Chapter 13: Cooperation.
The bank had reopened and was busy as their members returned to the normalcy that they desired. The bank tellers, however, were still very uneasy when they went back to work and though the case was on going, most of them believed that the killer would never be found. The volume of traffic had increased, as was expected, so all of the staff members were on hand to deal with the influx of people. Most of their patrons didn't bother to bring up the events of the past weeks, or the fact that a second body had been found in as many days, but there were a few tactless people who came in chiming about the murders and wanting as much information as they could get, even though the girls that were working didn't want to talk about the sad state of affairs.
"Did you see on the news that they found another girl murdered like Leslie?" one teller whispered to another as the cue began to dwindle and the two FBI agents walked in the front doors. "She wasn't a banker and didn't even look like Leslie. Isn't it scary? This guy could go after anyone!" she continued nervously ringing her hands together, "it could be that guy that just walked in, or Mr. Butler that just left. You just don't know."
"Shh, the government just arrived," the second teller whispered as Mulder and Scully came up to her wicket and the nervous teller was wished away, nearly in tears, as her fear and anxiety came back to haunt her.
"May we speak with Mrs. Cole?" Scully asked as she looked at the nervous teller and the rest of the girls down the main line.
The girl nodded and stood from her place and rushed off to find the manager. Within moments she was back and leading Mulder and Scully back to the manager office.
"Nice to see you again, Agent Scully, Agent Mulder," Mrs. Cole said cheerfully but was still covering up her discomfort.
"Good to see you again," Scully half smiled and took a seat before the bank manager's desk.
"What can I do for you today?" Mrs. Cole asked.
"We'd like to know if you can identify this man," Mulder said as he pulled two photographs out of his file and passed them across the desk to the bank manager.
"He looks familiar," Mrs. Cole stated, "but I am so little on the front line that I couldn't be sure of whom he is. The best people to ask in this situation would be my front line staff. Would you like me to call them in here?"
"Yes, if it isn't too much of an inconvenience," Scully stated.
Mulder and Scully watched as the manager stood and walked out of her office.
"Want to bet that it is this Max character that gives all the ladies the creeps?" Mulder whispered as he and Scully were left alone.
"No, I don't, but I hope that they can identify him," Scully said and fell silent again as the door opened once more and Mrs. Cole entered with the same young lady that had first brought Mulder and Scully in.
"Do you recognize this man?" Mrs. Cole asked showing the girl the two photos.
"That's Leslie's car," The young woman gasped.
"Yes, it is," Mulder stated. "Do you recognize the man?" he asked the question a second time.
"Kinda, it might be that creeper from the porn shop," the young woman said, "but the picture is so blurry I can't be sure."
"Thank you Danielle, can you send Kristie, in here next," Mrs. Cole stated and ushered the young woman out of the office.
Kristie came next and gave the same answer, nearly crying over the sight before her and having to be sent out on her break to calm her nerves.
One by one each of the front line employees recognized the car, and gave an opinion on the figure in both photos. When they were satisfied with their investigation at the bank and the advances they had made, Mulder and Scully took their leave from the bank manager assuring her that they were making progress and that she could be confident that they would soon have answers for everyone.
The eight front line tellers sighed with relief as they watched the two government agent leave. They had all been into the office one by one and had all identified Max, or the possibility of the person in the photo being Max, but this didn't set any of them at ease. The man that they had identified had been in the branch early that morning with all the deposits and the coin orders for the porn shop, and now none of them felt comfortable knowing that he might come back.