Uncommon Thief

by William Manchee

  Chapter 31

  Return to Devil’s Canyon

  The next morning, Maria and Fred went home to Ventura to see their parents, as they knew they were all very worried about them. Since they were paranoid about their conversations being monitored, they played the radio as loud as they could stand it and didn’t talk about anything sensitive. There were some things they needed to discuss, so on the way to Ventura, they stopped at Meyer Beach so they could talk privately.

  It was a cool day but, without the usual sea breeze, it was pleasant enough. Seagulls squawked overhead, and the sound of the tide rolling in soothed their battered nerves.

  "How are you going to pay Joel for your defense?" Maria asked.

  "Well, I've got $5,000 I’m going to give him."

  "Don't trials like this cost a lot more than that?"

  "Yeah. Joel doesn't seem to be worried about it."

  "He isn't now, but down the road, he's going to expect you to raise some money for your defense."

  "I guess you're right. I don't know what I am going to do."

  "We're going to have to go get some of that money. Where did you stash it?"

  "Are you serious?"

  "Yes. What choice do we have? You’re going to have to hire private investigators, expert witnesses, and pay court reporters for depositions. If you want Roberts to defend you well, it’s going to get costly. Where do you have it stashed?"

  "It's at a place called Devil's Canyon."

  “Devil’s Canyon? I’ve never heard of it.”

  “That’s why I buried it there. It’s not on any tourist map. It’s out in the middle of the Mojave Desert.”

  "Then I guess we'll have to go to Devil's Canyon."

  "But the FBI is all over us." Fred turned around and looked back down the beach. "Look there, . . . they’re not even 100 yards behind us. We wouldn't stand a chance getting away from them."

  "It would be easy to sneak away during the night and be back before they noticed us."

  "How do you mean?"

  "Well, I'll drive my car over near your apartment tomorrow afternoon. Then I'll get a taxi or take the bus back to the dorm. When you come to pick me up, we'll go out just like we always do, except I will come home with you to your apartment. The FBI will just think you got lucky. During the night, we'll sneak out and run to my car."

  “Hmm. It might work,” Fred agreed.

  They finally ended their stroll on the beach and continued their journey to Ojai to see Maria's parents. Fred didn't know what he was going to say to them. He still couldn't believe they put their house up for collateral on his bond.

  When they drove up in front of the house, Maria's sister Jessica was sitting on the front porch. She ran over to Maria as she stepped out of the car. "Maria! Maria! You're finally home."

  "Yes, I am, you little squirt."

  "You've been gone for so long. I've missed you,” she said and then gave Fred a hard look. “Oh, hi, Fred. You're in big trouble. I've seen you on TV. They say you're going to prison for the rest of your life."

  Fred’s heart sank from the jolt of her blunt remark. Kids are so brutally honest, he thought. He knew she was right, though, because his future did look pretty bleak. He walked past her as if he hadn’t heard whatgoo she said.

  "Jess! That is very rude. Don't you dare talk to Fred like that," Maria admonished. "Fred is innocent, and he won't go to prison."

  "But they said so on TV."

  "Jess! No more talk about that."

  By this time, Mary and John Shepard had appeared on the front porch. Maria approached them anxiously and gave them both a big hug. Fred followed right behind, treading cautiously.

  "Hi, Fred," Mrs. Shepard said.

  "Hello. It's so good to see both of you."

  "You've had a tough week, I guess, son," Mr. Shepard said.

  "It's been pretty rough. I want to thank both of you for what you did for me. I’m just overwhelmed by your generosity and the trust you have shown in me."

  "Well, you can thank Maria. She convinced us you were worth the risk," Mrs. Shepard said.

  "I'm sure she did a little arm twisting, but nevertheless, you didn’t have to agree to it.”

  “A little arm breaking is more like it,” Mr. Shepard noted.

  Fred laughed. “I bet, but I want you to know I will be forever grateful for what you did."

  "You’re welcome. Just don't skip the country now," Mr. Shepard said with a little hint of anxiety.

  "Don’t worry. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your home."

  "When is your trial?" Mrs. Shepard asked.

  "I don't know yet. I don't think it’s been set."

  "Do you have a good lawyer?"

  "Oh yes, the best. His name is Joel Roberts. He used to work for the DA’s office, so he knows what he is doing. I knew him from Congressman Bartlett's campaign. He just recently went into private practice."

  "He sounds expensive."

  "I don't know. We haven't talked much about money so far."

  "Are your parents going to help you out?"

  "No. My dad is retired, and they barely have enough to live on."

  "Maybe Mr. Roberts will do the case just for the publicity."

  "I hope so."

  "Alright, enough trial talk," Maria said. "Give Fred a break. Let's change the subject."

  That night, Fred slept on the sofa, and Maria slept in her old room. Despite all they had been through, Maria was still dead set on being a virgin on their wedding night—if they ever had a wedding night. The next morning, they got up early and headed back to Santa Monica, as it was time to carry out Maria’s plan. Before they left, they searched the car thoroughly for bugs but found nothing.

  “You know, if we get caught, they’ll think we were trying to escape and revoke my bond. Your parents could lose their house.”

  “I know. We’ve got to be careful—very careful.”

  “Maybe we should forget it. I’ve caused everyone enough grief already. God, if your parents lost their house, I think I’d kill myself.”

  “Fred, this is your life and our future we’re talking about here. Without money, you’re going to get a half-ass defense and end up in prison. We don’t have any choice.”

  “You’re right, but I’m just scared something will go wrong.”

  “Listen, I don’t like this one bit either. You don’t think I’m scared? If we get caught, I’ll go to jail, too, you know.”

  “So why help me?”

  “Because I had the misfortune of falling in love with you.”

  “Your luck is almost as bad as mine.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Fred dropped Maria off at her dorm and went back to his apartment. Maria used the back entrance, moved undetected to her car, and drove away toward Santa Monica. She parked her car three blocks from Fred’s apartment and then called a cab to take her back to the dorm. She had the cab driver drop her off in front of the Student Union so she could sneak in the back door of her dorm without anyone knowing she had been gone.

  At five that evening, Fred drove over to Maria's dorm and picked her up to go out for dinner. They stopped at an Italian restaurant in Westwood and then went back to the apartment. Wherever they went, the dark blue FBI car followed them. When they were in the apartment, an agent was stationed in the adjacent courtyard. They walked into the apartment and closed the door.

  Fred turned on the TV so they could whisper without risk of being overheard. "Okay,” he said, “are you ready?”

  “I guess so.”

  “We’ll need a distraction. Fortunately, we usually get one each night about now. Our neighbors like to make love after dinner. They do it every night like clockwork. The woman is very noisy, and they never shut their windows.”

  “Are you serious?” Maria giggled.

  “Yes. Get ready.”

  A few moments later, the neighbors began their naughty nightly performance. The shameless woman be
gan to moan and pant and carry on such that the entire apartment complex could hear her. Two minutes later, Fred and Maria opened up their back bedroom window and made their escape. Before long, they were driving away with no dark blue car in tow. Their plan had worked, and they were alone at last! Fred looked at his watch and saw it was nearly eight, which meant they had twelve hours to make it to Devil's Canyon and back to avoid detection.

  “That was quite a performance. You say that happens every night?”

  "Pretty much.”

  "That’s so funny,” she said, closing her eyes and settling back in her seat. “How long until we get to this Devil's Canyon place?"

  "About four hours."

  "I am going to sleep. Wake me when we get there."

  "Okay."

  It was a beautiful night. The traffic was light, and the humming of the tires rolling down the road had Fred almost in a trance. For some reason, time flew when he was driving. Before he knew it, they were in Palm Springs, halfway there. Fred decided to get gas since stations beyond Palm Springs were few and far between.

  Maria woke up when they stopped. "I've got to pee," she informed him.

  "There's a bathroom around the side. You’ll have to get the key from the desk."

  When Maria returned, she still looked half asleep. "I'm hungry," she complained.

  "Well, what do you feel like?"

  "I don't care. Just feed me something."

  "How about a hamburger at Foster Freeze?"

  "Okay, and a large order of fries, a Coke, and a dipped cone for dessert."

  Fred laughed. “I guess you are hungry.”

  “I’ve been so sick since you took off on me that I haven’t felt like eating. Now that I’ve got you back, I’m famished.”

  They drove down the street to Foster Freeze. Once inside, they placed their order and found a booth in the corner.

  "How much farther do we have to go?" Maria asked.

  "We're halfway there."

  "Is a million bucks heavy?"

  "Yeah, a little bit."

  "I've never seen even $1,000 dollars. I can't imagine what a million looks like."

  "It actually doesn't look like that much money."

  "Did you count it?"

  "Every dollar."

  "I can’t believe we're millionaires."

  “We?”

  “Well, you better share it, mister.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Hmm.”

  "Unfortunately, we have to be careful how we spend it,” Fred noted. “Any unusual spending, and the Feds will be all over us."

  "Are you sure they are not following us now?"

  "Yes, I’m sure. There hasn't been anyone behind us for hours."

  The waitress brought over their food, and they thanked her and began eating. After twenty minutes, they were on the road again licking their ice cream cones.

  About midnight they turned onto the dirt road that led to Devil's Canyon. It was a dark, overcast night, and it was difficult to see anything but the road immediately in front of them. Finally, at 12:41 a.m., their headlights flashed on the broken-down sign that once welcomed hundreds of daily visitors to Devil's Canyon Mining Camp.

  "Here we are, babe."

  "This is it?" Maria said, unimpressed.

  "Yeah. We have to go through town up to the assayer's office. Isn't this place neat?"

  "It looks just like the town in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."

  "I thought you slept through that movie?"

  "I did sleep through most of it, but I woke up a couple of times and remember seeing a town like this."

  "Oh, I see. Okay, well, here we are. Are you ready?"

  "Look around and make sure there aren't any snakes."

  Fred laughed. "Snakes don't come out at night."

  "Good. In that case, lead me to the money."

  They got out and walked over to the door of the office. Fred gave it a stiff kick, and it swung open.

  "Where did you hide it?"

  "Under the floor. I marked the slat with three notches."

  Maria carefully examined the wooden floor. “Here it is.”

  "Okay. I need the tire iron from the car. I'll be right back," Fred said as he went back outside.

  "Hurry up!" Maria yelled.

  "I'm hurrying. Keep your pants on!" he yelled from the car.

  "Huh? That's a switch. Usually you want me to take them off," Maria replied playfully.

  When he came back inside, Maria was standing there with a wry smile on her face. “Hurry up. I want to see the cash.”

  "So, if I share this million dollars with you, will you make love to me right now?" Fred asked hopefully.

  She frowned. "Half a million dollars? Well, that’s definitely tempting."

  "Come here. Make love to me, and it’s yours."

  "Fred, don’t do this. I want to be a virgin on our wedding night."

  "We may never have a wedding night if I end up in jail. Wouldn't you feel bad if I went to prison and had never made love to you?"

  "Oh, so we're going to make love for the first time on the floor of an old shack in the middle of the desert?"

  "Yeah. Won't it be memorable?"

  "I was thinking more of a suite at the Hotel Del Coronado.” she said.

  "Quit thinking and come here."

  Maria walked over to Fred slowly, put her arms around his neck, and looked at him with her big brown eyes. "You shouldn't tempt a woman with so much money. It's not fair," she complained.

  "All's fair in love and war."

  "Do you really love me?" Maria asked.

  "Yes. I love you with all my heart and all my soul, totally and completely," he replied.

  "I want the money in small bills," she giggled.

  "No problem!" Fred agreed.

  Fred started to slide his hand gently down the back of Maria's pants, but she stopped him. "Wait a minute!" she protested as she pushed him away. "I want to see the cash before I give up my virginity."

  Fred shrugged. "You're right. That's only fair. Hand me that crowbar." Fred took the crowbar and began prying up the slats. The rotted wood put up little resistance. When he had removed four or five slats, he looked up and smiled at Maria. "Okay. Hand me that flashlight." With the flashlight in hand, he peered into the crawl space, located the bag, and pulled it out. He brushed off the dust and cobwebs, cleared a spot on a big table with a swipe of his hand, and dumped the stacks of money out on the table.

  “Wow! Look at that,” Maria gasped. “That’s a lot of cash.”

  “I know,” Fred said, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her off her feet. He swung her ‘round and ‘round and then set her on the table. “I’ve lived up to my part of the bargain,” he said wryly. “Now it’s your turn.”

  Maria smiled at him coyly. “Okay. If this is what you really want. A bargain’s a bargain, I suppose.”

  Fred slid his hands slowly up her legs, all the way to her silk panties. He was planning to rip them off dramatically but a wave of guilt stopped him abruptly. “Oh, alright. I guess I can wait.”

  She lunged forward into his arms. “Oh, thank you, Fred. I’m so relieved. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to happen—not here, not now.”

  “Supposed to happen? You make it sound like our marriage is part of someone’s grand plan.”

  “It is. Oh, Fred, I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely honest with you.”

  “You haven’t?”

  “No. You’re not the only one who’s had visions. When I was very young, I was in a car wreck and suffered a concussion. I was in a coma for five days. During that time, I dreamt many times of my wedding day. You were in that dream, Fred. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. When I told my mother after our first date that I was going to marry you, it was because I’d already seen our wedding day—and our wedding night as well. This isn’t the place I’m supposed to lose my virginity.”

  Stunned, Fred set Maria down on the ta
ble and looked at her coldly. “Are you mocking me?” he asked warily. “I really did have the visions I told you about.”

  “I know you did. I believe you. That’s why I couldn’t let you go even after your indiscretion with Candy. We are meant to be together, and that’s why I know somehow we’re going to get you out of this mess. We just have to figure out how to do it.”

  “Did your mother know about your dreams?” Fred asked.

  “Yes. I told her, but she doesn’t believe they were visions. She just thinks they were normal adolescent sex fantasies and my mind just conjured up my ideal man who happened to look like you. She made me promise if I ever thought I saw the man in my dreams not to do anything rash. That’s why when you sat next to me at orientation, I didn’t say anything, even though I was more excited than I’d ever been in my entire life!”

  “Huh,” Fred said, thinking back to the day they met. “You could have at least given me your telephone number. You don’t know how hard it was to find you.”

  She slugged him in the shoulder. “Oh, I’m so sorry I inconvenienced you,” she said sarcastically.

  Fred laughed and took both of her hands in his.

  “I knew you’d call me or we’d meet when school started.”

  “So, you saw us get married in your dreams, huh?”

  “That’s right. So, somehow this is all going to work out. Obviously, it can't happen if you're in jail."

  “Maybe your mother was right. When I think about it, in the dream after the snake bite I really couldn’t make out the face of the naked woman in the pond. It could have been Marilyn Monroe for all I know. She was every boy’s fantasy back then.”

  Maria laughed. “But you told Candy it was her, right?”

  “Well, it seemed like the right thing to say at the time, but I’m not so sure now.”

  “What am I going to do with you, Fred?”

  Fred shrugged. “Find another boyfriend would probably be your best move.”

  “Oh, come on. Don’t start feeling sorry for yourself. You’re going to get through this. You’ve got a million dollars for godsakes. How many guys your age can say that?”

  "Somehow I just can't be as optimistic as you." Looking at his watch, he frowned. We better figure out what we’re going to do with the money and get out of here.”

  Maria looked at the pile of loot and sighed. “I think $100,000 ought to be enough for now. We’ll leave the rest here. This seems like a good place to hide it.”

  “Alright,” Fred agreed, “a hundred grand it is.”

  They counted out $100,000 and stuffed it in a gym bag. The rest they put back into the bank bag and returned it to its hiding place. They kissed passionately one more time, and Fred silently wished he hadn’t let Maria off the hook. He wanted her so badly.

  Maria broke away. "Okay. We better get back to Santa Monica before the Feds figure out we’re gone and throw us both in the slammer."

  Fred groaned. "Alright, let's go. If we leave right now, we should make it back before dawn."

  After nailing the slats back in place and straightening up, Fred wiped the place clean so there wouldn’t be any prints. Then he found a couple two-by-fours and tied them to the back of the car with a rope so they would drag behind them and erase their tire tracks.

  When they were back on the main road heading home, they were filled with apprehension. Despite Maria’s vision of their wedding day, they both knew the next year would be fraught with peril, and there was no guarantee her dream would actually come true. They knew their future depended on their actions and the grace of God.

  Maybe we should turn around and head up to Canada like you and Candy planned to do,” Maria suggested.

  Fred turned and looked at her thoughtfully. “It would never work. Tomorrow morning, they’d figure out we’d run, and every law enforcement officer in the southwest would be looking for us. We might make it to Mexico before they discovered that we were gone, but I’m sure the Border Patrol has a list of everyone on trial and free on bond. Plus, we couldn’t let your parents lose their house.”

  Maria sighed. “I know. It was just a thought.”

  “There is one pressing concern we need to address, though,” Fred said.

  “What’s that?”

  “This money. What are we going to do with it?”

  Maria frowned. “Yeah, I was wondering about that.”

  “Well, I can’t keep it, obviously, and I don’t want you to get caught with it.”

  “Didn’t you say you had a post office box?” Maria asked.

  “Right. That will work for a $5,000 or $10,000, but that’s about it.”

  “Okay. We’ll use your private mail box to keep the money we need easy access to and hide the rest.”

  “Where will we hide it?”

  “My dorm has a storage room. It’s a mess, so it would be easy to hide something in there. Nobody will be going in there until the Christmas break starts in December.”

  “You sure it’s safe?” Fred asked.

  “Trust me. Nobody will find it in there. I’ll find a better place later. It will do for now.”

  “What if someone sees you go in there to hide it?”

  “I’ll go in there tonight when everyone is in bed. There’s no reason for anybody to be watching me yet, so we should be okay.”

  “Alright. How are we going to explain where we got the money to pay Roberts?” Fred asked.

  “What about your inheritance? Do you still have that money?”

  “No. That money is long gone. My parents needed it, so I let them have it.”

  “Is that common knowledge?”

  “No. Just my parents and I know about it.”

  “Then that will work. If someone asks you how you’re paying for your defense, just tell them you’re using your inheritance.”

  “Good idea. I’ll give my mother the cash, and she can give it to Roberts.”

  “Right. That should work.”

  They rode in silence for a while, feeling a little better but still apprehensive about how they were going to get through the next few months. When they got back to Santa Monica, Maria left Fred off a few blocks away from his apartment and then went back to the UCLA campus. Fearing the FBI was watching her dorm, she parked in a remote parking lot and walked up the hill to the rear of the dorm. She scanned the area for FBI agents before she came out in the open. She didn’t see any, but as a precaution, she joined a group of swimmers coming back from early morning practice. They were all carrying gym bags similar to the one she had with the money in it, so she blended right in.

  Back in her dorm room, she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked around and saw that all her roommates were fast asleep. Looking outside, she saw that it was starting to get light, so she quietly found the key to the storage room and left to hide the loot. A few minutes later, she returned, took off her clothes, and climbed into bed. She was so tired she fell right to sleep and began to dream.

  She was in the back seat of a limousine. It was her wedding day, and she was seated between two of her bridesmaids. Three others were facing her, and they were all giggling and carrying on as girls usually did at weddings. The limo came to a halt in front of a big Catholic church. The driver got out and opened the door for the bridesmaids, who all piled out. The driver extended his hand and helped Maria to her feet. Her mother approached her and adjusted her veil as two of her bridesmaids straightened out her long train.

  Maria carefully walked up the stairs to the church and went inside. Soon, she was at the end of the long center aisle, and “The Wedding March” began to play. Her father took her arm, and they walked slowly forward as family and friends looked on admiringly. As she walked ahead, she gazed at Fred lovingly, thanking God that they’d finally be joined as husband and wife, and then she felt the ground shake, causing her to fall to one knee. There were cries of anguish, and the lights flickered. Then there was nothing but darkness.

  In her dorm room, Maria sat up and screamed! r />