No. 346

Tessa Lane was wanted for robbery.

At 12:32 that afternoon, she’d walked into the Western Credit and Savings Bank on 80^th Avenue and, after threatening the cashier with a pistol, escaped with $13,324.

Three other banks were hit in the next four and a half hours.

 

“Pull over here,” she told her accomplice. “I think we’re far enough out of town that we can stop for dinner,” she said, 200 kilometers into their getaway.

Her accomplice obeyed, and they got out of the car to stretch their legs before entering the roadside diner.

“Are you sure we’re ok to take a break?” asked Gabriel Sharp, her boyfriend and reluctant partner-in-crime

“Relax,” Tessa assured him. “Even if they suspect I’ve made a run for it, they’ll still be putting together the false clues I left at the scene. Those’ll lead them south. Besides, this place makes an excellent burger.”

 

But Tessa was wrong. An off-duty police officer on the way home from a fishing trip had seen the car pass by and had turned to follow. Beth Hitchcock had been trailing the fleeing criminals for the last hour. Backup was close behind.

Hitchcock walked into the restaurant and casually took a seat behind Tessa and Gabriel’s table. She ordered a coffee and leaned back to wait for the action to start.