It was the second bank robbery in a week. To be first to submit a report on this, I threw my trench coat over a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt and rushed to the scene.
Police cars were parked everywhere, and the bank was cordoned off. I flashed my reporter ID and entered the restricted area.
I interviewed all the witnesses I could at the bank. I jotted as much as I could down on my notebook and recorded the interviews. Many other interviewers and reporters were doing what I was doing. The only difference was that the witnesses were more willing to answer me than them, as I have observed.
"Get Ray here now!" A gruff voice ordered.
I was distracted by his voice that I nearly missed the last woman to exit the bank. I ran up to her and interviewed her. She was reluctant to answer me and burst into tears.
"The hostage just went through a trauma. We need to let her calm down first." The policeman who escorted her out said.
"Alright," I replied, keeping a keen eye on her.
I observed the bank and jotted down more notes. I took out my camera and got some pictures as well.
"I'm here, Detective." A tall man came into the scene. He was wearing casual clothes like mine, topped with a coat.
"Security systems failed, and the security cameras did not capture any footage. Go see what you can find out from the witnesses. I have a feeling we're dealing with the same robber from the last time. I've already tried to talk to the hostage. She doesn't want to talk to me," the detective said.
The tall man walked past me and went towards the hostage. I was irked because I wanted the first scoop. I watched him like a hawk. When he spoke, I pricked my ears. But every question he asked the hostage, she would not answer. Instead, she begged, "Please, don't send them to jail."
The tall man walked past me again and back to the detective.
"Stockholm's Syndrome," the tall man said.
I suddenly thought of follow-up questions for some of those witnesses I had already interviewed and ran to find them. I took more notes and decided that that should be enough information. I went to get two cups of coffee and went back to the hostage. She was sitting alone on a bench.
"Here, Miss. They said you needed to calm down. So, I got you a cup of coffee while getting one for myself. Is it okay if I sit with you?" I asked.
The hostage nodded.
I took a sip of my coffee and asked, "How can I address you?"
"Peggy."
"I'm Cara. Can you tell me what happened here?"
Peggy gave me a long stare before opening her mouth again. I was worried she would not tell me anything again.
"I got kidnapped and held hostage so the robbers could finish their job without the police interfering. I just happened to be at the bank, and they took me as the security had called the police for reinforcement. They released me after they had done their job and left."
"Were you scared?" I asked.
"At first, I was. But later, I knew they would not harm me. Please don't let them go to jail. They are good people."
I was flummoxed because how could someone who committed a crime be good? I thought perhaps they were stealing money for a charitable cause somewhere, but it certainly did not make them good by robbing a bank and making themselves notoriously wanted.
"How many people were a part of this robbery?"
She glared at me again. "Two. Please stop asking me any more questions."
"Alright." I began writing down a lot of notes for my upcoming report.
Peggy finished her coffee faster than I did.
"Thanks for the coffee." She stood up and left. I replied with a smile and wave.
I quickly finished my coffee and left the scene. I walked past the tall man again, and he called me.
"Hey." The tall man said. I paused to look around. There was nobody else.
"Me?" I pointed to myself.
"What did the hostage tell you?"
"Why should I tell you?" He could be another reporter competing with me, for all I know. Furthermore, he knew the detective, which would make his work so much easier.
"I'm a criminal psychologist tasked to solve this case. I hope you'll cooperate."
"She said that she was kidnapped and released after the robber completed their job."
The tall man nodded. The detective who was still standing around looked at my tag hanging from my neck.
"Miss Johnson, I've seen how you were able to get every witness to answer you. Would you like to help Ray on this case? You guys would make a great team and solve this case in no time."
"No," I replied instantly. There was absolutely no reason for me to take on extra work.
My response had struck the detective. "What? Surely, you know who you'd be working with?" He said.
"No," I repeated.
"Come on. He is Ray Vaughan! The famous criminal psychologist who's cracked many cases?"
"No idea."
"Never mind. You will work with him. We could use your talent to get something out of the hostage." The detective suddenly sounded so stern that I could not deny. He handed me a card with both his and Ray's number.
"Look forward to working with you," Ray said and left.
I left to the nearest café and pulled out my laptop. I quickly crafted an article and ran to the office to submit it. I was lucky that it got approved before too many articles on the same topic were submitted. I had faith my article was better.
My phone buzzed, and I got a message from Ray.
Hi Cara, come to my office tomorrow. We've to interview some people.
Ray texted and left an address to his office after that.
I replied an "Ok". I was not even sure how he got my number.
The next day, I went to his office as planned. I knocked on the door and was welcomed to a spick and span room. It was probably cleaner and neater than my own room at home. The books lying on his shelves were laid so neatly, and his desk was clutter-free.
Ray gestured for me to sit at the couch. He went to his desk and grabbed a stack of papers and passed them to me.
"You and I are going to interview them. These are just guidelines and what I need to find out." Ray said.
I never bothered reading as I flipped through the sheets and saw a ton of words.
"Sometimes I can get my interviewees to my office. Other times I have to find them in person. You'll just be aiding me." Ray added.
I looked up from the papers and processed my thoughts. I could do both my reporting job and this at the same time. I was not even getting anything in return for helping Ray. Maybe I could use it to get an inside scoop that no others would have been able to do.
"You're getting paid for this. So do a good job." Ray said.
"Okay." So, I was getting something out of this.
"Are there any questions?"
I flipped through the papers again. This time, I read at least the first few pages.
"Not for now." I knew I would never use this stack of papers.
"Ok. The first witness will be arriving soon."
The door knocked and Ray opened it. A lady walked in. She sat down and Ray began a long chat with her. The woman was one I never interviewed at the crime scene. I sat beside Ray and listened the whole time. After fifteen minutes, we were finally done. The woman had answered nearly everything that Ray asked. But, they never sounded useful to me. All she said was that she was just ending her shift and left the bank when the two men came in. The two men had their car parked conveniently where they could easily hop into and drive away.
"That's how I do it. You'll have your way, of course. Now, go find those people on the list. They should be at where detective Crawford had identified." Ray said.
I left and looked for them.