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Ep. 22 - The Looting of the CTC · True Tales of The Secret Service

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Chapter twenty two, the looting of the C T C. There was a
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wintry quality in the night itself that made a comfortable chair and an open fire
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distinctly worth the payment of a luxury tax. Add to this the fact that
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the chairs of the library den of William J. Quinn formerly Bill Quinn,
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United States Secret Service were roomy and inviting, while the fire fairly crackled with
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good cheer. And you'll know why. The conversation after a particularly good dinner
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on the evening in question was punctuated by pauses and liberally interlarded with silences.
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Finally, feeling that it was really necessary that I say something, I remarked
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upon the fierceness of the wind and the biting, stinging sleet which accompanied a
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typical January storm, makes one long for Florida, I added, Yes,
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agreed Quinn, or even some point farther south. On a night like this,
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you can hardly blame a man for heading for Honduras, even if he
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did carry away a quarter of a million of the bank's deposits with him.
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Huh, who's been looting the local treasury? I asked, thinking that I
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was on the point of getting some advanced information. No one that I know
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of came from the depths of Quinn's big armchair. I was just thinking of
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Florida and warm weather, and that naturally led to Honduras, which in turn
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recalled Rockwell. To my mind. Ever, hear of Rockwell, don't think
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I ever did. What was the connection between him and the quarter million you
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mentioned? Quite a bit, rather intimate as you might, I'd say,
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but not quite as much as he had planned. However, if it hadn't
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been for Todd Todd, Yes, Ernest E. Todd of the Department of
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Justice. Extra earnest, they used to call him, because he'd never give
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up a job until he brought it in neatly wrapped and ready for filing.
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More than one man has caused to believe that Todd's parents chose the right name
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for him. He may not have been much to look at, but he
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sure was earnest. Take the Rockwell case, for example, Quinn went on
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after a preliminary puff or two, to see that his pipe was drying well.
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No one had the slightest idea that the Central Trust Company wasn't in the
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best of shape. It's books always balanced to a penny. There was never
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anything to cause the Examiner to hesitate, and its officials were models of propriety,
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particularly Rockwell, the cashier. Not only was he a pillar of the
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church, but he appeared to put his religious principles into practice on the other
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six days of the week as well. He wasn't married, but that only
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boosted his stock in the eyes of the community, many of which had daughters
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of an age when wedding bells sound very tuneful, and orange blossoms of the
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sweetest flowers that grow. When they came to look into the matter later on,
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nobody seemed to know much about mister Rockwell's antecedents. He had landed a
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minor position in the bank some fifteen years before, and had gradually lifted himself
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to the cashier ship. Seemed to have an absolute genius for detail and the
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handling of financial matters. So it was that when Todd went back home on
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a vacation and happened to launch some of his ideas on criminology, ideas founded
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on an intensive study of Lombroso and other experts, he quickly got himself into
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deep water during the course of a dinner at one of the hotels E.
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E. Commenced to expound certain theories relating to crime and the physical appearance of
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the criminal. Do you know, he inquired, that it's the simplest thing
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in the world to tell whether a man, or even a boy, for
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that matter, has criminal tendencies. There are certain unmistakable physical details that point
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unerringly to what the world might call laxity of conscience, but which is nothing
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less than a predisposition to evil, a tendency to crime. The lobes of
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the ears, the height and shape of the forehead, the length of the
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little finger, the contour of the hand. All these are of immense value
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in determining whether a man will go straight or crooked. Employers are using them
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more and more every day. The old fashioned phrenologist, with his half formed
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theories and wild guesses, has been displaced by the modern student of character,
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who relies upon certain rules which very so little as to be practically immutable.
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Do you mean to say, asked one of the men at the table,
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that you can tell a man as a criminal simply by looking at him.
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If that's the case, cut in another, why don't you lock em all
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up? But it isn't the case? Was Todd's reply. The physical characteristics
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to which I refer only mean that a man is likely to develop along the
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wrong lines. They are like the stars, which, as Shakespeare remarked incline,
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but do not come pell if you remember, he added, the fault,
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dear brutus, lies in ourselves. Therefore, if a detective of the
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modern school is working on a case, and he comes across a man who
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bears one or more of these very certain brands of cain, he watches that
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man very carefully, at least until he is convinced that he is innocent.
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You can't arrest a man simply because he looks like a crook. But it
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is amazing how often the guideposts point in the right direction. Anyone present that
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you suspective forgery or beating his wife, came in a bantering voice from the
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other end of the table. If you're in earnest, answered the government agent.
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Lay your hands on the table, and everyone present, including Rockwell,
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Cashier of the Central Trust Company, placed his hands palmward on the cloth.
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Though there was a distinct hesitation, and several quarters slowly deliberately. Todd looked
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around the circle of hands before him, then with quite as much precision.
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He scanned the faces and particularly the ears of his associates. Only once did
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his gaze hesitate longer than usual, and then not for a sufficient length of
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time to make it apparent. No, he finally said, I'd give every
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one of you a clean bill of health. Apparently you're all right. But
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and he laughed. Remember, I said, apparently, So don't blame me
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if there's a murder committed before morning and one or more of you is arrested
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for it. That was all there was to the matter until Todd, accompanied
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by two of his older friends, left the grill and started to walk home.
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That was an interesting theory of yours, commented one of the men.
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But wasn't it only a theory? Is there any real foundation of fact?
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You mean my statement that you can tell by the shape of a man's head
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and hands whether he has a predisposition to crime. Yes, it's far from
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a theory, inasmuch as it as the support of hundreds of cases which are
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on record. Besides, I had a purpose in springing it when I did.
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In fact, it partook of the nature of an experiment. You mean
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you suspected someone present, not suspected, but merely wondered if he would submit
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to the test. I knew that one of the men at the table would
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call for it. Someone in a crowd always does. And I had already
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noted a startling peculiarity about the forehead, nose, and ears of a certain
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dinner companion. I merely wanted to find out if he had the nerve to
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withstand my inspection of his hands. I must say that he did without flinching.
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But who was the man? I barely caught his name, replied Todd.
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And this conversation must be in strict confidence. After all, Criminologists do
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not maintain that every man who looks like a crook is one. They simply
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state and prove that ninety five percent of the deliberate criminals, men who planned
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their wrong well in advance, bear these marks. And the man who sat
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across the table from me tonight has them to an amazing degree, across the
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table from you. Why that was Rockwell, Cashier of the Central Trust,
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precisely stated Tod. And the only reason that I am making this admission is
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because I happen to know that both of you bank there, but protested one
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of the other men, Rockwell has been with them for years. He's worked
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himself up from the very bottom and had hundreds of chances to make away with
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money if he wanted to. He's as straight as a die. Very possibly
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he is. Tod agreed. That's the reason that I warn you that what
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I said was in strict confidence. Neither one of you is to say a
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word that would cast suspicion on Rockwell. It would be fatal to his career.
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On the other hand, I wanted to give you the benefit of my
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judgment, which, if you remember, you requested. But it didn't take
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a character analyst to see that the Department of Justice men had put his foot
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in it. So far as his friends were concerned, they were convinced of
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the cashier's honesty, and no theories founded on purely physical attributes could swerve them.
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They kept the conversation to themselves, but Todd left town feeling that he
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had lost the confidence of two of his former friends. It was about a
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month later that he ran into Weldon, the federal bank examiner for that section
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of the country, and managed to make a few discreet inquiries about Rockwell and
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the Central Trust Company, without, however, obtaining even a nibble. Everything's
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flourishing was the verdict. Accounts straight as a string, and they appeared to
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be doing an excellent business. Fairly heavy on notes, it's true, but
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they're all well endorsed. Why do you ask any reason to suspect anyone not
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the least, lied Todd. It's my hometown, you know, and I
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know a lot of people who bank at the CTC. Just like to keep
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in touch with how things are going. By the way, when do you
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plan to make your next inspection? Think I'll probably be in their next Wednesday.
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Want me to say hello to anybody? No, I am not popular
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in certain quarters, Todd laughed. They say I have too many theories,
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go off half cocked, and all that sort of thing. Nevertheless, the
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Department of Justice operative arranged matters so that he reached his home city on Tuesday
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of the following week, discovering by judicious inquiries that the visit of the examiner
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had not been forecast. In fact, he wasn't expected for a month or
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more. But that's the way it is best to work. If bank officials
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know when to look out for an examiner, they can often fix things on
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their books which would not bear immediate inspection. Weldon arrived on schedule early the
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following morning and commenced his examinations of the accounts of the First National, as
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was his habit. As soon as Todd knew that he was in town,
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he took up his position outside the offices of the Central Trust, selecting a
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vantage point which would give him a clear view of both entrances of the bank.
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Possibly, he argued to himself, I am a damned fool, but
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just the same, I have a mighty well defined hunch that mister Rockwell isn't
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on the level, and I ought to find out pretty soon. Then events
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began to move even quicker than he had hoped. The first thing he noted
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was that Jaffery, one of the bookkeepers of the CTC, slipped out of
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a side door of the bank and dropped a parcel into the mailbox which stood
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beside the entrance. Then a few minutes later, a messenger came out and
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made his way up the street to the State National, where as Todd,
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who was on his heels, had little trouble in discovering. He cashed a
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cashier's check for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, returning to the Central Trust
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Company with the money in his valise. Of course, Todd reasoned, Rockwell
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may be ignorant of the fact that Weldon doesn't usually get around to the State
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National until he has inspected all the other banks. Hence the check will have
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already gone to the clearinghouse and will appear on the books merely as an item
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of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars due, rather than as a check from
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the Central Trust. Yes, he may be ignorant of the fact, but
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it does look funny. Wonder what that bookkeeper mailed. Working along the last
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line of reasoning, the government operatives stopped at the post office long enough to
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introduce himself to the postmaster, present his credentials, and inquire if the mail
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from the box outside the Central Trust Company had yet been collected. Learning that
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it had, he asked permission to inspect it. You can look it over
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if you wish, stated the postmaster. But of course I have no authority
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to allow you to open any of it. Even the Postmaster General himself couldn't
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do that, certainly, agreed Todd. I merely want to see the address
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on a certain parcel, and I'll make affidavit if you wish that I have
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reason to suppose that the mails are being used for illegal purposes. That won't
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be necessary. We'll step down to the parcel room and soon find out what
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you want. Some five minutes later, Todd learned that the parcel, which
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he recognized a long roll covered with wrapping paper so that it was impossible to
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gain even an idea of what it contained, was addressed to Jaffery, the
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bookkeeper, at his home address. Thanks now, if you can give me
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some idea of when this will be delivered, I won't bother you any more.
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About five o'clock this afternoon, fine, and the man from Washington was
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out of the post office before anyone could inquire further concerning his mission. A
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telephone called disclosed the fact that Weldon was then making his examination of the Central
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Trust Company books and could not be disturbed. But Todd managed to get him
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later in the afternoon and made an appointment for dinner on the plea of official
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business which he wished to discuss. That afternoon, he paid a visit to
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the house of a certain mister Jaffery and spent an hour in a vain attempt
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to locate the bank examiner. Promptly, at six o'clock. That official walked
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into Tod's room at the hotel to find the operative pacing restlessly up and down,
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visibly excited, and clutching what appeared to be a roll of paper.
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What's the matter, asked Weldon. I'm on time. Didn't keep you waiting
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a minute, no, snapped Tod. But where have you been for the
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last hour? Been trying to reach you all over town, great scott Man,
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even a human adding machine has a right to take a little rest now
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and then, if you must know, I've been getting a shave and a
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hair cut, and even criminal in that can't say that there is. And
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Todd relaxed enough to smile at his vehemence, But there is in this unruling
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the parcel that he still held, and presenting several large sheets of ruled paper
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for the examiner's attention. Recognize them. They appear to be loose leaves from
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the ledgers at the Central Trust Company. Precisely were they there when you went
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over the books this morning? I don't recall them, but it's possible they
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may have been. No, they weren't. One of the bookkeepers mailed them
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to himself at his home address while you were still at the First National.
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If I hadn't visited his house this afternoon in the guise of a book agent
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and taken a long chance by lifting this roll of paper, he'd have slipped
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them back in place in the morning, and nobody'd been any the wiser.
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Then you mean that the bookkeeper is responsible for falsifying the accounts only partially.
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Was the cash o k at the Central Trust perfectly? Do you recall any
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record of a check for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars upon the State National
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drawn and cashed this morning? No, there was no such check. Yes
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there was. I was present when the messenger cashed it, and he took
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the money back to the CTC. They knew you wouldn't get around to the
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State before morning, and by that time the check would have gone to the
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clearinghouse, giving them plenty of time to make the cash balance to a penny.
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Whom do you suspect of manipulating the funds? The man who signed the
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check rockwell, the cashier. That's why I was trying to get hold of
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you. I haven't the authority to demand admittance to the Central Trust vaults,
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but you have. Then if matters are as I figure them, I'll take
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charge of the case as an agent of the Department of Justice. Come on,
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was Weldon's response. We'll get up there right away. No use losing
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time over it. At the bank, however, they were told that the
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combination to the vault was known to only three persons, the president of the
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bank, Rockwell, and the assistant cashier. The president, it developed,
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was out of town. Rockwell's house failed to answer the phone, and it
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was a good half hour before the assistant cashier put in an appearance. When,
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in compliance with Welden's orders, he swung back the heavy doors which guarded
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the vault where the currency was stored. He swung around, amazed. It's
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empty, he whispered, not a thing there save the bags of coin.
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Why I put some two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in paper money in there
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myself this afternoon. Who was here at the time, demanded tod Only mister
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Rockwell. I remembered distinctly that he said he would have to work a little
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longer, but that there wouldn't be any necessity for my staying. So I
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put the money in there, locked the door, and went on home.
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Do you know where Rockwell is now at his house. I suppose he lives
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at I know where he lives, snapped Tod. I also know that he
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isn't there. I've had the place watched since five o'clock this afternoon, but
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Rockwell hasn't shown up. Like the money, I think we can say with
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the money, he's gone, disappeared, vanished. Then said Weldon, it's
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up to you to find him. My part of the job ceased the moment
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the shortage was disclosed. I know that. And if you'll attend to making
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a report on the matter, order the arrest of Jaffrey and spread the report
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of Rockwell's embezzlement through police circles, I'll get busy on my own hook.
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Goodbye, And an instant later, Todd was hailing a taxi and ordering the
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chauffeur to pick all the speed laws. In reaching the house where Rockwell boarded,
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examination of the cashier's room and an extended talk with the landlady failed,
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however, to disclose anything which might be termed a clue. The missing official
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had visited the house shortly after noon, but had not come back since the
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bank closed. He had not taken a valise or a suit case with him,
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declared the mistress of the house. But he had seemed just a little
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bit upset. Quickly but efficiently, Todd examined the room, even inspecting the
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bits of paper in the waistebasket and pawing over the books which lined the mantel
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three of the former he slipped into his pocket, and then turning inquired,
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was mister Rockwell fond of cold weather? No, indeed was the reply.
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He hated winter, said he never was comfortable from November until May. He
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always But the weird gentleman, as the landlady afterward referred to him, was
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out of the house before she could detail her pet story of the cashier's fondness
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for heat, no matter at what cost. No one at the station had
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seen Rockwell board a train, but inquiry at the taxicab offices revealed the fact
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that a man with his overcoat collar turned up until it almost met his hat
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Brim had taken a cab for a nearby town where it would be easy for
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him to make connections either north or south, stopping only to wire Washington the
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bare outline of the case with a suggestion that the Canadian border be watched.
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Though it is almost certain that Rockwell has headed south, Todd picked up the
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trail at the railroad ticket office some ten miles distant, and found that a
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man answering to the description of his prey had bought pass message as far as
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Saint Louis. But despite telegraphic instructions, the Saint Louis police were unable to
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apprehend anyone who looked like Rockwell, and the government operative kept right on down
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the river, stopping at Memphis to file a message to the authorities in New
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Orleans. It was precisely a week after the looting of the Central Trust Company
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that Todd stood in the docks in New Orleans watching the arrival of the passengers
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and baggage destined to go aboard the boat for Honduras. Singly and in groups
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they arrived, until when the all ashore signal sounded, the operative began to
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wonder if he were really on the right trail. Then at the last minute,
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a cab drove up, and a woman apparently suffering from rheumatism made her
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way toward the boat sent a tip. Two stewards sprang to assist her,
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but Todd beat them to it. Pardon me, madam, he said,
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May I not drat that fly, And with that he made a pass at
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something in front of his face and accidentally brushed aside the veil which hid the
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woman's face. He had barely time to realize that, as he had suspected,
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it was Rockwell, disguised before the woman had slipped out of the light
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wrap which he had been wearing and was giving him what he later admitted was
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the scrap of his life. In fact, for several moments he not only
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had to fight Rockwell, but several bystanders as well, for they had only
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witnessed what they supposed was a totally uncalled for attack upon a woman. In
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the mix up that followed, Rockwell managed to slip away, and before Todd
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had a chance to recover, was halfway across the street, headed for the
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entrance to a collection of shanties, which provided an excellent hiding place. Tearing
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himself loose, Todd whipped out his revolver and fired at the figure just visible
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in the gathering dusk, scoring a clean shot just above the ankle, a
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flesh wound that ripped the leg muscles without breaking a bone. With a groan
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of despair, Rockwell toppled over clawing wildly in an attempt to reach his revolver,
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but Todd was on top of him before the cashier could swing the gun
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into action, and a pair of handcuffs finished the career of the man who
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had planned to loot the CTC of a quarter million in cold cash. The
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next time you try a trick like that, Todd advised him on the trail
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that night, be careful what you leave behind in your room. The two
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torn letter heads of the Canadian Pacific nearly misled me, but the other one
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referring to the Honduran line, plus the book on Honduras, and the fact
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that your landlady stated that you hated cold weather gave you dead away. Of
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course, even without that, it was a toss up between Canada and Central
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America, those of the only two places where an embezzler is comparatively safe these
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days. I hope for the sake of your comfort they give you plenty of
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blankets. And Juliet Quinn paused a moment to repack his pipe, and then,
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so far as I know, he's still handling the prison finances, he
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added. Yes, they found at the trial that he had had a clean
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record up to the moment he slipped, but the criminal tendencies were there,
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and he wasn't able to resist temptation. He had speculated with the bank funds,
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covered his shortages by removing the pages from the ledger and kiding checks through
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the State National and then determined to risk everything in one grand cleanup. He
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might have gotten away with it too, if Todd hadn't spotted the peculiarities which
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indicated moral weakness. However, you can't always tell. No one who knew
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missus Armitage would have dreamed that she was what she was. Well, I
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inquired what was she? That's what puzzled Washington and the State Department for several
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months, replied Quinn. It's too long a story to spend tonight. That's
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her picture up there, if you care to study features and and home wondering
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what were the crimes of which such a beautiful woman could have been guilty?
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End of Chapter twenty two.