Chapter 24 blinds

I often buy a mystery magazine to pass the time during a long, boring flight, but this time there was no need.The guy next to me near the window is far better than any magazine. He is a middle-aged man, conservatively dressed but rough.He had a double chin, mild brown eyes, and bushy eyebrows.I took the seat next to him as the plane took off and he gave me a casual glance.I really want to talk to him, but I can't find a topic.The plane was in the air, and we were all unbuckled, when he said, "I see you're a fan of mystery novels," looking at the magazine in my hand. "Probably not," I said, "but it's a good way to pass the time."

"I don't even count," he said, "I read mystery novels in order to catch up with time and learn new criminal techniques." .” He grinned. "It's not that big of a problem," he said. "Banks handle money, and money attracts gangsters. I want to know more about that, in case something happens to the bank I work for, that's all." "My name is Johnson," I said, "nice to meet you." "I've personally experienced a bank robbery many years ago, at a commercial bank in a small town in California. So, I knew it could happen at any time," he said. "It sounds fascinating." I say.

"Yes, it's fascinating and exciting," he said, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes, obviously reminiscing about the past. I wanted to know what happened, so I said, "How about we share it together?" "You'll be bored," he said, opening his eyes at the same time, "but, well, it's a long story, and it happened twenty years ago, when I was an assistant teller in the bank—a real clerk. We The bank of the town handles a kind of overnight deposit, and the businessmen in the town can deposit cash in the bank before the shops are closed. At that time, all the shops in the town did not close until nine o'clock in the evening on Thursday, so Friday There's always a lot of cash deposited in the mornings and nights." "I know that," I said, "and I have a sporting goods store down town."

"Oh, really? F City is a good place. Well, one of my jobs is to go to the bank early in the morning, clear the night deposit, calculate it, mark it, and put it on the teller's desk so he can open the door at the bank after work. Therefore, I am always the first person in the bank to go to work, and other colleagues will arrive fifteen minutes before the bank opens.However, I have half an hour to myself every morning before the bank officially opens, and I love that time, you know why?No one else was there at that time, which made you feel like you were in charge of the whole bank by yourself. "I nodded understandingly.

"One morning, as usual, I left home at about eight o'clock and stood at the bus stop waiting for the bus when a gray Ford came up and stopped by the bus stop and the driver poked his head out , asked me if I wanted a ride into town. I said sure, and he opened the door, and I jumped in and sat next to him." "In a mystery novel," I analyzed smartly, "you should suspect that a stranger is doing you favors for no reason, with a purpose. You should say, no thanks, and continue waiting for your bus." "Maybe. But I wasn't on my guard that morning. So I got into the Ford, and when I got in, I found two other people in the back seat, which horrified me because the one on the right The man was holding a revolver, and the muzzle was pointed at me.

"I didn't speak or do anything to attract attention, I can assure you, because the man's pistol was warning me not to act rashly. The gun alone was enough. "We drove towards the bank silently at a steady speed. The driver parked the car at the back door of the bank, where I usually enter. He seemed to know the rules of my usual activities very well. There is an alley behind the bank. Or it can be regarded as an alley, only for bank staff to enter and exit. In the early morning, there is no one in the alley. "The man with the gun said to me, 'Here we are, buddy, get out of the car!' He motioned for me to get out of the car, and he and the other guy behind him got out of the car. The one with the gun was tall and thin and had blond hair. The other was thicker and had thick black hair that grew down to the nape of his neck. The tall guy said to the driver, 'Stay in the car!' and said to me, "Open the door, let's get in! "His voice is cold, gentle and polite, and he seems unhurried, as if he does this kind of thing every day, and maybe he really does.

"When the guns are on you, I don't think there's anything to argue about but to obey. So I took out the key and opened the door. As I put the key in the lock, my arm twisted and I saw the wrist The watch said 8:15, it was still a while before the guards and colleagues went to work. But I know that the electronic locks in the cellar are set a few minutes before the bank opens for business. I am quite sure that they cannot open the electronic locks. Unless it's time to open the door. "We walked in, and a word from the tall man, extinguishing my last sliver of expectation, said, 'Deposit at night! ' That's when I realized that they really do know my day-to-day work routine.They must have watched me for many mornings, watching my every move. I believe that is what the common perpetrators call 'pathfinding', Mr. Johnson, don't you think? "

He looked at me expectantly, as if asking me to compliment him on the gangster's "lingo" he'd learned from mystic novels.I say yes".It was strange to hear this majestic middle-aged banker speak triad jargon. "They forced me to go to the place where the overnight deposits were kept on the wall next to the gate. At that time, the bank gate did not have the modern strong, transparent equipment with electric eyes, and there was a movable shutter in the front door, which was to block it. It is for the afternoon sun, because our assistant manager's desk is to the right of the gate. Every morning, when the sun hits the bank, the shutter is lowered a little, and it stays that way—lower—until the first day of the afternoon. I come to work the next morning and pull it up again, and pulling the blinds is my first job every morning before I clear out the previous night's deposit," he turned his serene eyes to me, not without satisfaction. Said to me, "Mr. Johnson, you know, I've got a lot of odd jobs to do at the bank, I've almost become a janitor." Laughed, and went on.

"Although the gun is right behind my back, the power of habit is stronger than everything. When I passed the door, I couldn't help walking over to pull up the shutter. At this moment, the man behind me immediately said: "Stop!"What are you thinking about? ’ I had to stop and say: I raise this shutter every morning, I’m just going to raise it...’ Before I could finish, he said: We don’t have to today, if you don’t mind. You think we like it when everyone on the street sees what we're doing? "I thought I should make at least a token effort to protest the two thieves, so as we approached the cupboard where the night deposit was kept, I said in a less confident voice: "I can't open it." This and that are opened with a special key, and that key is with the cashier, who won't come until nine o'clock. '"" The stouter short man didn't say anything, just took out a gun from his pocket, walked over and stood by the gate, and watched the situation on the street outside through the blinds.The tall, skinny man slammed the gun into my back, 'Don't play tricks on me,' he said, 'I know who's driving this thing here every morning, it's you!Don't dawdle with me, open it for me quickly! 'I panicked, took out the key, and opened the closet as docile as something.You say, what can I do? "

"If it were me, I would do the same." I reassured him. "It was a Friday morning, and there was a good deal of cash, and a lot of checks, which the merchant had deposited during the night. When the tall man saw so much cash, he cried out with satisfaction, and he ordered me: "Take it all out and put it in here." He handed me a black suitcase. "I did as he ordered, but as slowly as possible and as invisible as possible. I thought maybe I could delay a bit. However, when I put all the money and checks in the suitcase, the time was still Only eight thirty. "I started to wonder what was going to happen to me when they left? I wasn't optimistic at all. I saw their faces, I could describe them to the police, I could identify them, and I Having been in a Ford with them, I know the license plate number.

"The tall man said: "My friend, lie on the ground and lie on your back. ’ I did so, and lay down on the marble floor in the middle of the hall, and I felt completely manipulated, the little man standing right in front of the shutters, looking at me with a gun and keeping an eye on the street. "The tall man looked at his watch, and at that moment the phone rang. It was the deputy manager's phone by the door. In the empty room, the ringing sounded like a siren. I almost jumped up in horror. The tall man used the gun Facing me, ordered: "You!Go pick it up! ' "His delicacy is gone. 'Take that call, try to be natural, boy! Otherwise, you won't live to answer another call. Go!'" The phone rang three times, and I got up off the floor and walked over , picked up the microphone, and the tall man followed closely behind.The short man didn't speak, but the gun was pointed at me too. 'Move the receiver away from your ears,' the tall man warned, "Let me hear too." I cleared my throat and said into the microphone: 'Hello?' The voice was loud and clear, and there was a thin questioning voice from the other party: "National Commercial Bank? 'I held the receiver far away so that even tall people could hear me. "His gun went into my back. I said into the microphone: "Yes, sir. '"What time do you close this afternoon?" the voice asked, and I saw two eyebrows raised by the gangster beside me. 'tell him! ' he whispered. "I said into the microphone: 'We close at 3:30. ' "Thank you.' Then we both heard the click of the other party hanging up. "I put the phone down, my forehead was sweating, I felt like I had a serious illness, and I looked at the short guy's gun, it was pointed at my stomach, and it was only about five feet away. My legs trembled, and the tall man let out a sigh of relief. 'Well, White,' said he to his companion, 'go back to the door. ' Then he said to me: boy, go back to your original place. ' He swung his gun at me and I had to lie down again. 'There's plenty of time, White,' he said to his companion, 'and watch the boy, I'll go and look in the cashier's drawer. '" Then, he was gone and I could hear the drawer being opened and then cursing as he found no notes in the drawer. "I could see the big wall clock on my new desk. The minute hand of the clock was moving little by little. Every little movement seemed to me a thousand years. The tall man couldn't find anything, and when he came back , the minute hand seemed to move four notches. I could have told him that we always kept our cash in the cellar. "He walked back down the hall, suitcase in his left hand, gun in his right. He motioned White to walk towards the back door of the bank, which is where we came in. So they weren't going to wait until the cellar opened. They were leaving, and I could Listening to my own heartbeat, it seems that the marble floor is a kind of wooden board that can transmit sound. "White walked away from the door, pointed the gun at me, and asked: 'What is he going to do? ' "Did him, as I told you earlier." He turned to me, looked at me with a smile on his lips, and wrinkled his eyes, "Mr. Johnson, I can tell you that I was almost scared to death at that time. I don't know if they meant to kill me or stun me." , or something. 'Done him' can have many meanings.Then I saw White turn the pistol upside down, lean over, and hit me on the head with the butt, and know nothing. " I said, "Banking is more dangerous than I thought." "Indeed," he said, "I found out later that the gangsters had another car ready half a mile away, a stolen Ford. They were from another state, and no one in town knew them, so they didn't think it was necessary to Kill me, but just want to stun me, and escape while I'm unconscious." "And then?" I asked, as a curious listener would ask. "When they escaped through the back door, the police caught them like a turtle in a jar," he said. "The driver has already been arrested, and the police have already surrounded the bank." Getting ready to land. "Police?" I asked in surprise. "How did they get here?" "Simpson got it," he said.I looked at him in bewilderment. "Who is Simpson?" "My middle school classmate," he said, "was a teller at the bank and my best friend." "How did he think of calling the police?" "When he called the bank and asked me what time it closed, I told him it was 3:30, but he knew it was actually 3:00. It was a signal for him to call the police." When I saw the airport runway approaching us, I reached for my hat and coat. "You mean that phone was bugged or something?" I asked. "You and Simpson had an arrangement?" "Of course," he smiled, seemingly pleased with my surprise. "I like to be prepared. Simpson and I agreed." "Wait," I retorted, "even so, how did Simpson know to call you this morning? Does he call you every day? " "Oh no! Simpson's a bachelor. No home yet," he said, as if that explained everything. "Before he goes to work every morning, he always goes to the good mother coffee shop on the corner of the street where the bank is located for breakfast, so every morning at 8:20, he will pass by the bank. When he passes by If he finds that the shutters are still down, he will call the bank and ask what time the bank closes. If I answer that it is not three o'clock, it means to call the police; if someone other than me answers the phone, also call the police; If someone answers, call the police. You know, it's that simple." "It's very simple," I said, "what if you're sick and don't come to work on a certain morning and therefore don't draw the blinds?" "If I was sick and couldn't go to work, my wife would call and tell him the blinds weren't drawn before he left early." "What if it was the other way around? What if Simpson was sick on the day of the robbery?" "That's an unlikely coincidence," he said. "If that were the case, we'd just be out of luck." I unbuckled my seatbelt when the wheels hit the ground, and I said, "This kind of thing is so unfair to you, isn't it? You take a big risk, you get knocked out by the gangsters, and your Simpson friend Enjoy it at the coffee shop." We stood up. "Yes, I think that's true," he said, "but we were young then, and as you said earlier, it was exciting, Mr. Johnson, and you don't get it when a gun butt comes to your head. How tense and exciting it must be when you are shot down. You wake up from a coma for two hours and find that you are not dead!" I asked, "Are you still working in the National Commercial Bank?" "Yes, still in the old line, and so is Simpson. He is now a director of the bank. "" Great, well deserved reward, what about you? "I asked. "I'm the chairman of the board," he said, smiling. "You know, I'm still taking risks." "Now, I finally figured out the whole story." I said vaguely, "From before to now." We got off the plane together and walked out of the airport, with me slightly behind.My coat was draped over my right arm, and as we entered the airport hall, on an impulse, I pressed my right index finger against his back—hidden by the coat—and said to him, “Turn left, Go into the men's room." His reaction was very calm, and when he turned to look at me, his eyes widened slightly. He was a little nervous, and then said: "Bathroom? Why?" But the footsteps did not stop, and continued to move forward. "Now, don't tell me that the only key is in the cashier's hands," I said, "here, go in!" We went into the bathroom and it was empty, as I'd hoped. When the door closed, I moved my finger off his back and he turned around.This time he was looking at me seriously, head tilted back, gazing into my face.He recognized it immediately. He said: "Mr. Johnson, you have gained a lot of weight and changed your name over the years. Do you really have a sporting goods store in City F?" "It's my fantasy," I said, smiling at him. "I work as a clerk in a sporting goods store, but here's my chance to buy it if I raise two thousand dollars by next week." "Oh," he said, "so you're reformed?" "I've been working in this direction since I got out of prison." I held up my finger. "Look, I don't have a gun at all." "Why don't you take out a loan?" he asked. "Do you know anyone who would lend money to ex-cons?" I tried, and it all failed. ""You didn't come to our bank to try it? ""I was planning to go.At least this morning I want to ask you personally, of course you still have to work there. ""Why didn't you go? " "When I met those loan officers and deputy managers of your bank, I lost my nerve. I knew they would refuse. No one will agree to this matter except you." "So you just follow me to the airport and get on the plane, don't you?" "Yes, I happened to see you walking out of the bank, wearing a hat, coat, and luggage, and getting into a taxi bound for the airport. I recognized you immediately, so I followed you to the airport and bought a ticket for the same flight." He nodded, expressionless: "Two thousand yuan?" "Yes, only two thousand yuan, but I have no collateral." He forced a smile: "That day, you called that White man 'kill me', Mr. Johnson, and he shot me with the butt of a gun, do you remember? I was just a kid then." "I know, I don't feel honorable about that kind of thing, but you should consider it from another angle. It wasn't the robbery, you and Simpson wouldn't have been 'attention' from the superiors, it wasn't the robbery, how could you Have today's status?" I squinted at him and held my breath temporarily. He didn't say anything for a moment, "You're right. I've been noticed by the superiors at the bank because of you. I've never thought of that before. So, from another perspective, I think I owe you a little, Simpson too." "How about you lend me a thousand dollars each? You can call it a personal loan, and I will pay you back." He quickly made a decision: "I'm sure you will pay it back." After finishing speaking, he took out his checkbook and signed a check for two thousand yuan. When he handed it to me, we shook hands. He asked me curiously, "Why did you bring me here? Why not loan me money on the plane or in the lobby? “I looked at the bare, tiled walls of the bathroom, grinned and said to him, ‘There are no blinds here. "