‘They covered us with a gun, and when the cashier tried to give an alarm, they shot him. Then they handcuffed me, grabbed five stacks of bills, and beat it.’
‘Calm yourself,’ ordered Fordney, ‘and tell me who “they” are.’
‘Two fellows who robbed the bank just now,’ explained the excited narrator, who had rushed into Fordney’s cottage at Lakeview. ‘I knew you were vacationing in the village, so, as soon as they escaped in their car, I ran over here.’
‘Didn’t you call a doctor for the cashier?’
‘Too late. He must have died instantly.’
‘How do you know the bandits escaped in a car?’
‘I saw them from the window.’
‘Were you and the cashier alone at the time of the shooting?’
‘Yes. I had just made a deposit. I guess they got my money, too.’
Fordney walked over and picked up the overcoat his visitor had removed upon entering the living-room.
‘You seem to have had a little accident. How did you get this?’ he asked, examining a long tear in the front of the coat.
‘Why—I guess I tore it on the door when I rushed out of the bank. I broke a button, too, you’ll notice.’
‘Let’s see your hat!’ demanded Fordney, eyeing his visitor sharply.
‘Why—where is it? I—must have left it in the bank!’
‘Well—let’s go. The police will be interested in your story—and bring that coat with you!’
Why did Fordney suspect this man of complicity in the hold-up?
