“I take one day off from work and all hell breaks loose.”
“Seriously! Joe here even closed his cart down the rest of the day.”
The woman paid for their slaw dogs, and Karli got an old dollar bill, rimmed in red ink, in change.
Becca had been filling her in on the robbery from the day before.
“It was the scariest single day of my entire life.”
“Considering that woman getting shot and all, I’m surprised the bank even opened today.”
“Well, the suits figured since they didn’t actually get any money, there wasn’t a good reason not to. I think it’s shameful and disrespectful.”
“We know it’s all about the Benjamins.”
Joe spoke up, telling the women he had seen on the news that morning that the other woman had been able to give police a description of the shooter. Seems he had a very distinctive tattoo that she was able to remember.
The two women thanked Joe and went back to their teller station in the bank.
On her way home that evening, Karli stopped at the newsstand a block down the street to pick up a paper. She was curious about the tattoo. She handed Omar her two dollars, including the one she got earlier from Joe, an old dollar bill with red ink stamped on the edge. She tucked the paper into her bag, meaning to read it on the ride home.
Settling on the E train, she took a window seat and spread out so the seat beside her was occupied with her bags. She had hoped for a light car, she didn’t like sharing her space. Karli took out her mp3 player and earbuds. Tuning to her ‘ride home’ playlist, she sat back and tried to relax.
Karli opened her bag again after the train’s rumbling had a chance to work its magic on her nerves. People didn’t appreciate how stressful being a bank teller could be. That if a customer was overdrawn on an account, somehow it was her fault and would catch the brunt of their anger and frustration. Taking out the newspaper, she scanned the front page, reading about the robbery at her bank the day before.
There were blurry interior security camera stills that showed two men with guns, but were such bad quality there was no way to get a clear ID on either suspect.
The report quoted the bank president praising his quick thinking employees for thwarting attempts to steal large amounts of cash. The trip switch locked the cash drawers and could only be opened with access codes from their security company.
Fortunately once the robbers realized they were not getting away with any money, they quickly left. Unfortunately one thief, probably acting out of frustration and anger, shot a bystander outside the bank. The woman, a young wife and mother of a six-month-old died a few hours later from her injuries.
A second woman, a friend of the deceased, was unhurt and was able to give investigators a description of the gunman. With the help of a police artist she also provided information about a tattoo on the assailant’s neck. Police were asking that anyone with information about the robbery or the suspects, call detectives at the 103rd Precinct.
A jump to page A3 took readers to the police rendering of the tattoo. Karli folded the front page back, intent on studying the sketch. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from screaming. Jerking her earbuds out, she brought the paper in closer, studying the newspaper photo of the sketch.
The witness said she could only see the head of a green and gold dragon above the shooter’s collar. From the little bit of the tattoo described to the artist that was pictured, Karli was able to identify the image and who wore it. She knew the ink was unique, a one-of-a-kind creature because she knew both the artist and the inker.
Karli stuffed the paper back into her bag, looking around to see who was sitting near her. The car was only half full, and the riders well spaced apart. Still she worried that someone might hear her while she dialed a number all too familiar.
“Shit Chase what have you done,” she whispered when the number began to ring.
She didn’t expect her brother to answer but waited for his voice mail to pick up.
“Chase call me as soon as you get this!”
She spent the rest of her train ride home trying to figure out what to do. Karli was sure the tattoo was her brother’s. If you knew Chase, you knew that tat. She had to find him before anyone else turned him in.
From the train station, Karli practically ran home to her apartment. Closing the door, she dropped her bags and went toward the kitchen, stopping short when she saw the silhouette of a man standing at the end of her hallway.
“Don’t turn on the lights Karli!”
“Chase? How did you get in here?”
“You have shitty locks. Karli I fucked up and I need your help, bad!”
“I read the news article, Chase. The police have a drawing of your tat. Other people will see it and know it was you. What the hell were you thinking? And why did you try to rob MY bank!?”
“It was Ian. He needed the money to pay back he’s drug dealer. Ian stole a bunch of meth from him and he had to get a lot of money fast. I’d been in the bank before, I thought I knew the layout better.”
“That’s Ian! Why were you involved?”
“Sis, you don’t understand. Ian could have been killed, he’s my best friend. I had to help him.”
“Goddamit Chase this is going to get me fired, maybe held as an accessory!”
“You had nothing to do with, you can’t be blamed.”
“I asked for that day off, it’ll look suspicious. Like I knew something was going to happen.”
“I’ll tell them you weren’t involved.”
“Your credibility is not very good right now, Chase. Why did you shoot that poor woman? She was a mom, a wife.”
“She screamed. I just reacted. I turned toward her to tell her to shut up and next thing I knew, I was firing the gun. I wasn’t aiming at her, I only wanted her to stop screaming. I didn’t plan on shooting her, it just happened. What am I going to do, Sis?”
“You have to turn yourself in. We can get you a good lawyer and hopefully keep you from getting a lethal injection. Your best bet will be to give up Ian. It’s your only choice.”
“I can’t do that. I can’t turn on Ian like that. He’s like a brother to me.”
“That ‘brother’ of yours talked you into robbing a bank, with guns. You killed a woman during that robbery and now where is this great friend of yours? Did you know that there’s a reward out for your? You don’t think Ian would turn you in for the money? Deny any involvement?”
Chase leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. Head in hands, he sat silently, trying to make sense of the last 24 hours.
“Listen to me, Chase. There is no easy way out of this. If you run, you’ll be running forever. I’ll stand by you, but you’ve got to do the right thing here. A woman is dead, and you are responsible for that.”
Chase looked up, took a deep breathe, a determined expression on his face.
“Sis? If you turn me in, or take me in whatever, would you get the reward?”
“I honestly don’t know, I haven’t even thought about it.”
“I’ll go Karli.”
Karli called the hot line listed in the newspaper article, telling the officer who answered that she knew who the tattooed suspect was and she could bring him into the Precinct. After being put on hold for a few seconds, Det. Prentiss came on the line. Karli explained who she was and that her brother was the shooter. He had agreed to come in and identify the second robber.
Prentiss asked if she was with her brother now, and Karli handed her phone to Chase. He and the detective spoke for a while, then Chase hung up the phone.
“Prentiss is coming here. He said a squad car would be outside in about five minutes to escort me to the precinct. he said you could ride back with him if you want. He also said that depending on the information I provide about Ian, and my confession, you would qualify for the reward.”
“I don’t understand, why is it so important I get that reward. You’re my brother, that wouldn’t be right.”
“I know that you’ll use the money for something good. You’ll do the right thing.”
“You’re doing the right thing here Chase. I’m sorry this happened, you know I still love you, right?”
“I know Sis, that’s the only thing that kept me from running.”
Det. Prentiss was at Karli’s front door with four other officers. They searched Chase for weapons and put him in handcuffs. Leading him to a waiting car, one of the officers read him his Miranda Rights.
“Chase tells me you had no prior knowledge of the robbery, and I tend to believe him. It took a lot to turn in your own brother.”
“It was the only right thing to do.”
