if the picture frame hadn’t pinned his arms to the sides?’

  Carlisle became subdued when he realised the truth of Rigby’s argument. ‘It never entered my mind that I would fail.’

  ‘Jeepers critters!’ uttered the senior executive. ‘At your level in the bank, you listen to decisions and carry out the orders.’