The Benchminder

by Stan Mason

  ‘You know my name?’ spluttered the bandit in surprise. ‘How do you know my name?’

  ‘Phyllis told me but that’s not important at the moment.’

  ‘She’s always spoiling things for me,’ he complained.

  ‘You’ll get your money,’ confirmed the banker, ‘but I need to talk with the manager first. Would you pass your mobile to him please?’

  There was another pause. ‘Brown!’ came the voice of the Manager.

  ‘I know the strain you’re going through,’ commented Rigby, ‘but keep a stiff upper lip. How are you feeling?’

  ‘I could do with a drink.’ The voice sounded cracked and dry.

  ‘Let me say I understand your position clearly.’

  ‘We’ve survived so far. In fact we’ve been discussing a whole host of general topics.’

  ‘Let’s get this thing over and done with as soon as possible,’ continued Rigby tiredly. ‘Give Carlisle your safe key and code and get that man out of the branch!’

  ‘I can’t do that!’ The Manager sounded extremely adamant. He was a sea captain ready to go down with his ship.

  ‘Why can’t you do it?’

  ‘It says in the Branch Rule Book, Section B, Subsection 24 para 4,’ quoted Brown from memory, ‘that no authorised person is permitted to release either the safe key or his safe code in his possession to any other person within the branch for any reason whatsoever. Therefore I’m unable to comply with your request.’

  Rigby rolled his eyes to the ceiling in despair. Of all the managers in the bank to become involved in a robbery, he had to find one whole followed the Rule Book chapter and verse. ‘Brown!’ he snapped. ‘This is an emergency! Those rules weren’t written to cover situations like this.’

  ‘Surely you don’t expect me to contravene the rules! I’m a man who practices what he preaches. Over the past twenty years I’ve trained people in banking practice. Do you expect me to fail in my own example?’

  ‘You do realise the consequences if that man carried out his threat,’ warned the senior executive, trying to influence the other man desperately. ‘There’ll be nothing left of you, Carlisle or the Croydon branch! Doesn’t that cause you concern?’

  ‘If we disobeyed the rules each time it suited our purpose the bank would have folded a long time ago. I’m not one of those modern people who believe that the rules are there to be broken.’

  ‘Look, Brown!’ countered Rigby with exasperation. ‘The bank can afford to give the bank robber whatever he wants. We’re totally covered by insurance. Why are you being so stubborn?’

  ‘It has nothing to do with the money, Mr. Rigby,’ came the reply. ‘It’s a matter of principle. I may be elderly and crusty, known in the bank as the Old Guard, who consider the Rule Book as sacrosanct but the bank wouldn’t have survived if the instructions weren’t one hundred per cent. Don’t ask me to break with the principles of a lifetime of service now because it suits you!’

  Rigby knew that he was on to a losing argument. Nothing was going to persuade the manager to change his mind. He recalled an irate customer way back in his banking days who’s account was erroneously marked in the red. He complained bitterly right up to senior level in the bank even though it was quickly corrected. His principle was that he had never been in the red and he believed it was a mark against his character even though no one took any notice of a singular red entry. Brown was of the same mould, full of principle, valuing honour and prestige far beyond the levels of modern-day life.

  ‘How much value do you place on human life, Brown?’ demanded the senior executive, trying a new tack.

  The argument was sound but the Manger preferred to ignore it. ‘I don’t agree!’ he challenged firmly. ‘For myself there is no hardship. I retire shortly. As for Carlisle, I suggest you get hm out of the branch right away. Then come will, come woe, all will be status quo!’

  ‘Come on, Brown! You’re not making a conscious effort to help the bank deal with this problem. ‘For God’s sake co-operate! It’s no good trying to stand out alone because of the bank’s rules. It simply won’t work!’

  ‘I won’t be bullied or threatened, Rigby,’ retorted the Manager bluntly. ‘If I hold out now, no bandit will trouble the bank again. We must not be intimidated! Can’t you see the logic in that?’

  ‘Either your priceless or terribly thick,’ blurted Rigby. ‘We don’t want a showdown with the character in your branch especially with a bomb about to go off. The bank has a responsibility to both you and Carlisle. You realise that!’

  ‘I’ve advised you to send Carlisle away’’ returned the Manager sharply. As for myself, I relinquish you of all responsibility. Our destinies are written in the stars so whatever you do is of no value.’

  The senior executive groaned inwardly. The Manager was clearly another member of Betty Brewer’s credo with the concept that man was merely a pawn in the game of life. ‘I’m never going to be able to convince you, am I? If I spent the next hour talking to you it wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference, would it?’

  ‘You won’t make me change my mind about breaking Rule 24 para 4, in Section B of the Branch Rule Book if that’s what you’re on about. Not if we discussed it for a hundred years!’

  Rigby was sad that the branch was not managed by a much more junior person whereby he would overwhelm him or her sufficiently to act on his instructions. It was sheer bad luck to be forced to deal with an old hand who couldn’t be coerced into obedience. ‘Very well, Brown!’ he began formally. ‘I’m changing the request to an order from Head Office. As a senior executive of the bank, I order you to hand over the safe key and your code to Mr. Carlisle, your Assistant Manager. Do you understand me?’

  ‘That kind of attitude won’t change my mind either, Rigby,’ came the response. ‘You haven caught on yet that I’m fireproof. With only a few months to go before retirement, there’s nothing you can do to me... nothing with which you can threaten me!’

  ‘What if I got the Chief Executive of the bank to contact you? Would you comply?’

  ‘No difference at all. There’s nothing in the Rule Book to suggest that the rules can be superseded by any authority in the bank. I’m position that no one has the right to do so... not even the Chief Executive!’ He paused for a moment. ‘Interesting thought that. As you mentioned, these incidents aren’t in the minds of the people who wrote the rules in the first place.’

  ‘Are you telling me that, as a branch manager, you dare to challenge the Chief Executive of the bank?’

  ‘I can’t see any alternative. Can you?’

  ‘Incredible!’gasped Rigby. How do I save your life in spite of you, Brown? Because that’s what it boils down to in the end.’

  There was a short period of silence before the Manager continued. ‘I thought it was your job at Functional Control to sort out such problems, not mine!’

  The senior executive ignored the cheek of the other man as a thought triggered in his mind. ‘You mentioned Rule 24, para 4 of the Branch Rule Book. Were you quoting verbatim?’

  ‘Certainly. I know it backwards.’

  ‘Would you care to repeat the paragraph again, please?’

  ‘I can’t see what good it’ll do you. No authorised person is permitted to release either his safe key or the safe code in his possession to any other person within the branch for any reason whatsoever.’

  A ray of hope penetrated the gloom enshrouding Rigby as he saw the possibility of a new approach. ‘You retain the safe codes by memory, don’t you? What would happen if you were run over by a bus one evening. How would anyone open the branch safe?’

  Brown shrugged his shoulders aimlessly before proceeding with an answer to the question. ‘A duplicate of the safe keys and the codes are held in the nearest branch for emergency purposes.’

  ‘Bingo!’ grunted the senior
executive exultantly having found the solution. ‘Put me back to Dennis, will you and then I want to speak with Carlisle.’ There was a further pause while the mobile telephone was passed over. ‘Dennis!’ stated Rigby with great calm. ‘You’ll have the money within the next hour, I promise you! We should be able to open the safe in about forty-five minutes or so. Do you understand what I’m saying?’

  ‘I hope so,’ declared the tired bank robber. ‘I’m getting rather thirsty and I’ve got to get back for tea.’

  ‘Well you just hold on. Now will you put me on to the Assistant Manager? Carlisle,’ he said after a short pause. ‘Get the duplicate keys and codes from the nearest branch that holds them. I want you to do it personally. Tell them to contact me directly for authorisation. Is that clear? Once you get back to the branch, open the safe and give the money to Dennis... not Mr. Brown! And then get him out of the branch as fast as you can! I’m giving you a formal instruction to do this and I stress the urgency. Now off you go!’

  ‘Yes, Mr. Rigby,’ confirmed Carlisle obediently. ‘Right away!’

  ‘As soon as Dennis if off the premises with the bomb, let me know.’ He concluded the conversation and returned the receiver into its cradle. ‘Betty,’ he said to his secretary, with his eyes closed tightly. ‘I think there’s a chance that we’ve cracked it!’

  ‘Thank Heavens for that,’ she returned seriously. ‘It’s been difficult enough taking notes and typing with my fingers crossed all the time.’

  Rigby saw the funny side of her remark and, both he and Ben Howard, burst into laughter, more out of relief than amusement. The glee was short-lived however for they were interrupted by one of the telephones ringing on Betty Brewer’s desk.

  ‘Mr. Bamberg, your solicitor, is on line two. Do you wish to speak with him?’

  ‘I’d better,’ muttered the banker anticipating an unpleasant conversation. ‘Hello, Ken,’ he began softly. ‘Good news or bad?’

  ‘Good news is hard to come by these days,’ commented the solicitor. ‘I wanted a brief word with you... ’

  ‘What’s Diane up to now?’ came the interruption. ‘Has she started proceedings against me for breathing and living?’

  ‘My purpose is dual, John.’

  ‘Sounds intriguing,’ laughed Rigby, beginning to feel an element of discomfort.

  ‘Diane’s no longer going for the house,’ informed the banker flatly.

  ‘So are we all back to where we first started?

  ‘Rather further back than that, I’m afraid,’ uttered the solicitor solemnly. ‘I can’t carry on like this as piggy-in-the-middle. If a couple separate and intend to divorce, I accept the case and work on it accordingly. But I can’t help either of you if instructions are given one moment and countermanded the next. I’m running a professional business here, John, not a matrimonial agency!’

  ‘It’s not my fault if she’s a dilettante, changing her mind every five minutes!’

  The solicitor decided to give him a full broadside without warning. ‘There are two parties in every case, John. It matters little which one plays the fool. The end result is that it becomes irksome for solicitors when something doesn’t happen. Your case will go on indefinitely unless someone makes up their mind. I don’t want simply to pass on messages all the time. I can’t tolereate it any more unless someone files for divorce.’

  ‘So you’re giving me up as a lost cause because of Diane’s antics.’

  ‘You’re making me a pawn in your domestic drama and I’m very disenchanted. You’ll have to make your own arrangements in future. And there’s another thing,’ continued Bamburg.

  ‘Ah, the sting in the tail. I knew there would be one. Myself and Sandra, I suppose. What does Diane want to do? Surprise me!’

  ‘Diane’s solicitor has been growing more concerned about her state of mind. She’s arrived at an age where many women suffer the menopause and become unstable and a trifle irrational. Do you get my meaning?’

  ‘I hear what you’re saying,’ responded the banker, ‘but what has that to do with me?’

  ‘You’re still her husband. Technically she’s your responsibility. Her solicitor fears that she on the edge of a nervous breakdown.’

  ‘Come off it!’ scoffed Rigby. ‘You know Diane as well as I do. She’s fairly level-headed.’

  ‘That’s the woman you used to know. She’s undergone considerable change since she left you. Her morale is at low level and she seems to be under a great strain.’

  ‘I’m not surprised. Sandra just told her on the telephone that she’s having our baby. That’s put the cat among the pigeons!’ Look, Ken, I’ve try to cut free of the woman entirely but she won’t have it. What do I have to do to get rid of her? I have a new life now... a young partner, a baby on the way and perhaps more children in time. That’s more than Diane ever gave me. I have a new life and I want to get rid of the old one.’

  ‘Even at the risk of affecting the life of a person who saw you through thick and thin in the earlier stages of your life?’

  Rigby halted at the indictment. This line of argument had never been put to him before. Dianne had loved him for many years. She had tended him in sickness, allowed him to enjoy her companionship, shared her bed with him, provided food for him, and had supported him wholeheartedly in his work and leisure. He had forgotten all about her kindness and her virtues not that any of it mattered any more. ‘The woman’s responsible for her own actions,’ he submitted. ‘I mean how do you tell a woman not to love you any more?’

  ‘Don’t ask me,’ returned Bamburg dryly. ‘I’m a solicitor not a psychiatrist! I deal in hard facts and the law.’

  ‘How do I get out of this eternal triangle, Ken? You tell me I’m still responsible for the woman even though she won’t grant me a divorce. When it’s all boiled down, where does it leave me?’

  ‘It’s up to you two to sort it out, but leave me out of it in future,’ concluded the solicitor ending the conversation abruptly.

  As Rigby replaced the receiver, his secretary attracted his attention. ‘I checked up on the information leak reported by Mr. Chesterton Do you want to hear it now?’

  ‘Fire away!’ he told her, trying to divert his thoughts from the previous conversation with his solicitor.

  ‘There’s a main theme which seems to flow through,’ she informed him. Our Marketing and Loans Departments report to Corporate Planning which is the focal point for all policy matters, so I concentrated on that area. The policy is channelled through it and I found that the information was available to Mr. Pullman, Mr. Hicks and Mr. Elliott... but not to Mr. Fisher which eliminates him. Next, I discovered that Mr. Hicks could be eliminated by virtue of the fact that he’s been ill for the last three months and spent that time in a clinic.’

  ‘I didn’t know that he was ill,’ muttered the senior executive.

  ‘Mr. Pullman and Mr. Elliott are very interesting studies. Mr. Pullman has not only visited both Marketing and Loans regularly over the past three months on the grounds that he’s writing a Divisional Plan but he’s spent little time in Corporate Planning. Mr. Elliott, on the other hand, hasn’t been to either of those areas over the last quarter. His sheet is completely blank which ought to be enough to eliminate him.’

  ‘Ought to be enough!’ repeated Rigby. ‘Maybe and maybe not! I must say, Betty, you’ve certainly done your homework!’

  ‘There’s more to come,’ she told him excitedly ‘Mr. Pullman’s extremely friendly with two senior marketing managers. On good drinking terms with them. Occasional night-club visits, strip shows, and the like.’

  ‘Gambling... at casinos?’

  ‘No evidence of that. He has an old assistant lodged in Corporate Planning who’s able to provide him with abundant material... secret or otherwise!’

  ‘Doesn’t look too good for him, does it? Not with a track
record like that!’

  ‘Wait until you hear this then!’ she exclaimed, almost bursting with impatience to continue her discovery. ‘Mr. Pullman’s married with four children. For the last four months, he’s been having an affair with... are you ready for this... Miss Williamson!’ She halted to not the impact of her news.

  ‘Miss Williamson!’ echoed Rigby in surprise. ‘The Old Man’s secretary?’

  ‘The one and only. The lady with the sweet voice. Seems she has other goods to give away too!’

  ‘Are you certain about this?’

  ‘’I’ve even got copies of the hotel bookings for lunchtime arrangements and sixteen separate evenings, if you need them.’

  Rigby blew out his cheeks with concern. ‘She’s too close to the top to play games with sensitive bank information surely! She wouldn’t dare to put her head in a noose!’

  ‘All’s fair in love and war!’

  ‘What about Sam Elliott?’

  ‘It seems he’s in the clear.’

  ‘Come on, Betty! There must be something!’

  ‘I mean it. He’s clean as a whistle. He befriends no one, goes out with no one, and has no affairs with anyone in the bank.

  ‘That’s the way he operates... like a black panther in the night.’ He shook his head slowly. ’Don’t you get an eerie feeling that something’s amiss here? Two executives in the bank, aspiring to the top,. On the one hand we have a Jekyll and Hyde, allegedly consorting with the secretary of the Assistant Chief Executive. On the other, we have a different kettle of fish. Elliott communicates with no one and is as pure as the driven snow. ... without transgression.’

  ’I wouldn’t trust Mr. Elliott as far as I could throw him,’ she returned sharply. ’You know that for sure!’

  ’You missed your vocation, Betty,’ he said pulling her leg. ’You’re a far better detective than a secretary.’

  She lifted a paperweight from her desk pretending to shy it at him and he smiled at her spontaneous reaction. Ben Howard, however, found a comment extremely amusing and he sniggered to himself, ignoring the fact that he was the only one laughing.