The Snowbird Bank Robber: Upstate Mystery #7

By fj donohue

He came out of the woods at the back of the rural bank in upstate New York. He was wearing a baseball hat, sun glasses and a balaclava. Nothing of his face was visible. He was also wearing nylon basketball warm-up pants with snaps to allow for easy removal while standing and a loose-fitting nylon top. He went around the side of the small stand-alone building avoiding the drive-through window on the other side. No customers were in the bank. The manager and her assistant were at the two teller windows.

"Okay! Both of you empty your cash drawers into this backpack and be quick; he said in a loud voice. Don't trigger an alarm, I want to see your hands at all times."

He did not appear to be armed or at least was not showing a gun.

"Let's go Damnit! Move it! NOW!

• Language: English
• Publisher: fj donohue
• Release date: Oct 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201319441

fj donohue

I’m a retired International Sales Director, having worked in the commercial and military flight simulation industry for over 30 years. I lived in Brussels (Belgium) and Bonn (Germany) for eight years and met my British wife in Brussels. Before my career in the flight simulation industry, I was an Armaments and Electronics Maintenance Officer in the USAF during the Viet Nam era conflict. We have three children and seven grandchildren. Since retirement I continue to chase an ever-elusive golf game. Home is a small town in central New York State where the novellas are set. I'm a volunteer mediator and Lemon Law arbitrator and this occasionally appears in the stories. An underlying theme in my novellas is people helping people. In spite of the difficulties and crime that may surround us, there is always hope in friendship and good neighbors. Go to my website below for information about my novellas and to contact me for a FREE short story. I won't use your information for any other purpose.

Book preview

Chapter One

He came out of the woods at the back of the rural bank in upstate New York. He was wearing a baseball hat, sun glasses and a balaclava. Nothing of his face was visible. He was also wearing nylon basketball warm-up pants with snaps to allow for easy removal while standing and a loose-fitting nylon top. He went around the side of the small stand-alone building avoiding the drive-through window on the other side. No customers were in the bank. The manager and her assistant were at the two teller windows.

Okay! Both of you empty your cash drawers into this backpack and be quick; he said in a loud voice. Don’t trigger an alarm, I want to see your hands at all times.

He did not appear to be armed or at least was not showing a gun.

"Let’s go Damnit! Move it! NOW!

They quickly complied and he was away. He walked rapidly out of the building, around the same side again and into the woods. Inside the bank for just three minutes, twenty-one seconds. Speed was essential. He had hidden his bike about a hundred feet into the woods, off to the side of a trail. He loved biking and had built the bike himself starting with a Ritchey-Ultra mountain bike frame and specialty components. He quickly stripped off his basketball warm-up gear and put it in one of the two saddlebags on the back of the bike. He set off on the trail toward the parking lot about fifteen miles away. He kept a reasonable pace as he rode. As he was riding, he could hear sirens in the direction of the bank.

He had parked his truck on the side of the parking lot near the woods, away from the trailheads. There were about ten cars in the lot; nobody in them. He put his bike on the carrier rack and tossed his backpack into his pick-up. Just another happy biker coming back after a trail ride. He drove out of the parking lot at a normal speed and headed to his studio apartment on Binghamton’s south side. Time to tally the day’s receipts!

Chapter Two

Detective Elton Hendricks , now Lt. Hendricks, Head of Detectives at the Binghamton Police Department, had settled into his new position. He was well respected and had the support of the six detectives under his supervision. It was a big gear change for him. He had been a street cop and detective for well over twelve years. Rather than work cases, he now spent his time working with his detectives on their cases. So, now lots of status meetings. He tried to keep them simple and not tie his guys up in paperwork and endless meetings.

Elton found he really enjoyed the challenges of supervision. Working with the detectives to find a way forward was always rewarding. Everyone had their own style. The challenge was to work within their styles and not dictate how they should conduct the investigation.

His former partner, Todd Adams was now teamed with Bill Runnings, known as Billy to the other detectives. They were an interesting pair. Todd was six-feet-four, thin and angular. Billy was about five-foot-ten, not fat but clearly not on the thin side. He had almost sixteen years with the Police Department, and like Todd, had come up through the ranks. Patrolman to detective. They were a good team. Bill was methodical in his approach to cases, and Todd bought youth and enthusiasm. Joking among themselves, Bill called Todd Boy Wonder. Todd called Bill Batman. Best not let the other detectives hear this or they would have new nicknames!

Lt. Raimondi, recently promoted to Captain, was in charge of both detective and patrol operations. He had eighteen years on the job and also came up through the ranks. The police department had a reputation for solid investigative work and cooperation with other agencies. They had recently been involved in a couple of high-profile cases involving money laundering and a contract murder, both with an international component.

It’s usually feast or famine in the police business as far as active cases go. Now, things were quiet and Elton was starting to look at open cases from past years. Always a good exercise to keep your skills sharp. With the changes in technology and data gathering, new tools were available to use on a cold case. This was especially true with DNA. With the advanced analysis and the popularity of ancestry sites, new paths opened up. The detectives would start with a thorough review of the case file to make sure everything was covered in the initial investigation and then go to the new DNA analysis technologies. Police investigations were now a balance of street work and technology. In the past, finger prints were the main high-tech markers. Still important but now joined by DNA technology. ‘A brave new world’ joked Capt. Raimondi.

Todd’s mother called him on his mobile. Did you hear?

Hear what? Did I win the lottery?

The bank here just outside of Hancock has been robbed! Todd’s mother was in Hancock visiting some friends for the day. It’s all over town. A guy walked into the bank, stole their money and ran into the woods! The police have a big search team in the woods now looking for him. Dogs and all! I was going to go there earlier to use their ATM but decided to do it on the way home. I could have been there when he robbed the place!

She continued, Will you be investigating this?

I don’t think so unless the Sheriff or State Police call us in.

Wonder why he robbed this bank; I can’t imagine they have a lot of money there?

An easier target, I guess, said Todd.

Well, I hope they catch him. Stealing money and not working; what’s this country coming to! I wonder how much money he stole?

They’ll never say. It might attract copycats. Stay safe, Mom, talk to you later.

Chapter Three

After six years in and too many deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Dave Gilmore left the Army. Nothing seemed to fit after that. A number of jobs with potential, but he just couldn’t settle. He went through a number of relationships along the way. Same issue; he just couldn’t settle. He wasn’t living off the grid now but was clearly not a member of the community either. Pretty much a loner with few friends. He didn’t trust anybody and kept to himself. Dave lived simply. Furnished apartments and all his possessions could be loaded into his Ford pickup.

During his Army days, he was a Squad Leader with responsibility for twelve men. But too many deployments and too many guys wounded or dead and for what? Especially Iraq. He would carry the anger over this forever.

His Army training served him well in his new profession. Robbing banks! The Army taught a structured process. What is the mission objective? What steps need to be put into play to achieve success? What’s my exit strategy if things go south? Think it through. No two banks are the same, but the process is and has to be followed.

He was always very careful in his preparation for a robbery. No smash and grabs if you want to survive in this business, thought Dave, you need to do your homework. He’d been looking at a bank in Hancock for some time. It was about twenty miles outside of Binghamton on Route 17. It fit his profile quite well. Rural location, on a lot by itself, and best of all, a wooded area in back of the bank. It had a drive-up window on the side and an ATM between the front door and lobby door. The back of the bank facing the woods did not have any customer facilities and best of all, no CCTV. There were walking and biking trails in the woods that led to a parking area about fifteen miles away at the trailheads. It checked all his boxes!

Next on the list was to understand the customer flow. He usually hit the banks early in the morning, just after opening. It was typically a quiet time and that was important. They’re all different. He noted that on Monday and Friday there were usually customers at this bank right after opening. Most likely deposits from the week and weekend. Maybe there’s a quiet time after the early morning bubble? The customer flow was important to him. After a couple of weeks checking the customer traffic, he decided on Monday. After the bubble came through, it was quiet. Maybe some good weekend deposits.

He never tried to get any money out of the bank’s main safe. Took too long and if the safe was not open, it was only worse. His strategy was always to be in and out in a few minutes. He knew you could not defeat the alarm system. Too many ways to trigger it, and this meant he was working to the response