The Shadows Between

Cahapter 6

After Fred had sent the email to Mrs. Wimplestein, he sent one to Agent Turner, then tried to wait till a reasonable time to call Mrs. Wimplestein ...but he fell asleep on the loveseat. His son woke him up around 8 am.

He woke up but didn't move from the loveseat, settling on 8:30 as a reasonable time to call Mrs. Wimplestein. She picked up, but of course, she hadn't read the email yet. He explained everything as best as he could: it had to be a tunnel and we had, at the very least, the perpetrator's sneaker. Her excitement didn't seem to match his. She said that if there was a tunnel they would find it. Ultimately, she seemed more worried about Fred and asked him to leave it alone for now. She thanked, but asked for reassurance he would let the Feds deal with it. She did say she would talk to the agents when she got a chance.

Then, he called Agent Turner. He felt some remorse about immediately going back on his word to Mrs. Wimplestein. He also felt that this was a plan he had before he called her, so he should do it immediately. He got Turner's voicemail. He left a message outlining the email he sent, trying not to sound too high-strung. He put away the laptop and went upstairs.

He had brunch with Janey. It was a nice change from his usual routine. After brunch, Janey had some errands to do, so Fred took a shower and got into bed. He didn't wake up till around 7pm with his wife telling him she made a big chef salad. He went down and ate together. Phil was going to be late, so they ate alone, which had become more and more frequent since Phil had started college. They watched their weekly ritualistic TV- CSI: Maimi. This was a family compromise, even Phil was in on it... or at least he was till about a year ago. Not only did he pull out, but now Janey was trying to add Netflix shows. He was feeling he watched more out of duty, then for entertainment-this evening in particular. His mind was buzzing around an idea that he thought might help solve the case. Maybe if he broke down the video frame by frame he could use some editing software to get a logo on the shoe and maybe even the size.

As soon as the show ended, he got up, kissed his wife and told her he was going to work downstairs.

"What about the news, Honey?"

"I've got too much on my mind."

"Please don't stay up all night again."

"Of course."

He ran down the stairs and opened his laptop to find two emails, one from his son and one from Mrs. Wimplestein. Opening Mrs. Wimplestein's first:

Mr. Berger,

Here's an update. The company we hired has submitted a summary report of the subterranean sonar and radar analysis. They reported that "there were no discernible natural or artificial grottos, chasms or tunnel like structures," also they state there was no "evidence of excavation or any other underground activities" on or near our premises.

We have contacted all local utilities and will have all pipes, conduits and ducts probed with HVAC inspection cameras for any sign of criminal penetration or appropriation. Of course, none of those go into the actual vault. It's just for insurance purposes at this point.

I also talked to Agent Turner and he said analysts weren't confirming that it was a sneaker in the video. It may have just been a shadow. But they are looking into it and appreciated your efforts.

I am trying to arrange for everyone of you guys to get part time work at some of the local branches. I plan to meet with everyone on Sunday or Monday. I will call you tomorrow.

Get some rest. Enjoy your time off.

Mrs. Wimplestein

Fred went immediately to connect his laptop to his big screen. He referred to his notes to zoom in on the frame of the "sneaker." It didn't take too long to zoom in to the point of just pixels. But after some fine tuning he found a sweet spot. He was positive he could make out a pant leg and the sneaker. He could even make out the laces. He was sure they were laces. When he went through frame by frame, he could make out a quick step-- really just a toe touch. Even if it was just a shadow, it was a shadow of a foot. The foot of the bank robber. He really wished he had, or even knew of, some programs to manipulate the video to see what other details he could find. Maybe he will ask Phil when he comes home.

If there was just a shadow and there actually was no tunnel, then where did the money go? And where did the shadow come from? An idea popped into his head that was a little disarming-- what if the video was edited? Contemplating it for a few minutes, with the frozen frame of the big of the shadowy foot. He dwelled on the implications. Was Mrs. Wimplestein in on it? Susan? The FBI? After, implications and complications running wild, he decided just to be more cautious till a clearer picture started to appear.

Settling on a different tact, he decided to do research on if there were any similar bank robberies. There was a rising plaint in his head -- "Why me! Why my bank!" --and he could only think that there had to be others. If there is someone that can swoop down, then swooped away without leaving any trace, wouldn't he have practiced, had bigger plans, or done it more often?