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Fiction. © Copyright 2000, Jim Loy
"Do you distrust everyone?"
Morris Ironwright, President of Microlith Bank responded, "All of these people handle millions of dollars daily. I have found that this leads to almost irresistible temptation."
"And how did you find this? Do you yourself have this temptation?"
"Mr. Gavin!" Mr. Ironwright was outraged for just a second. Then he added, "I do not have the opportunity. I do not handle the money."
"But, you were not always President."
Mr. Ironwright was not happy with these questions. "That is true. I did work my way up through the ranks. I must admit that I was tempted. But I am happy to say that I resisted the temptation. Now, may we return to the matter at hand. You are here to investigate current theft, not hypothetical theft in the past."
"Of course. But let me repeat, do you distrust everyone?"
"Until now, I trusted them all. But a crime has been committed, according to this latest audit. Obviously my trust has been misplaced in one case. And I honestly do not know who may have done it. So yes, I do distrust everyone, some more than others perhaps."
"Who do you distrust more than others?"
"Those who I do not know very well, I suppose: Dawes, Johanssen, Martins, and Heisen. The others have been here for quite some time."
"OK, I'll start with them. I will need access to the bank's financial and employment records."
"I will make the records of the last year available to you. Last year's audit showed no irregularities. You will not need to look at records older than last year's."
"I'm afraid I must insist. I must examine the older records."
"You would be wasting your time and our money. I will give you a copy of last year's audit, if that will help you. But I must insist that you confine your investigation to this actual crime. I am sure that we can find a more friendly investigator if you continue to "insist."
There was a long pause, while Gavin thought. Then, "Of course, Mr. Ironwright, forgive me. That will be fine."
President Ironwright said, "Good morning Mr. Gavin, do you have any progress to report?"
"Yes indeed. The crime has been solved. Here is my report. May I summarize it for you?"
"Of course."
"The discovery of the crime was something of a fluke. The books balanced. The crime was disguised in an ingenious manner. Your auditors should be congratulated for discovering the crime. I would probably have never detected the crime from the same financial records. Once the crime was discovered however, the evidence seemed fairly clear. It all points to William Dawes. However..." There was a long pause as the two men stared into each other's eyes. Then Gavin continued, "However, this same crime has been committed four other times in the past."
President Ironwright seemed to lose energy as his facial expression changed from intense belligerence to sad realization of defeat. "How do you know this?"
"I gained access to the older records of Microlith Bank, a little computer hacking I'm afraid. Anyway, as I said, this same, almost the same, crime has been committed four other times in the past. Each time, a different employee was implicated as the perpetrator. Each of these employees (except for Mr. Dawes) quit or was fired shortly afterwards. I have found no connection between the five people."
"Perhaps each crime was inspired by the previous crime. Perhaps the second criminal discovered the first crime and, instead of reporting it, decided to duplicate it."
"Perhaps. But I have uncovered clear evidence linking you to all five crimes, Mr. Ironwright."
"Why are you telling me this? Why not call in the police? Did you expect me to confess?"
"The police are outside this door. I just wanted you to know that you made one big mistake, which has led to your defeat."
"What mistake is that?"
"Your refusal to let me see old bank records alerted my curiosity. I had to study those records, then. Had you given those older records to me without objecting, I am sure that I would never have made the connections between the five similar crimes. And I wouldn't have suspected you.