Uncommon Thief

by William Manchee

  Chapter 18

  Saying Goodbye

  Fred was looking forward to the weekend to relax and do some serious thinking. Since he hadn't got up the nerve yet to tell Maria their relationship was over, he was planning to juggle the weekend between her and Candy. On Saturday morning, he slept late, as he planned to meet Maria at noon for lunch. When he went outside to get the paper, he noticed a man in a suit sitting by the pool, reading a magazine. He figured the man was the FBI agent assigned to keep an eye on him.

  Maria and Fred went to Denny's for lunch, and then they had planned to go to the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art. As they were leaving the restaurant, he noticed two men in dark suits standing outside the restaurant reading their newspapers. He recognized both of them. One of them had been outside his apartment earlier in the day, and the other agent was the man he had seen the previous week staking out the San Bernardino branch of Bank USA. Having two agents assigned to him was a major concern. Why have they assigned a second agent to me? Are they getting ready to arrest me? Did they discover some incriminating evidence in the bank? He looked back and saw them walking fifty yards behind them.

  "Oh, shit,” he said under his breath.

  Maria gave him a funny look and said, "What's wrong with you? You look like you saw a ghost."

  "Nothing. . . . Nothing's wrong," he assured her. "Let's get to the museum before it gets crowded."

  "Okay, honey. You sure you're alright?"

  "Yeah, let's go."

  They found their car and took off down Wilshire Boulevard. He kept an eye on the rearview mirror and immediately observed a dark blue sedan following them, the same car he’d seen in San Bernardino.

  "Damn," he inadvertently blurted out.

  "What's wrong?" Maria asked again.

  He rubbed his forehead, as if he were in pain, "I have a headache."

  Maria gave him a concerned look. "Do you want to go home?"

  "No, I’ll be okay. It will go away in a minute."

  "Are you sure? I'm worried about you."

  He looked over at her and sighed. "Maria, I love you."

  "I love you too. But what's wrong?"

  Tears began to well up in his eyes, and he struggled to keep from crying. "Maria, something has happened. I’m in terrible trouble."

  "Huh? What it is it?" Maria asked, on the verge of tears herself.

  "I can't tell you. If I did, it would be dangerous for both of us. I may have to leave town soon."

  "Leave town? What are you talking about?" Maria asked, beginning to sob.

  "I’m going to take you home now. I don't know when I will see you again. I wish I could explain everything to you, but I can't."

  "I'll go with you."

  "I can't let you quit school and give up everything just because my life is screwed up. Besides, you may not want to be with me after you find out what I’ve done."

  "Is this about the bank robbery, Fred?"

  "Don't ask. The less you know, the better. It's for your own good."

  "I can't bear to think you'll be gone and I won't even know where you are."

  "I'll call you from time to time to let you know I am alright. I can't call you at the dorm, though, because the phone will probably be tapped."

  "Damn it, Fred, how could you let this happen? Our life was so perfect!"

  "This isn't something I planned, honey. I know it will sound like a lame excuse, but I really was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

  "So what am I supposed to do without you?" Maria sobbed.

  "I don't know how long I will be gone. I may never be able to come back. You need to forget you ever met me."

  "You can't forget someone you love."

  "I know, but you've got to try."

  When they arrived at Maria's dorm, Fred parked the car. They sat silently for a while, not wanting to leave each other. "You've got to be strong," Fred said. "You'll get through it."

  "No! This can't be happening! You can't do this to me—to us!"

  "I am sorry, babe. I am really sorry, but it’s out of my control."

  After a minute, he got out of the car, walked around to Maria's door, and opened it. "Come on. I'll walk you inside." Taking Maria's hand, he escorted her inside the dorm. They embraced, he told her he loved her, and left. As he looked back, she turned and slowly walked away. He wondered if he’d ever see her again.

  As he drove home, he questioned if he had done the right thing. He hadn't planned to say goodbye right then to Maria, but he just couldn't lie to her anymore. It was better for her to be rid of him and all his troubles, even if it hurt for a while. There was no telling what the future held for him, but the most important thing was to protect her from whatever it might be.

  He looked in the rearview mirror and saw that the dark blue sedan was still following him. Why are they following me? Are they worried I’ll flee the country, or do they think I’ll lead them to the stolen money? They must not have enough on me to arrest me, or they would have done it by now. But how will I know when they do have enough? Can I afford to wait around for them to nab me? Fred’s mind was racing, trying to analyze every aspect of his desperate situation. By the time he’d gotten back to his apartment, he had worked himself into a frenzy. He needed to talk to someone, so he decided it was time to call Randy back. As he was about to pick up the phone, he remembered it was probably bugged.

  He remained in the apartment for a few minutes, just for the appearance of normalcy and then he got back into his car to go call Randy. After driving around for ten minutes he stopped at a convenience store and used the pay phone.

  "Hey, Fred. What's up?"

  "Remember our last conversation?"

  How could I forget?"

  "The time has come, I’m afraid. The situation is getting desperate. I need your advice."

  "Well, my suitcase is packed. I can be on a plane within an hour or two."

  "Good. So you’ll be home late tonight?”

  “Right. My mom will pick me up. Do you want to meet tonight at the airport?”

  “No. That won’t work. Meet me at Meyer Beach tomorrow morning at nine. You know. . . . where we used to camp out."

  "Yeah, okay."

  "See you then."

  The next morning Fred was up bright and early. He was eager to tell Randy everything. Keeping it all bottled up inside him was killing him. It would have been a pleasant ride for him along the coast had it not been for the FBI tail. He found it rather unsettling to have someone following him. When he arrived at Meyer Beach, Randy wasn’t there yet, so he found an empty picnic table and sat down to wait. It was a warm day, but a cool ocean breeze made it quite pleasant. There were quite a few sunbathers lying out soaking up the sunshine. He could see a group of surfers gathered on a point where the waves were the biggest. The setting brought back pleasant memories of past experiences on that very same beach, and Fred recalled them with a smile. After a few minutes, he spotted Randy's Volkswagen pulling into the parking lot, so he got up and went to meet him. They shook hands and gave each other a short embrace.

  "Thanks for coming,” Fred said. “Sorry to drag you away from school."

  "Nonsense. That’s what friends are for, right?"

  "Let's take a walk. I've got the FBI following me."

  "Really?" Randy said as he looked around nervously.

  "I am afraid so."

  "Is this about the bank robbery I read about?"

  Fred nodded. "Before I say more, I need to warn you that what I am about to tell you could be dangerous for both of us."

  "You know I would die before I’d betray your confidence."

  "I know. That's why I am here. I've got to talk to someone, and you are the only one I can trust, but if you didn't want to get involved, I would completely understand. It’s totally unreal stuff."

  "I am already involved. You’re my friend, Fuller, so just tell me what in the hell's going on."

  "You read about the bank robb
ery in San Bernardino, right?"

  "Yeah. It was in all the papers."

  “You remember when I told you someone was trying to set me up?"

  "Uh huh.”

  "Well, whoever it was stashed a million dollars in my car, hoping I’d get caught with it and take the fall for the bank robbery.”

  “Oh my God! A million bucks?”

  “Right. A little more than that actually.”

  “But someone was killed in that robbery, weren’t they?" Randy asked in a deadly serious tone.

  "Yeah, Harvey Hamlin. So now, if they tie me to the robbery, I’ll be charged with murder too.”

  "What did you do with the money?"

  "Remember I told you about that old abandoned mining camp called Devil's Canyon?"

  "Oh yeah."

  "It's there."

  "Damn. . . . and I thought I was the wild one."

  "Upstaged you on this one, didn't I?"

  "What in the hell are you going to do now?"

  "That's what I want you to tell me."

  "Yeah, right. That’s what I was afraid you’d say."

  "So far, they’ve just been tailing me, so I guess they don't have enough to arrest me. The question is, do I sit tight and hope they never get enough or lose the tail and get the hell out of the country?"

  "It's too dangerous to hang around, I’m afraid. If they discover that you have the money, they’re not likely to believe you were set up.”

  "I know. That’s why I buried it.”

  “Without the money, what evidence do they have against you?”

  “I don’t know what evidence they could have. I’m just afraid the robbers might have planted some evidence to lead them to me."

  "Yeah, and if they did, you're sunk."

  "Where should I go?"

  "They would probably expect you to go to Mexico since it's close by. They are probably watching the border pretty closely."

  "The airports are obviously out of the question," Fred said.

  "Canada. If it were me, I'd go to Canada," Randy said.

  "Why Canada?"

  "They'll just think you're another draft dodger if you go up there. You wouldn't be so conspicuous. . . . plus, they speak English in Canada."

  "The U.S. has extradition treaties with Canada," Fred pointed out.

  "Well, with all that money, you should be able to buy a new identity without much trouble."

  "I’m going to take Candy with me, if she'll come."

  "That's probably a good idea. Aside from the fact that you'll have some pleasant company, a man and a woman traveling together are less conspicuous than a man alone. The only question is; can you really trust her?"

  "Yeah, I think so. She'll love the adventure, particularly when she finds out we're millionaires."

  "Keep a close eye on her, buddy. You may not know her as well as you think."

  "I will."

  "Listen, I need to lose the Feds. Got any ideas?"

  "Yeah. Take a walk down the beach, and I will disable their car while you're gone. When you come back, they won't be able to follow you."

  “You sure? If you get caught, they’ll arrest you.”

  “Don’t worry. They won’t see me.”

  "Alright. Thanks a lot."

  "Good Luck."

  They gave each other a hug, and Randy pretended to drive off but actually only drove out of sight and then parked and waited. Fred took off his shoes and started to walk down the beach with the agents following closely behind. Two girls were walking along the beach ahead of him, so he hurried to catch up with them. "Hi. Mind if I walk with you a minute?” he asked. “I’m Fred.”

  "Hi, Fred," one of the girls responded with a smile.

  "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

  "Yeah, it is."

  "You girls go to school around here?"

  "No. We go to USC."

  "Oh no, the enemy. I go to UCLA."

  "Well, I guess we won't hold that against you."

  "You’re so kind."

  "So what can we do for you, Fred?"

  "I was just feeling a little lonely when I spotted you two gorgeous women walking down the beach. Just seeing you picked up my spirits so much. I just wanted to thank you."

  The girls giggled, and the vocal one responded, "That's a pretty good line, but we’re on our way to meet our boyfriends."

  "Oh no. Now you've ruined my day."

  "Sorry."

  "Well, can I just walk with you a minute? I want to meet these lucky guys."

  "I guess so. . . . if you really want to."

  Fred looked back. The Feds were about 100 yards behind him, and he could see in the distance that Randy was working on their car. When he saw that Randy was finished and had left, he thanked the girls, turned around, and walked back toward his car. As he walked past the Feds, he nodded, smiled, and casually said, "Good afternoon.”

  "Afternoon," one of them responded with a nod.

  When Fred got back, he jumped in his car and took off. A moment later he looked back in his rearview mirror and saw that the road was clear. "Free at last," he said. "Thank God!"