| General Fiction posted January 8, 2025 | Chapters: |
...13 14 -15- 
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Dodge City, Kansas - 'Gunsmoke'
A chapter in the book Ben Paul Persons
Ben Paul Persons, Ch. 15
by Wayne Fowler
In the last part Ben Paul and Sylvia were witnesses to a bank robbery.(A shorter post, but combining with the next, which I would do in a novel, would make it too long. Grrr)
Chapter 15
The detectives interviewed Ben Paul last, sitting him down at the customer side of the bank manager’s desk. There were two detectives, which Ben Paul thought odd, a waste of resources.
“So, Mister-r-r… Persons. I’ve read your statement. Pretty short.”
“I didn’t see much. Not their faces. I described their clothing the best I could.”
“See, that’s the thing. You said there were only two, but you helped them rob the bank, didn’t you?”
“That’s insane. My wife was out there. Everyone saw the man point the gun at me, order me.”
“They saw him point the gun at everybody. And telling you to get the dough doesn’t mean anything. He can apologize for being mean later, when you get your cut.”
“This would be comical if it wasn’t so ridiculous.”
“So why’d you leave the marked bills in each of the tellers’ cash drawers?”
Ben Paul stopped short, taking a quick breath. When he told them his reason, they both smirked, one of them snorting.
“Yeah, well, one of the tellers said you shoved her out of the way so you could get to her cash. Another one said you grabbed at the money like a pro. And the third one said she saw you look at the suspect who’d gone into the vault with a funny eye. Those are her words.”
That was when Ben Paul remembered what his subconsciousness had tipped him to during the robbery. But he was not going to share it with the detective who held him under suspicion.
“I’m not arresting you. Not yet. But don’t leave town. And don’t change motels without letting me know.”
Before Ben Paul could ask the question, the detective told him to just call the police station. Ben Paul wasn’t about to ask how he could get spending cash. For that, they had to go to another bank. Sylvia gripped her hands to keep from shaking.
It wasn’t until they finally got a check cashed, had lunch, and were back in their motel room that Ben Paul told Sylvia the story. He’d already shared the entire interview with her, including orders not to leave town.
“How long might that be?” Sylvia asked. “Days, weeks, months?”
“When I was taking money from the last drawer, the robber and the female employee were coming out of the vault area. It was while they were in there still. I know I saw her lean into him and pucker. Like a fake kiss.”
Sylvia’s eyes widened. “Did she kiss him?”
“No. And she didn’t reach him with her lean in. It was only a fraction. But I saw it. And the pucker was quick. But I know it was real. And another thing. She was not afraid.”
Sylvia breathed in deeply, as if the deep breath helped absorb the information. She exhaled forcefully as she pressed her hands together in prayer fashion. “So what do we do with that if we don’t tell it to the police?”
“Did you notice that they were both wearing gloves?”
“Only one of them. I didn’t notice the other.”
“He was. So there’s no fingerprints on the scene.”
“Except yours,” Sylvia reminded Ben Paul.
Ben Paul smiled.
“We need to find out who that female employee is, but not let her know that we’re investigating.”
“What about getting a lawyer? We could call Halleck again and get another referral.”
“Halleck won’t have one in a town the size of Dodge City. And Dodge is about the same as Santa Rosa. Back there, everybody knew everybody else. Many of them were related, or went to school with them, or dated them.
“Our lady might be cousin to the lawyer we got. Or the lawyer could be cousin to the detective. Plus, I really don’t want to wipe out our bank account on lawyer fees.”
Sylvia nodded to all of Ben Paul’s reasonings.
+++
Ben Paul went alone into the bank, the scene of the crime, at precisely 9:01. He knocked on the manager’s door. From behind came a female voice. “Excuse me. You shouldn’t be here.” According to her name tag, she was the assistant manager, Christine Blayloff.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ben Paul said. “I wanted to know if I could still cash a check. I didn’t want to put one of your tellers on the spot. Or upset them.”
“I’m afraid not. As long as the investigation is ongoing you shouldn’t be in here.”
“Uh, is your vault always open at precisely 9:00? You probably don’t know its make or model, do you? I thought not.”
Ben Paul’s tone at the last was as condescending as he could make it. “The manager isn’t in yet?”
“It's a VSI, five pin…”
“Five pins! That must make you careful not to make a slip, have to start over. Doesn’t Kansas Farmers Bank require either the manager or assistant and the head teller be present to open the vault?”
“I can open it in an emergency!” Mrs. Blayloff insisted, arching her back and lifting her shoulders. “You must go now, or I’ll have to call the police.”
“Fine, fine. Thank you for your time.”
After leaving, Ben Paul joined Sylvia in Tank, positioned where they could observe the parking lot. At 9:30 a car pulled into the space designated Manager. A man dressed in a suit got out of the car and entered the bank through an employees-only door.
“As I expected,” Ben Paul said. “The manager is King, and proves it by sauntering in to work a half an hour after everyone else is hard at it.” He had already shared what he’d learned from Christine Blayloff, that she was not supposed to have the vault door opened at 9:00 and also that it would take her far more than a minute to unlock and open it.
“What I want to know,” Sylvia said, “is if she leaned in and puckered for you?”
Ben Paul laughed out loud.
“So let’s go to the motel and look for an address in the phone book.” She started Tank and headed out.
“The only Blayloff is C. Blayloff at 801 C Street,” Sylvia said.
“As long as we’re out, what’s the manager’s address? The name on his door was J. Weisenhart.”
“Three Weisenharts,” Sylvia reported. “John and Jay and L.”
“Father and son, probably. The other is probably a daughter. Write down all three addresses.”
She did.
“Did you see that car pull out of the lot behind us?” Ben Paul asked as they pulled out heading for C Street.
“Uh, yes, now that you mention it. I know where you’re going. No one had gotten into it which means that the driver was just sitting in it.”
“Watching and waiting for us. I don’t think I can lose him, not in his own town. So let’s go for an early lunch. I’ll drop you at… here, at this café. You can order for me. I’m going to drive down to a corner store where they have two doors, one on each street. I’ll park. Go in one door and out the other and use the alley to get back here. Our tail can sit and watch Tank.”
“You’re so smart,” Sylvia chided as she exited Tank.
They ate quickly and used the same alley as had Ben Paul. A few minutes after the tailing detective drove away, they returned to Tank to pursue their quest.
photo courtesy: Linda James: pexels
Dodge City was the town of renown of the TV show 'Gunsmoke' with Matt Dillon as the U.S. Marshal.
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and 72 member cents. Dodge City was the town of renown of the TV show 'Gunsmoke' with Matt Dillon as the U.S. Marshal.
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