Preamble:
On August 23, 2003, a shocking robbery occurred at a small bank in Pennsylvania. A middle-aged man enters the bank with a strange device strapped around his neck. He told the bank staff to prepare $250,000 in 15 minutes, or the countdown would be set in motion with a bomb around his neck.
The man ended up getting $8,702 and left the bank. However, to the surprise of the police, he did not run away, but rummaged around in the flower beds outside the bank. When the police came forward, they found that he had a time-keeping bomb tied around his neck, and it was so complex that experts could not defuse it in a short time.
The man explained that he had been framed and had to be rescued through a scavenger hunt or the bomb would explode. Eventually, under the watchful eyes of the gathered crowd and the police, the bomb exploded and the man died instantly.
The deceased's name was Brian Wells, a 46-year-old bachelor. He had previously worked in a pizzeria for many years and had a dull life. The police found only some fragments and bodies at the scene, and the truth of the incident is a mystery.
Who and for what purpose framed this ordinary person to embark on a dead end? After investigation, the police were shocked to find that the mastermind behind the scenes was actually a woman, Qiao Mari.
15 minutes before the explosion: A paper threat sends the bank into a panic
On the afternoon of August 23, 2003, Brian walked into the bank of Ari Township in a white T-shirt and a collar-like device. The collar was covered with wires, and it counted down to the second — he had less than 40 minutes.
There were only a few customers in the bank, and most of the counters were empty. Brian struggled to one of the counters with a cane, and inside sat a young female staff member. Brian's expression was calm, and there was no panic in his gestures. He slowly pulled a note out of his bosom and handed it to the counter staff, asking her to prepare $250,000 in 15 minutes or the bomb around her neck would start the countdown.
The female staff member looked at the words on the note, shock and horror spreading across her face. She looked up at Brian, trying to find some signs of a joke on his face, but Brian was motionless and expressionless on his cane. This made her realize the seriousness of the situation and the suspicious actions of Brian.
Her gaze swept over the exposed wires and timer around Brian's neck, and she felt a vague uneasiness in her heart—could this really be a bomb? She suppressed the panic in her heart and shouted to her colleagues inside, "Andrey, there is a customer here who needs help!"
The manager inside immediately realized that something was wrong, and Andre was a code word for the bank, which meant that someone had robbed. He decisively pressed the siren, and then quickly tidied up his appearance and walked out. The man in front of him was clearly carrying an explosive device, and the most important thing now was to prevent the situation from escalating, and he had to stabilize the man's emotions.
"How much money do you need, please?" the manager struggled to calm his tone.
"It's only $250,000, get ready quickly, time is running out. Brian's tone was very flat, as if he was saying something very ordinary.
The manager looked around, and the interested customer realized that something was wrong and started to walk out. He thought for a moment and said, "I'm really sorry, we don't have enough cash, only more than $8,000...... Can you take them all?"
"Okay. Brian agreed.
The female employee at the counter hurriedly took out all the cash in the counter and put it into a white plastic bag and handed it to Brian. Brian took the plastic bag, which contained about 30 bills, and he didn't even count them, he just put them in his pocket. Then he staggered out with his cane.
The manager looked at the unfathomable back with a pale face - what is this man trying to do?
Desperate Brian: Coercion and Desperation
Instead of leaving the bank, Brian walked straight outside to the flower bed, put down the plastic bag, took out 10 of the bills and put them in his pocket, and then rummaged through the soil of the flower bed.
The police soon arrived and were puzzled when they found out all this. A bank robber stayed at the scene of the crime and did not flee?
Several policemen with weapons cautiously approached Brian: "Sir, please raise your hands and ......"
"Stop!" Brian shouted to his feet. "Stay away from me, I've got a real bomb around my neck!"
Only then did the police realize that he did have a ticking timer tied to his neck, and the exposed wiring next to it was intricate. Now I understand everything - this man is also forced to be helpless!
Brian sat back on the edge of the flower bed and began to tell the police what had happened. It turned out that he had come to this place after receiving a takeout order, and then he was kidnapped with a bomb and put this damn thing around his neck. The kidnappers gave him a treasure map marked with four treasure spots, each with a key to dispel the bomb. He has found the key to the first point. But the bomb requires four keys to unlock, so he can't leave and must find all the keys.
Brian's remarks sound absurd, but the ticking sound in his neck reminds everyone that this is a game of life and death in a race against death. Brian is struggling at the moment, and the slightest mistake will kill him.
Brian the Victim: Withdrawn and fond of scavenger hunts
Brian's most prominent labels in his life are withdrawn and monotonous.
He started working in a pizzeria at the age of 26 and stayed there for 20 years, working hard in this humble small shop. Brian is introverted, not good at talking, and a loner, and has never made any friends over the years. He lived alone in the semi-basement of a house on the outskirts of the city for a long time, and only kept a few cats as companions.
The work at a pizzeria is boring, and it's even worse for a bachelor like Brian. Fortunately, his biggest hobby is number games and various scavenger hunts. These kinds of games are both intellectually challenging and full of unknowns, which is in line with Brian's personality.
Brian's favorite thing to do in his free time is sitting alone on a park bench playing Sudoku or crossword puzzles. He also often spends the night looking for clues on the Internet and participating in real-life treasure hunts organized by various cities.
The police found a small notebook of his mobile phone in Brian's rare belongings, which was densely filled with names and numbers. Most of these are women engaged in special industries, and it seems that this middle-aged bachelor also has some unspeakable physiological needs. It's just that he is too introverted and reserved, and it is difficult for him to have intimate contact with women.
This is Brian's unique and mundane life, until someone sets a trap and forces him into a game of death.
Jomari: A cruel and shrewd woman
The police soon realized that Brian was just a pawn to be taken advantage of. The mastermind of the incident, Jomari, an ambitious and ruthless woman, is the most crucial character in this story.
Jomari was born into a wealthy family, and she was a proud woman of heaven. Beneath her beautiful and moving exterior lies a soul with complex thoughts and a lonely personality. Jomari has a hard time forming intimate relationships with people, and due to severe narcissism and a slight antisocial personality tendencies, she keeps her distance from everyone.
However, Jomari is very intelligent, and she is good at observing and tapping into the weaknesses and weaknesses of others. In order to achieve a certain goal, she can become courteous and friendly, gain trust and then kill the killer. Jomari knows how to manipulate others, playing with opponents like a cat playing with its prey.
Jomari was married to four husbands, each of whom died very suddenly and unexpectedly. The first hanged himself at home, the second was shot by her, and the third broke his neck and died...... Each time, Jomari was able to escape justice.
Her nearest husband, James, was found dead in a dilapidated refrigerator with bullets piercing his skull. Chomari once again paralyzed the police, shrewdly hiding the traces and preparing to continue the destruction of the body. Fortunately, one of her acquaintances, Bill, found out on his conscience and eventually arrested her.
Jomari is selfish and ruthless, and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. She regarded human life as a mustard and escaped justice many times, until she missed this time and was caught. Brian was just a speck of dust on her way to amassing wealth, a body that could be sacrificed.
The profit-hungry Jomari gambles his life in a game of death
The reason why Jomari did not hesitate to put people to death was for a larger conspiracy.
She has always had a poor relationship with her father, who commented that she had no one in his eyes and was difficult to get along with. Recently, he learned that his father's huge inheritance would be left to his stepmother, and Jomari's hatred grew more and more inflated. She is determined to get rid of this thorn in the flesh and hire killers to cut down the grass and root it.
However, the killer offered a price of $200,000, an astronomical amount that is almost more than the entire family of Jomari combined. It's not easy to scrape together this huge amount of money.
So, Jomari started to think crookedly and decided to get money by robbing the bank. She first contacted a high school classmate, Bill, a boy who had a crush on her. In order to curry favor with Jomari, Bill agrees to help her make a neck bomb without saying a word.
The bomb was very delicately made, but Bill kept it private—he put a hidden delay switch on it. As long as this switch is toggled in the last 1 minute, the big bang can be avoided.
Next, Jomari connected with Brian. She draws up a scavenger hunt plan to use Brian to complete the bank robbery. In order to win Brian's trust, Jomari lied that it was just a fake bomb around his neck to reassure him to participate in this seemingly exciting scavenger hunt, and promised to reward him with $10,000 for every step he completed.
For Brian, who is struggling to make ends meet, the game is like pie in the sky. As long as he does it step by step, he can make an unprecedented amount of money. So he robbed the bank of more than $8,000 in total, and then began to follow the steps on the treasure map, preparing to use the four keys to open the "fake" bomb to achieve redemption.
However, the cruel Jomari did not reveal this information in the slightest. In her mind, Brian was just a pawn to be sacrificed, and she watched coldly as the middle-aged man struggled desperately under the threat of death until he was blown up alive.
Bill, who survived, revealed the truth
As fate would have it, Bill was terminally ill and his life was in danger. He had a troubled conscience on his sickbed, and felt guilty about Brian's death. In the end, he chose to reveal the truth, which dragged the mastermind behind Chomari into the water.
In court, Bill counted all the details. He helped Jomari make a bomb because he loved her deeply, and the case would not have resulted in a fatal result because of the insurance measures he had set in place. However, Jomari will do whatever it takes to achieve her goals, and she hides the truth, leading Brian to mistakenly believe that the bomb is fake.
Bill could have stopped it in time, but he also became part of Jomari's elaborate layout. In order to protect himself, Bill can only divide the bank's 8,000 yuan in cash with Chomari and then retrieve all the keys from the last two treasure spots. This made Brian lose credibility in front of the police, as he claimed to have been given the keys to the first point.
Bill's testimony undoubtedly pushed Jomari to a dead end. Jomari quibbled that it was all planned by Bill and had nothing to do with him. But in the face of multiple evidences, the truth has been revealed.
Epilogue:
In the end, Jomari was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Life in prison was too painful for her, and she soon chose to give details of the robbery as a way to reduce her sentence.
It can be said that Brian is just a plaything and a victim of Jomari in his quest for wealth and power. She deliberately set up a game, watching Brian's struggle and death with a cold eye. Cruel and cold-blooded, it is the true portrayal of this woman.
Jomari, who thought he could escape the law, ended up planting on the evil alliance he had weaved. She miscalculated the variable of affection, and did not expect that Bill, who loved her deeply, would choose to turn himself in.
Each of us rises and falls in the torrent of fate. But only with justice in mind, integrity and benevolence is the foundation of life.