Читать книгу Gwen - E. Lippert - Страница 5

Chapter 1

2015

You’re Not Getting Anything

Gwen stopped breathing when the next customer walked into her bank.

“David.” She sighed. Even though she immediately knew this wasn’t her David, her heart was already pounding fast in her chest. The pain was nearly unbearable. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“He’s in New York, Gwen, living a happy life with his ugly wife and two fat sons. This isn’t him.” She desperately wanted it to be David, even if on seeing her here he turned and left. She felt that one sight of him might fill her empty heart. One sight of him might save her.

Gwen took another deep breath and opened her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Gwen’s customer, an elderly lady simply trying to make a deposit, was looking at her with concern.

“Yes, I’m sorry, Mrs. Kelso. I just have a headache today.” She smiled reassuringly at her customer but then turned her gaze back to the man still standing just inside the door. He looked unsure and nervous. Something was wrong, and her heartache turned to curiosity and maybe even compassion. Part of her wanted to help him, and part of her was just curious what this guy was up to.

Gwen shook her head and turned back to her customer. “I’m new here, Mrs. Kelso, and with my head pounding like this, I’m drawing a blank on how to process your deposit. Can you please go back to the line and let one of the other tellers help you?” This was only half a lie. Gwen was indeed new at the bank; she’d only been here for two weeks. But she knew exactly how to process this deposit. Mrs. Kelso nodded and obediently picked up her deposit slip and cash and walked away. Gwen felt only a twinge of guilt for having lied to the older lady, but then her attention was turned back to the man who looked so much like David. Something was off.

*****

Larry had stopped just inside the door to get his bearings and take a deep breath. He’d been through this in his mind a thousand times. This was going to be simple. He’d be out of here in five minutes, home within the hour, and relocated out of state within a few weeks. It was going to be okay. “Just clear your mind and focus, Larry. You got this.” He straightened his back and surveyed the bank.

It was a relatively small branch with only three teller stations, all manned, plus a drive-through in the back. The front wall was all glass, looking out onto the parking lot. There was a ledge along the glass for customers to fill out their deposit slips and other forms. The manager’s office was off to his right. The teller counter stretched across the back of the bank and was chest high, except for at each station where it dropped a foot or so. There was a walkway to the far right and a good eight feet between the teller counter and the back of the building.

In addition to the three tellers, there was a guard to Larry’s right, a manager sitting at her desk and one customer, and an elderly lady at the teller station to the far right. He saw the teller look at him, say something to her customer, and then saw the customer walk off with a confused look. The customer then stood beside the “Wait here for next teller” sign.

That same teller then addressed him, “I can help you, sir.”

Larry hesitated, considering one last time whether he should just turn around and leave. “I can help you,” the teller said a little louder.

He took another deep breath and headed her way, taking a quick look at her nameplate—Gwen Marsh. Sizing up Ms. Marsh on his few steps to her station, he at first felt confident. She was just a short, plump, middle-aged woman. Easy prey.

Then he met her eyes, and the way she watched him made him wonder if this was such a good idea. His heart started pounding again, and he broke out in a sweat. He could hear the squeaky sound of his sneakers on the tile floor and could hear the brushing of his pants, one thigh against the other. And above it all, he could hear his heart beating, pulsating in his ears. Every fiber of his being warned him to turn and leave. He kept walking.

When he reached the teller, he put both tightly fisted hands on the counter but remained silent. He tried to control his breathing, reminding himself that as far as anyone here was concerned, he was just a middle-aged man here to make a deposit. There was still time to say, “I forgot my check,” or “Sorry, I left my deposit in the car. Be right back,” and then head out. But that would mean that once again he failed. Once again, he would feel like a loser. I’m tired of losing, he thought to himself.

He looked at the teller.

Gwen didn’t smile a greeting but just raised her eyebrows as if to say, “Well?” Up close, he didn’t look so much like David. They were built alike, but if she was honest, this guy was slightly more handsome. He had thick glasses like David, but more hair, and only two chins rather than three or four. Judging by the pictures she saw on Facebook, David’s wife fed him well. What this new customer didn’t have that David had was a charming smile that would melt her heart. Just as well, she took a deep breath to show her impatience.

He reached out his right hand to her, opening his fist to reveal a tightly folded note.

She took the note, knowing what it would say before she slowly lay it down on the counter, smoothed it out, and silently read, “This is a robbery. I have a gun. Put all the cash you have into an envelope and hand to me.”

Gwen froze for a moment and reread the note. There is a God, she thought, then looked up with an almost pleased look on her face, met his eyes, and whispered, “Let me see the gun.”

Larry pulled his coat back just enough for her to see the butt of the gun tucked in his waistband. Gwen, being a bit short, had to stand up on her toes to get a look.

“Is it real?” she asked in a lowered voice.

“Yes, it’s real. Now get moving.”

This is my chance. Put me out of my misery, dude, Gwen thought with relief. She leaned forward over the counter, getting right up in his face, “You’re not getting anything. Shoot me.”

Larry stared at her in disbelief.

“Shoot me, you worthless son of a bitch.”

He finally blinked. “I’m not bluffing. If you don’t start emptying that drawer, you’re dead,” he hissed.

Gwen pulled her head back, stood up straight, shrugged her shoulders, and said, “Go ahead. Do it.”

Larry looked at her, puzzled. She seemed almost eager. “You’re crazy.”

“Yes,” she said, nodding her head, “yes, I am. Now shoot me.” “Please” was on the tip of her tongue, but that was said silently.

Larry put his hand on the butt of his gun but froze there. This was not how things were supposed to go. In the thousand times he’d gone through this in his mind, not once had he been challenged. The teller was supposed to just do as he asked. They were trained to not make trouble if they were robbed, to just do as asked, and to do what they could to stay safe and ensure the safety of everyone in the bank. This woman was not supposed to challenge him. He didn’t know what to do, and worse, it was clear from the impatience he saw flash in her eyes that she knew that he didn’t know what to do. All the banks in this city, and I pick one with a lunatic teller, he thought.

The bank manager, Karen, was in her office a few yards away. The front of her office was all glass and looked out into the lobby. She could watch her tellers and normally kept one eye on things so that if the tellers couldn’t keep up with the traffic or seemed to be in trouble, she could come out to help. She noticed Gwen leaning over the counter toward the customer. Gwen had only been there two weeks, but there had already been complaints. In the words of one of her coworkers, Gwen was “less than pleasant” to work with. Based on what Karen was seeing here, Gwen was “less than pleasant” with customers as well. She made a mental note to have a conversation with her new teller later that day. For now, though, she would just keep an eye on things.

“Pull out your gun. Point it at me, right about here”—Gwen pointed at her chest and tried to keep her voice low so as not to attract attention—“and pull the trigger. Once I’m down, everyone else here will be scared enough to do whatever you want. And if you’re quick enough, you might even get out of here before the cops arrive.”

Larry started to back away. Gwen held up her hand. “Oh no, we’re not done here. You don’t get to leave now. You need to finish this,” Gwen said, looking him right in the eye. “Shoot me.” Though Gwen’s heart was pounding and her hands shaking a bit, she was not afraid. The shaking was a result of her rising anger. This was taking too long. She hissed. “Shoot me, you son of a bitch.”

Larry froze in place. “Look, lady, I didn’t want anybody to get hurt. Just let me get out of here, okay?” As he said this, he noticed a look of disappointment on the teller’s face, as though she were saddened by this turn of events. They held each other’s gaze for a moment. Gwen sighed.

The other people in the bank were beginning to take notice that something was off at Gwen’s station. Both Larry and Gwen knew that something had to happen soon. Gwen thought for a second and then, with her head, motioned Larry to come closer, which he did.

She leaned back over the counter, just slightly this time, and with a low voice said, “Listen, we both know you’re not getting out of here without a police escort, but I can change that. I’ll help you, but you have to do as I say. I can get you through this. You’ll leave here with about twenty grand. I can make that happen.” She knew she could do that too, but she had no intention of fulfilling the promise. She had her own agenda here. Whatever compassion she felt towards this nervous man was overcome by her desire to just die.

Larry thought for a second. He partially believed her—she wasn’t going to let him get out of here unless he did as she said. How the hell did this happen? He had the gun. He was supposed to be in charge of the situation, but here he stood, fully at the mercy of this woman.

So okay, what was the alternative? She could make a scene now, and he knew he wouldn’t make it out of here. Unless he was willing to use his gun, the guard would stop and hold him until the cops came. Or he could see what this woman proposed and hope she would really help him. She was crazy though; should he trust a crazy person? The worst that could happen in that case was that he ended up in jail. The best was that he got what he came in here for and went home to his sons.

“How much do you want? One minute ago, you said I wasn’t getting anything,” he asked.

“I’ll get what I want, and you’ll still get probably twenty grand.”

He looked doubtful, but really, he only needed about $5,000, so he didn’t mind sharing if he got $20,000. He rubbed his hand over his face and gave a sigh of resignation. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

Gwen leaned back over the counter. She wanted him to shoot her, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen without a lot of manipulation. She was the queen of manipulation, but she needed time to think. She refused to let this opportunity pass. “I want you to take out that gun and point it at my head and then yell, ‘This is a robbery. Everybody, put your hands up and move towards the wall.’” She nodded her head towards the wall on her left. “‘If all hands don’t go up, I shoot. If you don’t start moving immediately, I shoot.’ Keep your eyes on the guard and the manager. She has a button to notify the police. Make sure her hands go up. Guard is armed; do not give him a chance to pull his gun. They won’t want you to shoot me; they’ll do as you say. Let’s get them the hell out of here. Once they’re all against the wall, escort them into the back. There’s a supply room. Put them in there. There’s a lock, but it can be unlocked from inside, so you’ll need to block the door. You can use the copy machine for that. Don’t forget to take their phones first. And the guard’s weapon. Got it?”

Gwen could feel the eyes of her manager on them. “It’s now or never, shit for brains. Time is running out.” She raised her eyebrows, “You don’t have much choice, do you?” Gwen hadn’t thought through what she was going to do once they had the others locked up. She would find a way to get him to shoot her; she just didn’t know how yet. She briefly wondered if he had ever shot a gun before in his life. She knew she could take his gun, or the guard’s gun, but wasn’t sure she had it in her to shoot herself.

Larry didn’t know if it was the fact that she called him “shit for brains,” which really pissed him off, or the fact that he knew she was right—he didn’t have a choice—but he pulled the gun, pointed it at her head, and shouted, “This is a robbery. Everybody put your hands up.” He turned slightly, keeping the gun pointed at Gwen’s head but facing out. He looked right at the manager to be sure her hands went up. He also kept an eye on the guard, making sure he didn’t do anything stupid. What he couldn’t know was that Karen had already pushed the panic button.

“Everyone over here!” he shouted, pointing to the wall on his right.

Larry watched as the terrified women moved quickly to the wall. One was already crying, and he felt pity for her. He wanted to drop the gun and tell them all that it was okay, that this was only a big mistake, but things had already gone too far. Squaring his shoulders, he hardened his resolve. This wasn’t going as planned, but he was doing this for his boys. He would not fail. He had no choice.

He noticed the guard was slowly walking toward the others. “Hurry up, asshole,” Larry growled at him. Larry was surprised at the tone of his own voice, at his fierceness. He turned to Gwen and motioned her to get moving too.

When everyone, including Gwen, was lined up, he motioned Gwen with the gun to come around the counter. He pulled a plastic bag from his coat pocket and instructed her to hold it open. “Okay, each one of you is going to put your cell phone in this bag. And don’t try anything because I know that everybody has a cell phone. If you left it at your desk, get it.”

Gwen shook her head in disgust. Don’t send them back to their desks, you moron, she thought, but everyone pulled out their phones, and Gwen immediately knew that if Karen didn’t use this as an excuse to go back to her desk, she had already pushed that button. That meant there wasn’t much time.

With the gun pointed at her head, Gwen went down the line and held the bag for each person. She made her hands shake and tried to look terrified. The others didn’t have to try; they were terrified. Gwen didn’t feel bad for them. Their fear had no impact on her at all. She knew they would be okay. Today would give them a story they could tell for the rest of their lives.

“Get his gun,” ordered Larry, nodding in the guard’s direction. Gwen carefully removed the gun from the guard’s holster. She briefly considered turning on Larry, aiming the gun at him and forcing him to shoot her, but she knew he wouldn’t. And being a hero was not her endgame here.

Once the phones and the guard’s weapon were collected, still holding the gun to Gwen’s head and pushing her along in front of him, Larry moved the group to the back of the bank. “Into the closet.”

Karen knew she had to stall for time; she was the only one there who knew that help was on the way. She turned to Larry and put her hands on her hips, hoping to exude some authority, “We can’t all fit in there.”

“Then squeeze in,” Larry replied dismissively. “You stay here,” he added, pointing to Gwen. He herded them all in, shut the door, and looked at Gwen. She silently pointed to the copier, and Larry, laying his gun on top of the machine, pushed the copier to block the storeroom door. He picked up his gun. “If I hear this door move, I kill her and then come and kill all of you!” he yelled.

Turning to Gwen, gun down at his side, he started, “Do you…” Gwen quickly held her finger up to her lips, admonishing him to be quiet. She nodded to the front of the bank, and they walked that way.

Once out of earshot of the storeroom, Gwen whispered, “You need to be more careful. They can’t hear you speaking to me unless you’re shouting orders, okay?”

“Got it, sorry.” Any sense of power Larry felt when holding the gun on everyone was gone.

She dropped the bag on the counter. “What’s your name anyway?”

“Larry.”

“Lesson one in bank robbery.” Gwen sighed. “Don’t ever tell anyone your name. You’re robbing a bank, for God’s sake.” She was trying to piss him off, but instead of looking angry, he just looked ashamed.

“Okay, shit for brains, listen to me.” Bingo! That pissed him off.

“Hey, I don’t need your insults, you little smart-mouthed bi—” And that was when they heard the sirens. He grabbed Gwen by the shirt. “What did you do?”

“Nothing! Karen must have hit the panic button.” Larry looked blankly at her. “The manager,” Gwen said, again rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

“How?”

“She’s stupid, but she’s not a complete idiot.” Gwen pushed him off her. “You took too damned long. Anyone paying attention would have known. She must have been paying attention.”

Larry was nearly frozen in panic. This wasn’t exactly going the way Gwen had hoped either. She briefly considered pulling the guard’s gun out of the bag, shooting this moron, and then shooting herself. But when she looked at the total despair on this guy’s face, she saw David again. So instead, she ran to Karen’s office, grabbed the keys, and hurried to the doors to lock them. She needed time to think. She realized she couldn’t kill Larry, and now she wasn’t sure she could allow him to face the consequences of killing her, not when he still reminded her of her David. She needed a plan. Why does he have to look like David? she thought.

“Get behind the counter and down on the floor. We need to be out of sight,” she ordered.

Once they were both safely out of view from the front window, Larry turned on her. “I should have just shot you, you crazy bitch!”

“You should have, and you still can. But you’re not going to, so just shut up and let me think.”