The empty money truck left the bank before noon. The drivers had delivered the money parcels in the back door, which opened by a coded device. In this security environment, Benjamin Hammer, the bank's owner and president, always signed to confirm the arrival of the money as it went into the large safe. 

Roberto called in at 11 o'clock from public call station. Benjamin Hammer was back in his office.

"Roberto…We've got a bit of an emergency," Benjamin Hammer said. "There's a woman who says the dead man wanted her to have the money.  I've looked all over. Apparently he was a diplomat, and was also in the senate, even spoke to Canada's parliament once. I couldn't find any published records mentioning her, but she says she has proof. She called this morning. She's coming in with it at 2 o'clock. I had to give her an appointment. I must see what proof she has. I'm sorry, Roberto. I really hope it's nothing."

"That's…Benny, that's really too bad." Roberto didn't know how to react. thought of his daughter Sonia, who he had promised a birthday skirt. And he thought of his wife Angela last night, under the blanket... "Benny…you're the expert on these things…But… Perhaps we could find some kind of compromise, and just take half of it. Half is good with me."

"I've got to be careful, Roberto. They watch bank presidents closely as mayors," said Benny. "If it looks like she has absolutely nothing, though, we'll do it soon. Like we planned."

Roberto decided he would go into the bank at 2 o'clock, just to see what the woman looked like. He would know if she was false because the chemicals in her body changed the color of her skin just a little. He was good at that.  So at after 1 o'clock he went to a small eating place across the street from the bank. He could wait here until just before 2 o'clock. There were three other people at tables, all drinking coffee. All waiting. 

"You could have another piece of desert, Daddy." Sandra announced to her father.

"Don't need a piece of desert. We're on diets, remember?" he said, nervously. "Did you fuel up the vehicle?"

"You're going insane waiting, Daddy. Yes, I've fueled up the car and laid out our things in the trunk so we can pull them out quickly before we go in…I think I'll have that other piece of desert. It will keep my mind off depression, thinking about my mother in jail."

"You should be substituting vegetables for fat deserts," her father said, as if an extra desert was treason.  He was trying to restrain her consumption. "You get to be a fat girl, you won't have to fight off all the men," he said.

"Good! That is better than doing sit-ups every day to get rid of every ounce." Sandra said, getting up to go to the counter. There was one piece of desert left.  As she reached for it, Roberto reached for it at the same time. He was dressed well, with a jacket and tie.

"Oh sorry," said Roberto. "I guess there is only one."

"You can have it," said Sandra.

"No you can have it. I don't really need it. I was just waiting."

"Me too.  I don't really need it. And I was just waiting, too."

Sandra smiled. "Whoever has to wait the longest gets the plate of desert."

"I'm waiting until two," he said.

"Me too," she said.

"Me, too," said the woman behind her. "I hope our appointment is not with the same person."

"Who is that?" said Roberto.

"The bank president, Benjamin Hammer."

Ah ha…the mystery woman! thought Roberto. He said, "That must be important."

"You take the desert. I had one already," said Sandra, turning away.

Sandra went back to her father. She spoke very lowly. "They have real appointments in the bank at 2, and they've seen us here already."

"But they won't know who we are then any more than they do now."

"But they know we're planning on going in at 2."

Her father looked at her strangely. "How do they know that?"

Sandra said, "I told them. Well…we wanted the same plate of desert. At least the man did."

Her father thought for a minute. "Well, if they know we were waiting here, and they know what we look like, and they know we plan to go to the bank at two…."

"So what? That doesn't condemn us to failure here." said Sandra. "Anyway, they're not police troops. They're just neutral citizens. That shouldn't make us halt anything."

"I guess not," he said. "But I don't like it. We ought to go in earlier than 2 o'clock."

Meanwhile, Roberto sat down at the woman's table, fluidly. "Do you mind?"

"No, that's fine. I thought the traffic and the parking would be difficult, so now I'm very early."

Roberto looked at his watch. "Half an hour. Have you met with him before?"

"No, I'm just coming to straighten some things out. A man died who looked after me. I worked cleaning his house. He said he would leave his money to me to start an eating place when he died."

Roberto saw a bit of hope. "How large an eating place?"

"I don't know. Maybe as large as this one."

"He didn't say how large?"

"He said here in this letter to give me money." She pulled the letter from the envelop and slid it across the table to Roberto. "But I just hope the bank president can accept this. It doesn't have an important stamp on it or anything."

Roberto read the letter. It said: "Please leave to Mrs. Mendez all the money remaining in my account at your bank, so that she has enough money to buy an eating establishment." And it was signed by the man who was now dead.

"Well, they may not accept this, because it has no stamp. Anyone could have written this and signed it like the man would sign it."

Mrs. Mendez face fell. It appeared her hopes were falling too.

"But I know Mr. Hammer," said Roberto. "He is a good man. I'll call him before you go in and perhaps he will have a way to help by then. Excuse me, while I step outside to be private."

"Oh thank you, thank you. You will be my ally. I am so happy to have your help."

Roberto went outside with his cell to talk, just as the older man and the young woman were leaving. They started over toward a parked car just down the street.

Roberto told Benny's secretary that he needed to talk immediately. "Benny, listen, we've still got a chance.  I've got a link for us here. I was talking to the woman here…."

"What? The woman who is coming to see me?"

"I'll tell you later how it happened. It was about a desert at first…I'll tell you later. Anyway, she has a letter that says he wants to give her what is in her account so she can get an eating place. Like the one across the street from your bank. I'm there. I saw the letter. It says 'all that is left in my account at your bank, so that she has enough money to buy an eating establishment.'"

There was some silence on the other end. "So how much do you think? $200,000?"

"Benny….export all but $500,000…She'll be so happy with that... Don't bleed it dry, Benny. That much doesn't injure us at all." Roberto had electricity in his voice.

"So you've got to get in and do this before 2 O'Clock."

"Right…" said Roberto looking at his watch. "That would be right now.

Roberto hung up and stuck his head back in the door. "Mrs. Mendez, if you could pay for the desert, I'm going to run on ahead and see if I can help Mr. Hammer on this matter before you come at 2. He needs me to tell him that you are of good character. Things like that."

"Oh yes, oh yes…Thank you so much, for being my champion," said Mrs. Mendez.

Roberto noticed something slightly different about the color of her skin, but he had to go quickly now. He was hurrying past the older man and younger woman as they opened the trunk of their car. He saw them take out two hand guns. They looked up and saw Roberto looking at them. They turned the guns toward him. Their smiles had turned vicious.

Now Roberto was surprised. "I'm sorry about the desert. Really I am. It wasn't worth a bullet!"

                                        (Continued in Lesson Y)

Ready-to-Use

a.      vicious: vicious circle  "It's a vicious circle if two people always must have the last word."

b.     jacket: straight jacket  "Often vicious prisoners have to be tied into straight jackets."

c.      environment: environmental protection "Clean air is one goal of environmental protection."

d.     link: make a link to something  "We'll make a link from this page to a page with sounds."

e.      emergency: emergency room "When you are badly injured, you should go to the hospital's emergency room."