‘That’s what you say. Maybe Klaus isn’t as smart as he thinks he is.’
Again Joe laughed.
‘He is, Mr. Lucas. I wouldn’t be sticking my neck out if I wasn’t sure of that. I’ve worked for him now for two years. He’s never put a foot wrong. Before I worked for him, I was in and out of jail all the time, and, brother, do I hate jail. Yes... Mr. Klaus is smart all right... real smart.’
‘There’s always a time to put your foot wrong,’ I said. ‘Robbing the Californian National Bank could be his first time.’
‘Not with you to tell us how to do it, Mr. Lucas. The boss explained. If anything goes wrong, you and Miss Glenda don’t exist anymore. It’s up to you to fix it.’ He laughed. ‘And I’m sure you wouldn’t want Benny to knock off Miss Glenda nor you.’
‘I can tell Klaus how to get into the bank,’ I said, ‘but it could still go wrong, Joe. You could go away for twenty years.’
Joe glanced at me, no longer smiling.
‘Just stop flapping with your mouth. I go away for twenty years, you and Miss Glenda go into a hole six feet deep.’ He leaned forward and pressed down the cassette. The car was filled with strident jazz, and that was the end of the conversation.
We arrived at the ranch house. Harry was there to open the gate. Benny was waiting and took me into the big living-room.
‘Want a drink, fink?’ he asked. ‘The boss is busy.’
‘Nothing.’ I sat down.
I waited some ten minutes, then Klaus came in. He went over to the desk and sat behind it.
‘My congratulations, Mr. Lucas. You wouldn’t be here unless you had decided to cooperate. This is good news. It tells me you are as smart as I thought you were.’
‘I hope you are as smart as your black boy thinks you are,’ I said. ‘You have opposition. Your non-smart move was to send Glenda here as a reporter. Her cover has been blown. After she talked to Manson about the security of the bank, Thomson has been alerted that there could be a raid on the bank. The red light has gone up. Thomson is dangerous...’ I went on to tell him of Thomson’s suspicions of Glenda, how he had contacted the F.B.I., how he had found she had no record, and of his idea that either Manson or I, or both, could be kidnapped to get information of the bank security.
Klaus sat still, his small hands resting on his desk, his slate-grey eyes like blobs of ice, regarding me.
‘Never mind about the sheriff,’ he said. ‘I have already anticipated trouble from him, and I will take care of him. Your job, Mr. Lucas, is to tell me how to get into the bank’s vault.’
‘Let us suppose you do get into the vault,’ I said. ‘Both Manson and I would become suspects. Manson, on his record, would be ruled out, but Thomson, knowing I had associated with Glenda, would consider me suspect No. 1. So before cooperating with you, I want to know what is in it for me?’
His thin lips moved into a smile.
‘I was expecting you to say that, Mr. Lucas. You will, of course, be suspect No. 1. You will have to leave Sharnville immediately after the break-in. I have told you, I am a rich man. I am not interested in the money my people will take from the bank. All I want is to cut Brannigan down to size. The vault will produce at least three million dollars. I have told my people that your pay-off is to be a million, so you and Glenda can go away somewhere and enjoy the proceeds. I would suggest South America. You would both be safe there. With a million dollars you could live very comfortably.’
I believed him as I believed there was a Santa Claus.
‘On those conditions,’ I said, ‘I will tell you about the bank security.’
Again the blobs of ice regarded me.
‘That’s what I want to know.’
‘Have you been to the bank?’
He shook his head.
‘The soft underbelly of any bank is a gang rushing in and taking hostages,’ I said. ‘This can’t happen to this bank. All cash in and out transactions are computer controlled. A client enters the lobby, signs his cheque with a computer pen, drops his cheque into a slot and out comes the money. If he pays in money, he writes on a special form, drops in the money and out comes a receipt. The bank’s staff are seen only on close-circuit TV screens. There is no way for a gang to get at the staff. They are up on the second floor where the cash is, and there is no way for any unauthorized person to get up there. Recognized clients are given.a small electric gimmick that allows them up on the second floor. If this gimmick is lost or stolen, the TV screen alerts the guardian it isn’t the client and the elevator wouldn’t work.’
Klaus raised his hand.
‘I’m not interested in taking hostages, Mr. Lucas. I want my people to get into the vault and strip it out. Now tell me how this can be done.’
‘The bank closes on Friday evening at 16.00. The staff leave around 17.50. The bank opens on Monday morning at 09.00,’ I said. ‘Because of the electronic security there is only one patrolling guard. He works in shifts with three other guards. He patrols outside the bank. He has a heated sentry box at the bank’s entrance, but every hour, he walks around the outside of the bank. The entrance to the bank is guarded by steel doors which are controlled by a photoelectric cell. There is no problem in getting into the lobby of the bank. I have a gimmick that will open the door. It is a matter of careful timing. When the guard is at the back of the bank on his patrol, your people move in. Once in, they are faced with the vault’s door. Now this door is made of fire-resisting steel. No one, if they worked for a solid week, with special equipment, could even dent it.’
Klaus made an impatient movement.
‘Never mind the details.’ There was a snap in his voice. ‘How do I get my people in?’
‘The vault door is operated by a voice print,’ I told him.
His little eyes narrowed.
‘What does that mean?’
‘At exactly 08.30 every morning, except Saturdays and Sundays, someone at the Los Angeles head office dials a series of numbers on a special telephone directly wired to the Sharnville bank. By doing this a computer is activated and releases three of the vault’s locks. At exactly 08.35, Manson in his office speaks into a microphone another series of numbers, and his voice activates another computer which releases three other locks and the vault door slides open.’
Klaus stared at me, his face blank as he thought.
‘Could anyone, knowing the numbers, speak into Manson’s microphone and release the locks?’
‘That’s what I meant when I said a voice print. It has to be Manson’s voice or the computer won’t work.’
‘You have been ingenious, Mr. Lucas.’ There was an edge to his voice.
‘This is the safest bank in the world.’
He thought for a moment, then said, ‘What happens when Manson is on vacation or if he drops dead?’
‘That has been taken care of: there is a tape recording of his voice which the computer will accept. Should he be away or something happens to him, someone is authorized to use this recording. All this someone has to do is to drop the cassette into a hidden slot and the vault door opens.’
‘And who is this someone?’
I looked steadily at him,
‘As I invented this system, it was decided that I should do it.’
He leaned forward.
‘You have the cassette?’
‘It is in the bank. In the event of an emergency, I go to the bank, produce the cassette and release the three locks. Manson’s successor will make another cassette. I will fix the computer to accept his voice and we are back on square A.’
‘It would seem, Mr. Lucas, the bank trusts you.’
‘There are six locks on the vault. I can only open three of them. You are forgetting the other three locks are opened by telephone from head office.’ I took out a pack of cigarettes. ‘They are not all that trusting.’