Inspector Loop Visit America

The Director looked at his watch as Ulnar and Geoffrey were discussing his safety. 'Inspector. Mr. Cambridge,' he interrupted, 'because of the time, would you do me the honor of joining me for lunch?'

The other two exchanged looks with one another. Then Ulnar said, 'We'd be delighted to.'

The three of them left Dickinson's office, and after a brief word from the Director to Special Agent Adams, they continued through the outer office. They turned left in the hallway and walked to the elevators. They took one down to the cafeteria. Upon entering the cafeteria, they went back to an area reserved for the Director, his immediate assistants, and his distinguished guests. The three of them went directly to a small buffet that had been set up.

Charles chose a small salad because of his diet. Ulnar and Geoff both took a meat dish along with a small salad, as these items looked to be halfway edible.

'Hmm, for a change the government cooks put out some food that is somewhat fit for consumption,' the Director mumbled.

Geoff agreed for the two of them, by making a polite noise, with Charles. There was not much conversation while they ate, except to remark on the beautiful view that was available from this side of the building. Small talk consisted of how Geoffrey was enjoying his tour of duty as a liaison officer at the embassy for law enforcement agencies; also, they discussed some of the other cases that Ulnar handled when he was with Scotland Yard.

While this was going on, a tall, slim man, who was starting to lose his hair, came scurrying over to their table. He was the Special Assistant Director of the FBI, Melvin A. Noma, whose main job was to not only oversee the training schools at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia, but to act as a special trouble shooter for Director Dickinson. However, this time he had just recently returned from a trip to the Pearl Harbor Naval Base located in Oahu. The reason for this particular bit of trouble shooting was to check on an ongoing investigation of a highly placed naval person who was suspected of spying for a far eastern country.

Melvin had just finished dictating his report to his boss when he received a phone call from the Boston Field office. According to the Special Agent in Charge (SAC), the 1st Bank of Boston and the Paul Revere Bank had been robbed at gun point. He also told Melvin that a fax was being sent on the newspaper report of the crime.

Melvin stopped by the Director's right side. Dickinson looked up at him, smiled, and said, 'Gentlemen, this is my right hand man, Special Assistant Director Melvin Noma. Mel, this is Inspector Ulnar Loop, formerly of New Scotland Yard and his assistant, Geoffrey Cambridge.'

'Gentlemen,' he said while shaking their hands. Then, turning to the Director, 'Charles, could I have a few minutes of your time?'

'Certainly; please excuse me for a few minutes, gentlemen.'

'Of course,' said the Inspector.

The two men walked through the cafeteria, out into the hallway, and then to a conference room that was nearby. There, in privacy, Agent Noma delivered his report from Boston. 'Charles, there've been two more bank robberies up there.'

'When did they happen?'

'Day before yesterday. Normally, we'd have had a report on it at the end of the month from our field office up there. But the agent in charge, Bill Williams, decided to send it early, along with this small news clipping.' He handed the fax of the news clipping over to the FBI Director and continued with his report as Charles studied it. 'Bill's been working real close with the Boston P.D. on this.

So far there have been six of these robberies. Hitting two banks on the same day though, that's a first. And it's the first time that the perps have hit in Boston. All the others have been in the surrounding towns. You know, the small branch banks, the ones that forget to put film in their cameras, or even have the cameras on.'

'Did they all go down the same way?'

'No, the others had the people in stocking masks. This one had them with overcoats, hats and sunglasses. They handed notes to the tellers.'

'Then how'd you know they're the same bunch?'

'Bill was going through all the reports at the time and saw that in the other cases the men had accents when speaking English. But, to talk with each other, they'd switch to another. One of the clerks believes that it was Gaelic.

'Why?'

'She's married into an Irish family and heard something that sounded like it once at a family reunion a few years back.'

'Okay, then, where's the connection?'

'The same was done at one of the banks this time. Men with what appeared to be Irish accents and spoke in a strange language to each other.'

'Anything else?'

'Except for the pump shotguns, and you know a lot of these mutts use those, there's nothing, Charles. But Bill's getting a full report together, including copies of all the police reports and all of his people's reports.'

(205 pages)