The Two Minute Rule QUOTES

1 " Criminals did not have friends. They had associates, suppliers, fences, whores, sugar daddies, enablers, dealers, collaborators, co-conspirators, victims and bosses, any of whom they might rat out and none of whom could be trusted. "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

2 " Muthuhfuckin' muthuhfucker! I oughta come over there kick your ass myself, worryin'me like this? I got your back homes! I got your back! "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

3 " Pollard took a breath. First Maria Juarez had disappeared, and now her tape had been destroyed, the same tape Maria claimed as her husband’s alibi. Pollard found herself smiling, though without any humor. A hot breeze had picked up, but felt good on her face. She liked being on the summit. Pollard "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

4 " Mrs. Bartello opened the screen wider, her eyes bunching with sorrow. “I’m sorry. You don’t know. I’m sorry. Donna passed away.” Holman felt himself slow as if he had been drugged; as if his heart and breath and the blood in his veins were winding down like a phonograph record when you pulled the plug. First Richie, now Donna. He didn’t say anything, and Mrs. Bartello’s sorrowful eyes grew knowing. She "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

5 " Holman felt the slowness coalesce into a kind of distant calm. "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

6 " POLLARD HAD NEVER been good in the morning. Every morning for as long as she could remember—months, maybe years—she woke feeling depleted, and dreading the pain of beginning her day. She drank two cups of black coffee just to give herself a pulse. But "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

7 " During the past two months, Holman had trained part-time as a trimmer in the printing plant, which meant his job was to load five-, six-, and eight-foot-wide rolls of fabric into the printer, make sure the fabric fed square, then make sure the automatic trimmers at the end of the process made a clean cut. "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

8 " Holman studied the two cops. They were both in their thirties with solid builds and burnished faces as if they spent time outdoors. They were fit men and young, but neither had Holman’s heavy shoulders and weight. The man seated beside Holman was wearing a wedding ring. Holman "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

9 " Levy introduced them to Mike Fowler’s widow and four sons, Mellon’s wife, and Ash’s parents. All of them seemed drained, and Holman thought Fowler’s wife was probably sedated. Everyone treated him politely and with respect, but Holman still felt conspicuous and out of place. He caught the others staring at him several times and—each time—he flushed, certain they were thinking, That’s Holman’s father, the criminal. He felt more embarrassed for Richie than for himself. He had managed to shame his son even in death. Levy "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

10 " Holman looked back at Chee. He said, “Remember when you offered to front me some cash? I hate to do it, man, you being so nice with the car and this phone, but I gotta go back on what I said. I need a pack.” A pack was a thousand dollars. When banks wrapped used twenties, they bundled fifty bills to a pack. A thousand dollars. Chee "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

11 " Holman settled in, expecting her to be late. She would arrive late to establish her authority and to make sure he understood the power in this situation was hers. Holman didn’t mind. He had trimmed his hair that morning, shaved twice to get a close shave, and polished his shoes. He had handwashed his clothes the night before and rented Perry’s iron and ironing board for two dollars so he would appear as unthreatening as possible. Holman "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

12 " Chee was clearly mystified and impressed at the vagaries of the federal system. "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

13 " He said, “Have you heard of two bank hitters named Marchenko and Parsons?” Holman watched her stiffen and knew she was finally interested. Now she wasn’t just being nice or killing time until she could jump up and run. She took off her sunglasses. He saw that the skin around her eyes had grown papery. She had changed a lot since he had last seen her, but something beyond her appearance was different that he couldn’t quite place. She "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

14 " He went out the front door. The sun was blinding after being in the dim house. He walked back to Perry’s car, feeling like a boat without a rudder, trapped in a current. He had no place to go and no idea what to do. "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

15 " I know why you didn’t get the money. I was wondering how much sixteen million dollars weighs.” “I can tell you exactly. Bank gets hit, they tell us how many of each denomination was lost. Tally that up, you know how many bills; you have four hundred fifty-four bills in a pound, doesn’t matter what denominations—just do the math. This particular sixteen million weighs eleven hundred forty-two pounds.” Holman "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

16 " When long-term convicts were first released they often experienced a form of agoraphobia—a fear of open spaces. The prison counselors had a special name for this type of agoraphobia when they attributed it to convicts—the fear of life. Freedom gave a man choices and choices could be terrifying. Every choice was a potential failure. "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

17 " POLLARD CALLED IT the blood tingle. She blasted up the Hollywood Freeway, high-fiving the dashboard and pumping her fist, feeling the electric buzz in her fingers and legs that had always come with making a breakthrough in a case—the blood tingle. "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

18 " Mrs. Phelps, sixty-two years old, was overweight, dowdy, and a retired sheriff’s deputy from Riverside, California. She had moved to Culver City with her new husband, a retired Los Angeles police officer named Steven Earl Phelps, and had been a customer at this branch for only eight days. She was unarmed, but would not have reached for her weapon if she had been carrying it. Lynn Phelps knew the two A-holes robbing her bank were not professionals by the way they wasted time waving their guns and cursing rather than getting down to the business of stealing money. Professionals would have immediately grabbed the managers and had the tellers dump their drawers. Professionals knew that speed was life. These A-holes were clearly amateurs. Worse, they were amateurs who were armed to the teeth. Professionals wanted to get out alive; amateurs would kill you. Lynn Phelps checked the time again. Three-ten. One minute had passed, and these two idiots were still waving their guns. Amateurs. • "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

19 " Her face was focused and contained, as if she was concentrating on something more important than answering the door. She was slight, with dark eyes, a thin face, and prominent ears. She was wearing denim shorts, a light green blouse, and sandals. Her hair was damp, as if she wasn’t long from the shower. Holman thought she looked like a child. She stared at him with curious indifference. “Yes?” “I’m Max Holman. Richie’s father.” Holman "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule

20 " Holman held the door for a young woman leaving the bank. He smiled at her pleasantly, then stepped inside and took in his surroundings. Banks were usually busy during the lunch hour, but now it was almost four. Five customers were waiting in line for two tellers. Two manager types were at desks behind the teller cages and a young man who was probably a customer service rep manned a desk on the lobby floor. Holman knew right away this bank was a target for robberies. It had no man-trap doors at the entrance, no Plexiglas bandit barriers shielding the tellers, and no security guards. It was a robbery waiting to happen. Holman "

― Robert Crais , The Two Minute Rule