The Heist

by Carolyn LaRoche

  “I’m not sure…” Again, I waited, breath held in, for the other shoe to drop.

  “Well if you are gonna make me spell it out for you then I will.”

  A single tear travelled down my left cheek as I waited for my husband to read me my rights.

  “I don’t think it’s a very good idea for you go out running around with girls so much right now. Laura said this was your second seizure of the day and honestly, Susie, that’s just two too many.”

  A tsunami of relief washed over me. Joan hadn’t come running right over here this afternoon and told on me. Maybe she thought she was wrong? Perhaps she had second guessed herself and decided not to risk making a fool of herself with the police.

  More likely she was just waiting for the right moment to crush my world.

  But she hadn’t said anything yet. That gave me a glimmer of hope.

  I could feel Andy’s expectant eyes on me and knew I better say something soon.

  “You're right. I have been running around a lot lately. Maybe I've pushed myself too hard.”

  He reached over and took my hand. “I think it’s more than that, Susie. I think you are trying to prove to the world that you can still do everything you did before. Two major seizures should have proven to you otherwise though, don’t you think?”

  I was so relieved that was what he wanted to talk about that I would have agreed to almost anything. “All right, Andy. I will stay home for a few days and take it easy OK?”

  “And you will call the neurologist and tell him what’s been going on?”

  “I’ll do it tomorrow, I promise.”

  “I love you, honey.” He leaned over and kissed the back of my hand.

  “I love you too, Andy. I really want to go shower now though. I feel absolutely disgusting.”

  Andy chuckled. “I suppose you probably do. Go ahead. I’ll go check on the boys. Come out for dinner when you are ready. Mom made some chicken soup and biscuits.” Andy looked at me like he wanted to hug me but I didn’t want to be touched any more than he wanted to touch me at the moment so I blew him a kiss and jumped off the bed in the direction of the bathroom. I stopped at the door and looked back at him.

  Andy hesitated by the chair. Obviously, he was uncertain if he should leave me alone.

  I shot him a reassuring smile and waved him away. “I’m fine, Andy, really I am. Go on and check on the boys and I will be there soon.”

  “Are you sure, honey? Are you sure you aren’t dizzy or something?”

  “Nope. I’m fine. We just must get used to this. I have a feeling it will be a regular part of my life from now on. Go ahead, go. I won’t be long, I promise.”

  He looked relieved as he inched toward the door. “Well, if you are sure…”

  My clothes were getting clammy against my skin and I began to smell the scent of pee. I really needed to get out of my clothes and into the shower.

  “I’m sure.” I stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. “I’m sure!” I called again through the door.

  Without waiting for a response, I turned the faucet in the tub on and stripped down while the water warmed up. I couldn’t get my body soaped up fast enough. When I had thoroughly scrubbed myself clean, I allowed the warm water to wash away the suds as well as some of the stress of the day. I was worried about Laura and I was still concerned that Becca would slip up unintentionally. Claire was the only stable force and I figured that was because she was an old pro raised in a family where thievery was the norm.

  It had to be past five o’clock. If I hurried I could catch the tail end of the news and find out if they had any more on the robbery today.

  I turned the water off and pulled the shower curtain back. The bathroom had filled with steam but I could still make out a vague picture of myself in the mirror across from the tub. Dark purple circles outlined my eyes. Pale lips surrounded by even paler skin looked sick in the evening light passing through the small bathroom window. Realizing I had forgotten to turn the lights on before I got in the shower, I reached over and flipped the switch.

  “Damn, Susie. You look like hell,” I murmured to myself as I towel dried my skin. Tossing the towel over the shower curtain rod, I stepped out of the bathroom and into my considerably colder bedroom. Rustling up a pair of flannel pants and a long-sleeved top, I dressed quickly then headed to the family room to try and watch the news.

  “Hi, Mom.” A.J. greeted me as I entered the room. He sat on the floor diligently assembling a Lego kit. It looked like some sort of space ship. A.J. received several kits for his birthday in September but had not touched many of them in the months since my accident. It was such a normal thing for him to do prior to the crash that it brought tears to my eyes seeing him doing it again.

  “Hi, Sweetie. Where’s your brother?”

  “Helping Gramma in the kitchen. She’s baking cookies I think.” He never looked up from his task; he was so intent on those tiny, colored bricks.

  “Yummy…. Sounds good. I hope he brings me some when they are done.” I continued past A.J. and over to the couch where Andy had sprawled over half of it.

  “You see the news today?” he asked as I settled in next to him. The television was broadcasting a commercial promising families they would save more by shopping at a discount club.

  “No, not yet.” I worked hard to sound nonchalant. “Why? What happened?”

  He gestured toward the television with the hand holding the remote control but it was still advertisements running. “Someone robbed a bank downtown.”

  “Doesn’t that happen every other week or so?” Again, I struggled to maintain an air of disinterest.

  “Not like this.” Andy actually sounded a little impressed.

  “What do you mean?” I flipped my hair behind me and settled my head against the arm rest.

  “Four women dressed up like Lucy Ricardo stormed a Bank of Virginia. They got away with eighty grand. One of the robbers shot a bystander. Something startled her and she fired her weapon.”

  “Did the person die?” It seemed like the natural question and the one I really needed an answer to.

  “Last I heard she was in critical but stable condition. She has a little boy. Bout two years old. He saw everything.”

  “Oh no! The poor little thing!”

  “The Lucys all got away. Crime scene processed the scene but as of the end of the day they didn’t find a single piece of forensic evidence. Except the bullet that hit the woman. From what I hear, it was pretty mangled though. Doubt we could match it even to a bullet fired from the same gun.”

  “Wow! Anyone have any idea where they came from?” I totally admit to fishing for information. I wanted to know if Joan had been talking yet.

  “There’s a team of detectives on it but no one has ever seen anything like it. They haven’t found a matching M.O. anywhere in Virginia.”

  I patted my husband’s knee. “Well, they have some of the finest men in uniform working on it. I’m sure they will get the guys… or …girls.” I hoped I was completely wrong about that.

  “I know you're right. They deserve to be caught. Attempted murder, using a firearm in the commission of a felony, armed robbery. Those women are in a boat load of trouble. We will get them. I just wish something promising would show up”

  “So, there aren’t any leads?” Okay, yes, still shamelessly fishing for information.

  “Not a one. They have to be professionals. They knew exactly what to do.”

  “Only the one who actually shot the woman will go down for attempted murder right?” We might all be held accountable for Laura’s actions, even though she'd been the one that had actually pulled the trigger. I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat. I was afraid of what Andy might say.

  “We can charge them all with it. They were all there and working together.”

  I really didn’t like the sound of that at all. We definitely were going to have to stick together and make sure we never gave anything away. Now if I only knew wh
at to do about Joan.

  “I really hope that woman that got shot is going to be okay. Such a terrible thing to have happen. And, with her child there.” I meant every word.

  “They say she should pull through. I talked to the E.M.T. that transported her and he said the woman had lost a lot of blood but that the wound was a through and through. She had a collapsed lung but they don’t think it hit any other major organs.”

  “Oh, thank God. It would be such a devastating loss to her little boy if she died.” I knew Laura would be as relieved as I felt. I needed to go back to my bedroom and call her immediately so she could calm down.

  “Yeah, that is good.” Andy nodded his agreement. “Because if she dies, the charge goes to murder and those women might never see the light of day again. Once we catch them. And we will catch them.” He banged his fist on the arm of the couch for emphasis.

  Andy seemed so certain that we were going down that it made me a tiny bit nervous. We really needed to lay low for a while.

  Faking a shiver, I wrapped my arms around myself and rubbed my hands up and down my upper arms. “I’m going to grab a sweatshirt. It’s cold in here tonight. Maybe we will get that snow after all.”

  I stood up to leave the room and Andy laughed. I turned to see what was so funny and found him pointing toward the window. Huge, wet snow flakes were falling to the ground, keeping up a rather steady rate. In less than an hour, the roads would be completely covered.

  “Yeah, you might be right about that.” The sight of such heavy snow falling in Virginia Beach was something to behold.

  I walked over to the window and pressed my nose to the cold glass like a dog. The large, wet flakes were already clinging to tree branches and bushes. The tattered yard outside had begun to take on an ethereal appearance. After the stress and distress of the day, the beauty of the snow back lighted by a street light calmed me instantly.

  “A.J.!” I called to my son who was still working on his Legos. “Come see the snow!”

  “Snow? No way!” He jumped up from his spot on the floor and ran over to where I stood. “Can we go outside, Mom? Can we? Can we please?” He jumped up and down with excitement.

  “Aw, honey, not tonight. There’s no snow on the ground yet and you have school in the morning.”

  “Please, Mommy?” He looked up at me with such a sad little expression I almost gave in but I stood firm.

  “Not tonight, A.J. If the snow keeps up all night, you won’t have school tomorrow anyway so you and Sammy can play outside then until your little toes turn blue if you want.” I smiled and ruffled his hair with my hand but he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

  “Fine. I guess I can wait till then…” He made a big production of stomping his way across the room back to his Legos.

  “Don’t you worry, little man. It will be worth the wait.” Andy and I laughed as A.J. continued to frown and grumble about me being the meanest mom ever.

  “I’m going to get my sweatshirt now,” I said as I left the room.

  “Mmmhmm,” Andy mumbled as he settled in with the remote control for a long winter evening’s nap. “I’ll be right here. Not on duty tonight.”

  As soon as I got back to my bedroom, I grabbed the phone and dialed Laura’s number.

  “Hello?” Her voice sounded small and far away.

  “Hi Laura, it’s me Susie.”

  “Susie! How are you feeling?” I could hear the relief in her voice.

  “I’m fine. Just a run of the mill seizure.” I tried to laugh it off. “Thank you for bringing me in the house. I’m so sorry if I …. If I inconvenienced you at all.” What I really meant was I hoped to hell I didn’t pee in her car like I did in my bed.

  “Nothing to worry about Susie. I am just glad that you are all right.”

  “I have some decent news that I thought you might want to hear.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Andy says the woman is expected to survive. And they don’t have a single lead as to the identity of the bank robbers. We are in the clear, Laura. All we have to do is stay off the radar for a while. The woman will recover, people will forget about us and we will be free and clear.”

  “That’s great, Susie.” She definitely sounded sad and even a bit defeated.

  “Laura, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  I could tell instantly that she wasn't telling me the truth. “Seriously Laura, what’s going on.”

  She hesitated. I waited a full minute for her speak. She sniffed some, blew her nose and cleared her throat before she said anything.

  “We got a call from Mia’s doctor tonight. The tests we had done last week indicate that the cancer has metastasized to her brain. The tumor is huge and they can’t operate without killing her. She only has a few weeks left anyway. Oh God, Susie! My baby is going to die!” She broke down into tears then.

  I just sat there while she cried, with the phone to my ear, waiting for Laura to speak again. A good solid ten minutes passed and I longed to be able to reach out and hug my friend. When she could finally breathe, I spoke again.

  “How did leukemia turn into brain cancer, Laura?” I didn’t know much about cancer but I knew that leukemia was a blood disease, generally not the sort of cancer to metastasize in other organs.

  “They say it spread through the spinal cavity. The fluid in there carried the cancer cells to her brain where they went in and set up shop. There is no treatment for the tumor…” Her words fell off into a whisper.

  “Oh Laura, I am so sorry. Is there anything Andy and I can do?” I fought back tears of my own. I knew if I cried, Laura would lose it again and I could tell she already hung on by a thread. I glanced out the bedroom window. The snow still fell. The road had already taken on a thick layer of the white stuff. I was glad I didn’t have anywhere to go. On the other end of the line I heard a loud crash and shriek of terror and then Laura’s panicked voice.

  “I have to go! Susie! I should go! Mia fell! Oh God, it’s happening already!”

  “What? What’s happening?” I called into the receiver but the line went dead.

  I immediately hung up the phone and dialed Becca.

  “Hello?” Becca’s usually very cheerful voice sounded guarded.

  “Becca, it’s me.”

  “Oh, hi, Susie. What’s going on?” She sounded more like her old self when she heard my voice.

  “I just talked to Laura. Mia’s cancer went to her brain. She is going to die. Soon. Laura is a complete mess.”

  “Oh, no! How terrible!” Becca exclaimed “What are they going to do for her?”

  “Nothing. There is nothing that they can do. She is going to die.”

  “How is Laura doing?” Becca finally asked.

  “How do you think she is? This has been one hell of a day for her.”

  “I guess she’s not doing so great, is she?” I could hear the hint of tears in her voice.

  “No. It’s going to be a very difficult couple of weeks. She is going to need us to get through it. Anyway, I called her to tell her that Andy said there are no leads.”

  “No leads? That’s awesome! So, we are in the clear?’

  “As clear as can be for right now. We need to lay low for a while but I think if we do that and keep our mouths shut, we should be fine.”

  “Okay. If you say so. I don’t feel very good about it anymore though. In the beginning the whole idea had been kind of fun and it didn’t seem like we were really hurting anyone except the banks. But now…. Well, someone did get hurt this morning and it’s only by the grace of God that she didn’t die. How do we live with that?”

  “Very quietly,” I replied. In a way, I agreed with Becca. The Lucy thing had lost its appeal very quickly today. “We have to keep things to ourselves and pretend like it never happened. Maybe we should see Claire tomorrow and have her give us our shares. Then we can forget about it for a while—go back to normal life.”

  “Maybe we should. Let’s g
o over first thing in the morning. I think I am ready for a break anyway. I am really not feeling very good about what happened this morning.” When Becca repeats herself it is never a good thing. It’s like a warning system and I was hearing bells and whistles sounding loud and clear. Becca was a weak link, I could feel it. We needed to move on as quickly as possible and get her focused on something else for the sake of all our futures.

  “I’m going to call Claire when we get off the phone. Let’s meet there at half past nine in the morning.”

  “Okay. See you then. What about Laura?” she asked.

  “I think she is going to be a bit busy tomorrow. I will get her share to her. Let me go so I can call Claire. See you in the morning.”

  “Right. ‘Bye!” The click of the line going dead on Becca’s end reverberated in my ear. I immediately dialed Claire’s number.

  “Hullo?” Claire’s accent sounded out of breath.

  “Hi Claire, it’s me, Susie.” I glanced at the clock by my bed. Almost six thirty. A growl in my stomach reminded me that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I wondered what she could possibly be doing at that time of night to be so breathless.

  “Oh!” She exclaimed in obvious surprise. “Hello, Susie. How are you?” Oddly enough, her British accent had all but disappeared.

  “I just talked to Laura. Mia is far worse than anyone thought. She only has a week or two left. Becca and I think that we should play it cool for a while. Give Laura a chance to work through her family issues and cool the heat on us for the shooting today.”

  “I thought that we had already decided that this afternoon.” A loud crash sounded in the background and I heard Claire curse under her breath.

  “We did. Is everything okay there, Claire? I just heard a loud bang.”

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Everything’s fine. Must have been outside. I didn’t hear anything.” I could tell she lied to me but her tone of voice said that there was no way she was going to tell me the truth.

  “Well, if you are sure.” But I was doubtful. “Becca and I are coming over in the morning to get our shares of the money. I will get Laura’s to her as well. I want to go and see Mia tomorrow too so I can bring it over to her house. They will definitely be needing it now.”