Page 42 - Veritas

SCELUS FABULA- WINNER’S STORY

Ms. Ann Mariya Thomas

It was 4:00 am on the morning of 25th January 2005 when he made his
move. He knew everything, from the loose tiles in the roof of the bank to the
time when the security guard went out for his morning coffee. The ground

was doused and the mud soggy from the rain the day before. He cursed si-

lently as his boots were drenched in mud. The weather was beyond his con-
trol, and the rain was a hindrance to his plan, but that could not stop him.
No. It had to be today. The guard left for his morning coffee. Then he got

to work. He believed that to take down an opponent, you needed to identify

their weakness. That is how he carried out things. He studied and observed
the bank and its surroundings for weeks. Though the task was strenuous, he
needed to be meticulous. He observed and discovered his target’s weakness

and would act. That is how he evaded the cops. They never caught him be-
cause he was extremely cautious to leave anything behind for them to catch

Myth - Anyone in the crime scene can collect evidence on. He was a man who learned from his experiences. With each robbery, he

and anyone can take it to the laboratory. mastered his skills and filled all the loopholes he could think of. As he went
through his “infallible” plan over in his head, he crept towards the bank.

Fact - Every person who comes in contact with the Once he made sure he did not have any company there he made his way up

evidence, from the time of collection till the time of to the roof. He landed nimbly inside and took small, calculated steps till he

analysis should write down their personal identification got to the loot. The ATM stood there magnificently, beckoning him towards
information and the reason for handling the evidence in it, or so he imagined. A few tweaks and he had already cracked it open. He
started emptying the cassettes containing the money into his bag. Once he
a form called Chain of Custody which is usually attached was done, he escaped the same way he came in before the guard came back

along with the packaged evidence. from his coffee break. He left the burned open ATM box for the cops or who-

ever came in after him. A memento of him revelling in yet another successful

robbery. He made his way out of the bank without realising that he had left
something behind other than the burned open ATM box. Was it a mistake
made by a presumptuous thief or a divine intervention?

Finneas sat on his desk sipping his morning black coffee and taking a few

puffs from his cigar. It was yet another monotonous and extremely cold day
in the Greenland Sheriff’s Office. Finneas followed the same routine every

day — going to the station in the morning, enjoying his black coffee and cigar
and contemplating why he had not left this mundane job. His life as a Sheriff