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Chapter 127: Weren't you just cursing fiercely?
The number 20,000 made both men think immediately of Bernie's loan. The connection was too obvious to ignore.
Bernie asked if they'd recently taken loans from Riggs National Bank. Both shook their heads.
Not giving up, Bernie pressed whether they'd had any recent account changes matching the ransom amounts. It was deeply personal territory, but perhaps out of gratitude for what Theodore and Bernie had prevented, neither man refused to answer, losses or shared misfortune at being targeted by the same scammer.
After careful consideration, both gave negative responses. Their only assets that changed matched the ransom amounts, which were loans taken after receiving the extortion calls.
Bernie glanced at Theodore, who shifted focus from amounts to locations.
"Which branch do you usually use?"
Thomas from Federal Bureau of Prisons: "The main branch."
Edward from Veterans Affairs: "Main branch and the 17th Street branch."
The main branch sat in the Treasury Building on Pennsylvania Avenue, five minutes' walk from Justice, the same from Federal Bureau of Prisons, ten from Veterans Affairs. Bernie's loan had been processed there.
"When did you last do business at the main branch?" Theodore specified: "Not counting yesterday's emergency loan."
"Wednesday," Thomas answered first. "Wednesday noon, withdrew money."
He'd withdrawn cash on Wednesday and spent the afternoon with his wife, buying a First Lady pillbox hat, a light yellow wool coat, and a dress suit, the outfit Jackie Kennedy wore on Inauguration Day, which had swept the nation.
Thomas remembered his wife's happiness that night, how passionate she'd been. Thinking of his wife led to thoughts of the plumber, and his expression darkened. Damn plumber.
Edward nodded. "Wednesday for me too."
The spring thaw had revealed roof leaks. He'd planned weekend repairs but couldn't find time. His wife's nagging finally drove him to withdraw money on Wednesday and hire professionals.
Theodore caught Bernie's eye. Bernie's loan approval had also come on Wednesday.
Theodore inquired about the content of the extortion calls. Both descriptions matched Bernie's experience exactly, greeting, hostage emphasis, transaction rules, and warnings against tricks.
Both had immediately called home for confirmation. When nobody answered, terror took hold. Afraid the kidnappers would kill their families, they dared not speak out or call the police, following instructions blindly.
They'd frantically secured bank loans, placed money in green packages, and boarded the Pittsburgh train. They should have left after delivering the packages, but losing $5,000 made them reluctant. So they'd posed as passengers, hoping to glimpse their tormentor.
What they'd planned after seeing the robber, neither had considered.
They'd watched the storage area nervously until Pittsburgh, when the attendant collected all packages. Their instinctive rush forward had resulted in arrest by the surveillance team.
Theodore checked his watch and ended the conversation. Before leaving, Thomas and Edward thanked them again.
Edward invited them to go bowling next weekend. D.C.'s public alleys are crowded on weekends, offering government employees their best recreational option.
Golf costs too much, tennis attracts too few, and basketball demands too much energy. For ordinary federal workers, bowling never disappointed.
Bernie accepted enthusiastically. Theodore doubted he'd find time, but nodded when Edward looked expectantly at him. He thought of Ronald's connections at the Veterans Affairs and saw Edward as a potential asset.
Edward turned to Thomas, hesitated, then patted his shoulder. Thomas forced a stiff smile. He just wanted to go home and check if the plumbing was finally fixed.
After they left, Theodore interrogated the attendant. The man had moonlighted for years, transporting countless contraband items. He'd long prepared for capture, even researched potential consequences.
Pension and benefits were forfeited; he'd never counted on them anyway and years of transport fees had exceeded any retirement. He hoped only for minimal sentencing, preferably avoiding prison.
During interrogation, he cooperated fully, seeming more eager than Theodore and Bernie to catch the scammer. He volunteered information without prompting:
"Wednesday night, nine o'clock, no later than ten, I got the call at home."
"Long distance?" Theodore asked.
The attendant nodded. "From D.C." Since he lived outside the district, any D.C. call qualified as long distance.
He continued: "Asked me to transport packages from D.C. to Pittsburgh this Friday. I asked how many. He said an indefinite number, all unregistered green packages boarding from D.C. were his."
The caller had made an additional request: bring packages back from Pittsburgh to D.C., store them in a Union Station locker. "Pick up the key at Union Station at noon on Thursday. When I arrived Thursday noon, locker 103 stood open with the key inside."
After retrieving the key, the attendant hadn't looked for traces of his customer, a professional discretion that had built his reputation. After Wednesday night's call, the scammer never contacted him again.
His cooperation was complete, but information was limited. The interrogation lasted twenty minutes, yielding only the attendant's phone number and approximate conversation time.
Theodore and Bernie asked AT&T to check the numbers dialled from DC-1708 between nine and ten on Wednesday night. The precise target allowed a quick response; the attendant's number was prominently listed.
AT&T reported that DC-1708 had submitted over a dozen consecutive J-7 fault reports before that call, but only one actual connection to the attendant.
The scammer demonstrated remarkable foresight. Every phone lead traced back to DC-1708, then dead-ended with magnetised coins and J-7 reports.
Currently, their only effective leads were Union Station locker 103 and six remaining phone numbers. Theodore had surveillance teams monitoring the station, but no reports had been received yet.
While waiting for AT&T's response, Bernie called the six numbers individually to obtain the owner's information. All belonged to government agencies, including Agriculture and Commerce, and four were from the General Services Administration.
GSA assisted federal departments with their daily operations, including office space, supplies, communications, transportation, procurement, and property management, a sprawling bureaucracy that touches every corner of the government.
Saturday meant calls redirected to duty rooms, not employees directly. After identifying himself, Bernie obtained private numbers and addresses from three department duty officers.
He dialled Agriculture first. After a long wait, someone answered. Bernie identified himself and confirmed the other party's identity, but the individual immediately hung up.
Four consecutive calls before the man answered again, not letting Bernie speak:
"Listen! No matter who you are! Don't let me find you! I'll cut yours off and stuff them in yours, youâ"
Click.
Bernie stared at the receiver, looking blankly at Theodore, who'd just returned with a map.
Bernie shook his head and tried Commerce. This employee showed better manners, no immediate hangups or cursing.
He calmly told Bernie, "Don't think I can't find you hiding behind that phone. I've called the police; you should surrender."
The man thought Bernie was yesterday's scammer, earnestly advising surrender.
Bernie repeatedly explained that he was under FBI investigation for the phone scam. The Commerce employee exposed his "lie": "Since when are you people so efficient?"
They talked past each other for ten minutes before the man left a threat, "Wait for the FBI at your door", and hung up.
Theodore was marking his map, circling Agriculture, Commerce, GSA, then FBI, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Veterans Affairs, and finally Riggs National Bank main branch.
Except for the Veterans Affairs department, the main branch was situated equidistant from all five departments.
Bernie checked the time; it was past four o'clock. "Main branch is closed."
Riggs operated six-and-a-half days for federal employees: Monday through Friday full days, Saturday mornings, and closed Sundays.
Bernie shook his notebook. "Let's visit them first." He pointed at the phone.
"They received scam calls yesterday. Now they think I'm the scammer. Won't believe anything I say."
Theodore saw this as positive, at least they weren't as easily deceived as Thomas and Edward. There was a reason only two of the nine targets had fallen for the con.
Following Bernie's addresses, they visited the Agriculture employee who'd cursed him. On the phone, he'd been furious; in person, he looked gentle, refined.
The Southwest District apartment building was new, and the employee was wary when opening his door.
Bernie displayed his leather credential case. "FBI Agent Bernie Sullivan."
Theodore showed his ID as well.
The man looked bewildered, then understanding dawned. He quickly stepped aside: "You're investigating the scam calls? I just got one, guy was even impersonating an FBI agent."
Bernie followed him inside. "The one who called was me."
The employee, still chattering about the situation, fell silent. The atmosphere grew awkward.
Bernie smiled warmly, guiding the man to sit. "Don't be nervous. I would like to inquire about yesterday's scam call and gain a better understanding of the situation. You wouldn't talk on the phone, so we came in person."
The employee swallowed, edged sideways, and nodded. "I did get one."
Bernie followed his movement, maintaining proximity. "When?"
The employee continued sliding away. "Yesterday noon, after twelve."
Bernie stayed close. "What did they say?"
The employee reached the edge, stood up: "Said my wife and child were in his hands. Wanted five thousand cash in a Western Union green package, placed in car three of the Pittsburgh train departing at 3 PM."
His description matched Bernie's, Thomas's, and Edward's calls exactly.
Bernie also stood. "You weren't fooled?"
The employee pointed angrily around the apartment. "I'm not even married!"
Bernie looked back at Theodore, who nodded. He'd surveyed the apartment during questioning, confirming that there was no evidence of cohabitation.
Bernie asked about banking habits and recent transactions. The answer matched expectations: Riggs' main branch, Wednesday at noon, respectively.
After leaving the single Agriculture employee, they visited the remaining five. Commerce's employee had called home after receiving the scam, and his wife answered.
Of the four GSA employees, one wasn't home. The remaining three had all verified the "kidnapping" when called, two reached family members, the third, who couldn't get through, had driven home to find wife and children safe.
All had conducted business at the main branch on Wednesday.
Every clue pointed toward Riggs National Bank's main branch.
[End of Chapter]Â