Hiding in Plain Sight

Police Chief Tony Betts was sitting behind his desk going over the reports on the robbery that had happened earlier in the day. Chief Betts was tired, wondering for the hundredth time that day why someone would come to his town and rob their bank. He had grown up in this town; he knew everyone and pretty much everyone knew him.

He read again the statement from Gina Davis, one of the tellers at the bank, how she had seen the man with a black ski mask over his face come in through the door. He had come into the bank at 3:25 pm, right before they would have locked up the lobby doors. The report gave the description of a man six foot three inches tall with a husky build. The suspect had passed a note that said, "I have a gun and I will kill you. Hand over all the money." The note had been written with a blue ballpoint pen on a torn piece of notebook paper. The suspect had taken the note with him.

"Damn," Chief Betts softly swore at that point. The detectives had scoured the video tapes and had seen what she had described. No distinguishing features could be seen due to him wearing gloves and an oversized camouflage jacket. At this point Tony sat back in his chair and rubbed his face with his hands. He noted he had now grown more than a five o'clock shadow on his face. It was nearing midnight and he was still going over the evidence. He knew that he should have gone home hours ago, but this case bothered him. The fingerprints they had gathered at the crime scene and all the evidence they had picked up was at this minute being analyzed, but so far no hits on any prints. Chief Betts hoped that maybe the robber had cased the bank beforehand and left a finger print somewhere.

There was a soft knock on his office door. He looked up to see his newest deputy, Chuck Reed stick his head in the door and say, "Chief, you still here? Why don't you go home? There isn't anything more you can do tonight."

The Chief had known Reed since he had moved to town three years ago to join the police force. It had taken him a year to get hired on after finishing up his training. Chuck was a young, dark haired man who had his whole life ahead of him. He felt as if most of his had passed him by already. Six years in the military and twenty years on the police force was finally taking its toll on him. His graying hair was receding. Tony's steel blue eyes had a way of looking at someone as if he could see all of their secrets and knew what they were thinking. It had cracked many a suspect into telling him exactly what he wanted to know.

He studied Reed a minute before saying, "You're probably right, Reed, not until we get a hit on one of the prints lifted anyway." Chief Betts stood up and stretched his tired aching back. His knee gave him trouble if he sat in one place too long. He reached down to his desk and closed the file. He pulled his jacket off the back of his chair and walked over to his door. He flicked off his the light to his office and walked out, pulling the door firmly shut behind him. The sound of the soft snick of the lock sliding into place sounded loud in the quiet office.

He turned to Deputy Reed and said, "Good night, Reed,"

"Good night, Chief," Reed replied as he walked back to the front desk.

The Chief turned when he reached the front door and said to Reed, "Let me know if we get anything, will you? Good night, Reed."

Reed nodded before turning back to the computer on his desk.

The night sky was black overhead. Chief Betts knew he wouldn't be able to see any stars until he was out in the country, so he climbed into his Ford Explorer and shut the door. He sat there a minute, the case still running through his mind. Finally shaking his head, he started the car and headed home. He lived on the edge of town with his wife, LaDonna, to whom he had been married to for twenty- eight years. They had been good years, too. Two boys grown and out on their own; Tommy, the elder, had joined the Air Force, and Larry, the younger by two years, had joined the police academy but had decided he didn't want to work in Jordan, Iowa.