Call Me!

by Kieran McGovern
Young thief leaves his business card

8.00 A.M - Chicago, Illinois

18-year old Ruben Carate walks up to the counter of Velasquez & Sons Car Repairs. Mr
Carate is wearing a mask and carrying a gun. He looks very scary.

‘Open up the safe,’ he orders. ‘And give me all the money.’

Tony Diaz is working behind the counter. ‘We can’t do that,’ he says calmly. ‘Only the
boss has the combination to the safe. And he’s not here yet.’

The young robber is not happy. ‘When is he coming in?’ he asks.

‘We’re not sure,’ say Mr Diaz. ‘Some time before lunch.’
‘But I can’t wait here all morning!’ complains the robber. ‘I’ve got things to do.’

Here's my number

‘We’ll call you when our boss gets in,’ says Mr Diaz bravely.
There is a moment of tense silence. Mr Diaz looks at the Carate. The young robber stares
back at him. He lifts his gun

Then to everyone’s amazement Carate nods his masked head. 'I'll give you my number.'
The thief carefully writes his mobile number. 'Call me when your boss arrives,' he says.

‘Okay,’ says Mr Diaz.

Mr Carate backs out of the shop. He is still waving his gun. 'Call me!’ he warns. ‘Or I'll
come back to shoot you.'
'Okay, sir.'

'I'm back!'

Later that morning Mr Diaz calls Mr Carate. He also phones the Chicago police.

Just before midday, Carate returns. He’s wearing the same clothes and the same mask.

‘I’m back,’ Carate shouts. ‘And I want the money now.’

But the man now standing behind the counter is not Mr Diaz. It’s a plain-clothes
police officer. ‘Put your hands in the air!’ he tells Carate.

Carate does not put his hands up. Instead he reaches for his gun.
The police officer draws his gun and fires. He wounds Carate in the leg.
Call Me! by Kieran McGovern
Young thief leaves his business card

Another Call

‘It's pretty funny now, but it wasn't at the time,’ Diaz says.

‘No one could make this up," adds a police spokesman.

Carate is treated in hospital for a gunshot wound. He is then charged with armed
robbery.

Now Carate needs to make another call - to his lawyer.

Quick Check: True or False

1. Ruben Carate works in a car repair shop.
2. Tony Diaz does not have the combination to the safe.
3. Carate does not want to wait.
4. Carate leaves two telephone numbers.
5. Carate is arrested for robbery.

Vocabulary
mask - covers the face * counter - where staff serve customers

safe - place to store money & valuables. Usually opened by combination of numbers

plain-clothes - not a police uniform

make this up - invent this story Wound - where skin is broken

Call Me! by Kieran McGovern
Young thief leaves his business card

Activities:
How much did you understand?

1. Who demands money? How old is he?

3. Why can’t the employees open the safe?
4. What time is the boss coming in?
5. What does the thief threaten to do
6. Who does Mr Diaz call?
7. What does the policeman ask the robber to do?
8. Where is the robber's gunshot wound? a) leg? b) arm? c) head?
9. What is the robber charged with? Who does he need to call?

Vocabulary
Ruben Carate walks up to the counter. He is wearing a mask and carrying a gun. He
looks very scary.‘Open up the safe,’ he orders.
‘Only the boss has the combination to the safe,’ says Tony.
A plain-clothes police officer wounds Carate in the leg.

Complete the table with the words in bold

secure box for money, jewellry etc

without a uniform

cover his face

special number with restricted access

cut or injury

place where you pay for what you buy

Writing
Write a sentence about each of the following
a) Ruben Carate b) the place Carate robs c) how the employees feel
d) how the police respond to Carate's message.

1. Imagine you are Tony Diaz. Write a postcard to a friend describing what has
happened to you. You may tell a different version of the story.

2. You are the policeman who shot the robber. Write a report on what happened.