Small Felonies - Fifty Mystery Short Stories Read Online Free PDF Page B

the guard to lock the doors, and when that was done he said, "All right, let's hear what happened."
    Cox related his version of the affair. Freiberg, writing laboriously in a notebook, didn't interrupt. When the teller had finished, Freiberg turned to Blanchard. "Now what's your story?"
    Blanchard told him about the rolls of coins. "I wanted them for a poker game some friends of mine and I set up for tonight." He made a wry mouth. "I'm supposed to be the banker."
    "He also claims to have given Mr. Cox a list of what he wanted in the way of coins," Hoffman said.
    "The only note he gave me is that holdup note," Cox insisted. "He must have gotten those coins elsewhere, had them in his pocket when he came in here."
    "Why don't you check his cage?" Blanchard countered. "That list of mine has to be around here somewhere." He glared at Cox. "Maybe you'll even find your missing cash."
    "Are you suggesting I stole that money?" Cox shouted.
    Hoffman said stiffly, "Mr. Cox has been a trusted employee of Midwestern National for four years."
    "Well, I've been a trusted employee of Curtis Tool and Die for a hell of a lot longer," Blanchard said. "What does any of that prove?"
    "All right, that's enough." Freiberg looked at the bank president. "Mr. Hoffman, detail someone to find out exactly how much money is missing." Then he turned to the other plainclothesman. "Flynn, question the rest of the employees; maybe one of them saw or heard something. You might as well go through Mr. Cox's cage and personal possessions, too."
    Cox was incredulous. "You mean you're taking this thief's word over mine?"
    "I'm not taking anybody's word, Mr. Cox. I'm just trying to find out what happened here today." He paused. "Would you mind emptying all your pockets for me?"
    "Of course I mind," Cox said in an icily controlled voice. "But I'll do it just the same. I have nothing to hide."
    It appeared that he hadn't, as far as his person went. He did not have either a list of coins or any appreciable amount of money.
    Freiberg sighed. "Okay," he said, "let's go over it again . . ."
    Sometime later, Hoffman and Flynn tendered their reports. A check of receipts and records revealed that a total of $65,100 was missing. No list of coins had been found in or about Cox's cage or among his possessions, and there were exactly as many coin rolls in his cash drawer as he was supposed to have. None of the other employees could shed any light on the matter; no one had been near Cox's cage at the time. Nor did any of them have the missing money on his person, among his belongings, or at his work station.
    "Neither the money nor this alleged note of yours seems to be anywhere in the bank," Freiberg said to Blanchard. "How do you explain that?"
    "I can't explain it. I can only tell you the truth. I did not steal that money."
    Freiberg asked the guard, Sam, "How far outside did he get before you collared him?"
    "No more than a couple of steps."
    "Did he have time to pass the money to an accomplice?"
    "I doubt it. But I wasn't paying any attention to him until Mr. Cox yelled."
    "I don't know much about large sums of cash," Blanchard said coldly, "but sixty-five thousand must be a lot of bills. I couldn't have passed that much to somebody in the couple of seconds I was outside."
    "He's got a point," Sam admitted.
    "Why don't you search him?" Blanchard's voice was heavy with frustration and sarcasm. "Maybe he's my accomplice."
    "I was expecting this," Sam said. "Go ahead, search me. That'll get the idea I had anything to do with this out of everybody's mind."
    Flynn searched him. No large amount of cash, nothing incriminating.
    Hoffman was beside himself. "That money didn't disappear by itself. I still say this man Blanchard is responsible."
    Freiberg nodded. "We'll take him downtown and see what we can do there about shaking his story."
    "Go ahead," Blanchard growled, "but I want a lawyer before I answer any more questions. And if charges are pressed against me, I'll sue the police