Killjoy

'The second robbery took place on April thirteenth at the Bank of America in Maryland. A bank manager, a woman, was killed during that robbery. The leader was on his way out the door. He suddenly turned around and fired point-blank. Once again, there didn't seem to be a reason, because the personnel had been desperately trying to cooperate.'

'And the third robbery?'

'That one took place on May fifteenth at Goldman's Bank and Trust in Maryland,' she said. 'As you know, the violence

escalated. Two people were killed, and a third was left lor dead but has miraculously recovered.'

'Okay, you've got your facts down,' he said. 'Now, tell me. What made you think a little branch of the First National Bank in Virginia would be the next target?'

His stare was unnerving. She glanced down at her lap while she gathered her thoughts and then looked up again. She knew how she had arrived at the conclusion, but explaining it to the head of in-house operations was going to be difficult.

'I guess you could say it's all in how I look at things. It was all there… most of it anyway, in the file.'

'No one else saw it in the file,' he pointed out. 'They hit different banks with the three robberies, but you convinced Andrews

that they were going to hit another branch of First National again.'

'Yes, sir, I did.'

'It's… remarkable how you talked him into it.'

'Not really,' she said, hoping Andrews hadn't told Carter every word she'd said.

'You used my name.'

She inwardly cringed. 'Yes, sir. I did.'

'You told Andrews the order came from me. Is that correct, Delaney?'

Here it comes, she thought. The you're-getting-your-ass-fired part. 'Yes, sir.'

'Let's get back to the facts, shall we? Here's what I want to know. The Politicians had struck on March fifteenth, April thirteenth, then May fifteenth. We didn't know why they were hitting on those specific days, but you did, didn't you? That's what you told Andrews,' he reminded her. 'But you didn't go into an explanation.'

'There wasn't time.'

'There's time now. How did you arrive at your conclusion?'

'Shakespeare, sir,' she answered.

'Shakespeare?'

'Yes, sir. The robberies all followed the same pattern, almost like a ritual of some kind. I got a printout of the first bank's records for the week prior to the robbery. I did the same with the other two banks. I thought something might show up that would link them,' she said.

She paused to shake her head. 'I had reams and reams of printouts all over the office, and I did find something a little curious. Fortunately, I had the discs from the banks, and I was able to cross-check with the computer.'

Carter rubbed his jaw, distracting her. She could see a hint of impatience in his eyes. 'Sir, bear with me another minute. Now,

the first bank was robbed on March fifteenth. Does that date trigger anything in your mind?'

Before he could answer, she plunged ahead. 'The ides of March? Julius Caesar?'

He nodded.

'That must have been in the back of my mind last night while I was reading all the printouts, and I noticed an ATM withdrawal was made by a man named Nate Cassius. I still hadn't quite put it together,' she admitted. 'But I realized, if I was right, and I

was hoping to heaven I was, that the leader of the Politicians was leaving us clues. Maybe he was playing some twisted game. Maybe he was waiting to see how long it would take us to catch on.'

She had his full attention now. 'Continue,' he said.

'As I mentioned before, the dates frustrated me until I did my research. I looked up the Roman calendar and found that when the Romans were calculating the length of the months, they also figured the date of the ides. We know from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar that the ides of March falls on the fifteenth. But not all the months. Some fall on the thirteenth. So, using that logic, I went back over the ATM withdrawals the week prior to the second and third robberies, and guess what I found?'

'Did Nate Cassius make a withdrawal from those banks?'

'No, sir,' she answered. 'But a William Brutus did in one bank, and Mario Casca did in the other… and the withdrawals happened just two days before the robberies. I think they were sizing up the layout of the banks.'

'Go on,' he said, leaning forward now.

'I didn't put it together until the last minute. I had to pull up the transaction records for all of the banks in the tri-state area from

the eleventh on.'

'Because the other two withdrawals were made exactly two days before the actual robberies.'

'Yes,' she said. 'I spent most of the night crosschecking with the data I had in the computer for the eleventh, and by gosh, there

it was. Mr. John Ligarius had made a withdrawal from that little branch of First National at three-forty-five in the morning. All of these names-Cassius, Brutus, Casca, Ligarius-they were conspirators against Caesar. I didn't have time to run a check on the people who owned these cards, but I did find out that the cards were issued from banks in Arlington. It added up. Ligarius made

a withdrawal from the First National Bank. So, the First National Bank was the next target.

'I thought that time was critical, and my superior, Mr. Douglas, wasn't available. He had already left to catch a four-hour flight, and it wasn't possible for me to talk to him. I used initiative,' she stressed. 'And I would rather have been wrong and lose my job than keep silent and find out after the fact that I was right. Sir, my conclusions and subsequent actions will be in the report I'm typing up, and when you read it, you will note that I take full responsibility for my actions. My coworkers had nothing to do with my decision to call Andrews. But in my defense,' she hastened to add, 'I, like the others in my department, have a master's degree, and we're all very good at what we do. We aren't simply typists transferring agents' notes into the database. We

analyze the information we're given.'

'So does the computer program.'

'Yes, but the computer doesn't have heart or instincts. We do. And, sir, now that we're on the subject of job descriptions,

I would like to mention that the minimum wage has gone up, but our salaries have not.'

He blinked. 'Are you hitting me up for a raise?' She winced. Maybe she had said too much, but at least if she was going to

lose her job, Lou and Mel and Margo might benefit. She felt a sudden burst of anger because she and her coworkers were so undervalued. She folded her arms and looked directly into his eyes. 'As I've reviewed the facts for you, I've become more convinced than ever that I was right. I had no other choice than to notify Andrews, and he wouldn't move until I used your

name. I know I overstepped my authority, but there simply was no time and I had to-'

'They got them, Avery.'

She stopped short and then said, 'Excuse me, sir?'

'I said Andrews and his men got them.' She didn't know why she was so shocked by the news, but she was. 'All of them?' she asked.

He nodded. 'Andrews and his team were waiting, and at precisely three minutes after ten, the three men stormed the bank.'

'Was anyone hurt?'

'No.'

She sighed. 'Thank heavens.'

Carter nodded. 'They were wearing white. Did you figure out the significance of the color?'

'Sure. The Roman senators wore white robes.'