it’s a problem, I need to know right now.”
He glanced nervously at the others. “I got no problems.”
“Good. We’re heading to San Fran.”
“What’s there?” Freddy asked.
“The mailman,” Annabelle replied.
They made the six-hour drive to San Francisco in two cars, Leo and Annabelle in one, Tony and Freddy in the other. They cut a two-week lease on a corporate condo on the outskirts of the city with a partial view of the Golden Gate. For the next four days they took turns pulling surveillance on an office complex in a posh suburb of the city. They were watching the pickups from the outdoor mailboxes that were filled to overflowing on most days, with packs of mail stacked next to the stuffed container. On each of those four days the mail carrier arrived within a quarter-hour window, between five and five-fifteen.
On the fifth day, at precisely four-thirty, Leo, dressed as a mail carrier, drove up to the box in a postal truck that Annabelle had gotten from a contact of hers an hour’s drive south. This gent specialized in providing everything from armored cars to ambulances for less-than-honest purposes. From a car she was parked in across from the mailbox Annabelle watched Leo approach in the truck. Tony and Freddy were posted at the entrance to the complex. They’d alert Leo through his ear fob in case the real mailman showed up early. Leo would only be taking the mail stacked outside the box, since he didn’t have a key to unlock the box. He could’ve picked the lock quite easily, but Annabelle had vetoed that as unnecessary and potentially dangerous in case anyone saw him do it.
She’d said, “What’s lying on the ground or sticking out of the box will be plenty.”
As Leo stacked the mail inside his truck, Annabelle’s voice came through his earpiece.
“You’ve got what looks to be a secretary running at you with some mail.”
“Roger that,” Leo said quietly. He turned and faced the woman, who looked disappointed.
“Oh, where’s Charlie?” she said.
Charlie, the regular mailman, was tall and good-looking.
“I’m just helping Charlie out because there’s so much mail,” Leo said politely. “That’s why I’m here a little early.” He looked at the stack of letters in her hands, and he held out his mail sack. “You can just dump that right in here.”
“Thanks. Payroll’s gotta go out tonight. That’s what’s in the letters.”
“Really? Well, I’ll take super-good care of them, then.” He smiled and went back to collecting the stacks as the woman returned to her office.
Back at the condo they searched through the haul quickly, dividing up the usable from the irrelevant. The letters that were of no use Annabelle had Tony take down to the corner mailbox and post. The others were pored over by Annabelle and Freddy.
When Tony came back, he said, “You guys cut loose a bunch of payroll checks. What’s that about?”
“Payroll and accounts receivable checks are useless to us,” Freddy said with the confidence of the expert he was. “They have laser locks binding the toner ink to the paper and secure number fonts so you can’t alter the dollar amounts.”
“That never made any sense to me,” Leo said. “Those are checks going out to people they
know.
”
Freddy held up a check. “This
is
what we want: a refund check.”
Tony said, “But they’re being sent to complete strangers.”
“That’s what doesn’t make sense, kid,” Leo said. “You put security stuff on checks sent out to people who work for you or you do business with. And you got zilch on checks going out to who the hell knows.”
Annabelle added, “I picked that office complex because it houses regional offices for a number of Fortune 100 companies. Thousands of checks flow out of those places every day, and those accounts are loaded with money.”
Five hours later Freddy had assembled eighty checks. “These are pretty clean. No artificial watermarks, warning bands or detection
He glanced nervously at the others. “I got no problems.”
“Good. We’re heading to San Fran.”
“What’s there?” Freddy asked.
“The mailman,” Annabelle replied.
They made the six-hour drive to San Francisco in two cars, Leo and Annabelle in one, Tony and Freddy in the other. They cut a two-week lease on a corporate condo on the outskirts of the city with a partial view of the Golden Gate. For the next four days they took turns pulling surveillance on an office complex in a posh suburb of the city. They were watching the pickups from the outdoor mailboxes that were filled to overflowing on most days, with packs of mail stacked next to the stuffed container. On each of those four days the mail carrier arrived within a quarter-hour window, between five and five-fifteen.
On the fifth day, at precisely four-thirty, Leo, dressed as a mail carrier, drove up to the box in a postal truck that Annabelle had gotten from a contact of hers an hour’s drive south. This gent specialized in providing everything from armored cars to ambulances for less-than-honest purposes. From a car she was parked in across from the mailbox Annabelle watched Leo approach in the truck. Tony and Freddy were posted at the entrance to the complex. They’d alert Leo through his ear fob in case the real mailman showed up early. Leo would only be taking the mail stacked outside the box, since he didn’t have a key to unlock the box. He could’ve picked the lock quite easily, but Annabelle had vetoed that as unnecessary and potentially dangerous in case anyone saw him do it.
She’d said, “What’s lying on the ground or sticking out of the box will be plenty.”
As Leo stacked the mail inside his truck, Annabelle’s voice came through his earpiece.
“You’ve got what looks to be a secretary running at you with some mail.”
“Roger that,” Leo said quietly. He turned and faced the woman, who looked disappointed.
“Oh, where’s Charlie?” she said.
Charlie, the regular mailman, was tall and good-looking.
“I’m just helping Charlie out because there’s so much mail,” Leo said politely. “That’s why I’m here a little early.” He looked at the stack of letters in her hands, and he held out his mail sack. “You can just dump that right in here.”
“Thanks. Payroll’s gotta go out tonight. That’s what’s in the letters.”
“Really? Well, I’ll take super-good care of them, then.” He smiled and went back to collecting the stacks as the woman returned to her office.
Back at the condo they searched through the haul quickly, dividing up the usable from the irrelevant. The letters that were of no use Annabelle had Tony take down to the corner mailbox and post. The others were pored over by Annabelle and Freddy.
When Tony came back, he said, “You guys cut loose a bunch of payroll checks. What’s that about?”
“Payroll and accounts receivable checks are useless to us,” Freddy said with the confidence of the expert he was. “They have laser locks binding the toner ink to the paper and secure number fonts so you can’t alter the dollar amounts.”
“That never made any sense to me,” Leo said. “Those are checks going out to people they
know.
”
Freddy held up a check. “This
is
what we want: a refund check.”
Tony said, “But they’re being sent to complete strangers.”
“That’s what doesn’t make sense, kid,” Leo said. “You put security stuff on checks sent out to people who work for you or you do business with. And you got zilch on checks going out to who the hell knows.”
Annabelle added, “I picked that office complex because it houses regional offices for a number of Fortune 100 companies. Thousands of checks flow out of those places every day, and those accounts are loaded with money.”
Five hours later Freddy had assembled eighty checks. “These are pretty clean. No artificial watermarks, warning bands or detection
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