In the meantime, I had a little breathing room before anything came to a head and decided to call Steve to find out how his life was progressing. I was able to reach Steve on the first attempt and listened for a few minutes to his gushing statements of admiration for my brilliant planning. As much as I liked hearing praise, there is always a time when it’s enough and abruptly changed the subject to what his activities were. He was having a good time with the money from our job and had bought a new car, some nice clothes and was moving into a classier apartment soon. I think that Steve was on to something by not becoming romantically involved with women and only using prostitutes for his pleasure. He certainly avoided all of the problems that I have been floundering in and realistically speaking, probably saved a lot of money in the process. It might be a way for me to go after I extricated myself from the mess with Allison. Steve continued his saga by telling me that while his share of the money was great, it doesn’t last forever and he could see a time in the near future when his funds would be depleted if not replenished soon. He was certainly giving out a strong hint of wanting to pull off another job soon with the same attention to detail as the first one. I told him to put a lid on his spending for awhile since there was no rush to commit another job so soon. I didn’t tell him that my money was sufficient to last a long time but eventually, there would come a time to get back to basics.
I was going to keep in touch with Steve and consider his request but was not going to act on it until settling the matter with Allison. She had left me a couple of messages about getting together and there was no doubt in my mind that I would be pressed about the details of living together. She was getting to be a pain in my ass and I wasn’t going to let her take charge of the situation. It didn’t seem possible to hold her off for another month and before any confrontation occurred, the bank box had to be changed over to my name only, as a way to protect the money. I went to the bank as soon as it opened and spent twenty frustrated minutes with a teller and manager who continually thwarted my plan by telling me that the safety deposit box was in Allison’s name and only she could change it over. That little detail only compounded my impending difficulty with Allison because it added another obstacle to overcome. If she didn’t agree to sign the box ownership over to me, I would always have to ask her to go with me any time a withdrawal was needed. She would probably agree to any request but I didn’t like this loss of independence. I wanted the account in my name only and if needed, would do anything to accomplish that goal. How do you like that! Trust a woman to help you with something and she finds a way to grab you by the balls and hold tight. Now I was really pissed at her and it took all of my restraint to keep from barging into the apartment and exploding with rage. I had to keep my cool and figure out a way to resolve this matter with the least possible destructiveness and once it was over, get far away from this girl.
I went to my place and stood in front of a mirror practicing my most pleasant face to show her while thinking about how to convince the woman to sign the box ownership over to me. The best story I could come up with was an unexpected emergency occurring and needing the cash for my mother who was facing a medical crisis. Allison always seemed to have a soft spot for parental care and might not be immediately suspicious that I had an ulterior motive for the change. I could tell her that my mother needed an emergency operation that cost fifteen thousand dollars and it had to be paid immediately to the hospital or her life would be in jeopardy. I was hoping that the tear jerker approach would work and end the matter before any more had to be said and avoid an escalation of my anger. With that plan in mind, I went over to Allison’s apartment with my best face on and gave her a warm embrace upon entering. As usual, she was happy to see me and probably hoped that I was ready to attend to the details of living together. After a few minutes of banter, my face changed to one of sadness and when asked if something was wrong, told her a long sad story of my mother’s illness and much needed operation. Allison was very sympathetic and attempted to console me by asking if there was anything she could do to help. Now was the moment to strike, and I told her about needing the money from the bank for hospital costs.
I don’t know if Allison believed that part of my story because she suddenly stopped talking and looked at me in a strange way. She asked to see my mother and talk to the hospital finance department to see if there was any way to work this out without using all the money. I told her it was not possible and we needed to change the account over today so a check could be written. For a moment, I thought she would agree but her response was “let’s go together to the hospital and talk to the finance people.” Her statement sent me into a tailspin and I could feel myself losing control and beginning to speak in a louder voice about her unwillingness to comply with a request that involved my money only. Her face began to show anger also and we started shouting at each other without even hearing what was said. She finally asked me to leave and said that no change would be made to the bank papers until I told the truth about why the money was needed. Those words made something snap inside of me and I grabbed her arm and jerked it with all my strength which threw her into the wall. She let out a cry and came storming back by raining blows on my head until I defensively whacked her on the jaw. Allison fell to the ground but remained conscious although looking groggy. She began to sob uncontrollably and I knew that if this scene went on any longer, it would turn out much worse. I told her that the money was mine and she was going to sign that deposit box over to me or else, before leaving and slamming the door. I really didn’t want the situation to end in this way but the bitch left me no choice and if she knew what was good for her, my order would be obeyed.
I didn’t return to my apartment but went for a drive to cool off and give her time to rethink her decision. I hoped that a good lesson was learned from all this and never again would my money be put in someone else’s control. Whenever I try to do something sensible with a woman, it brings me nothing but trouble. I drove around aimlessly for awhile, stopped for a bite to eat and headed back home in a rational state of mind that gave me second thoughts about my actions with Allison. Maybe we could patch things up once the money was in my hands but that was not really what I wanted to do. There was no way to avoid moving in together if we made up, particularly after what had happened and I had already gone over the reasons for not living with her. It was fun while it lasted but nothing is forever and it takes a smart man to realize when to move on before the situation gets out of hand. When I arrived home, there was a message on my phone from Allison, saying how sorry she was for what happened and pleading for me to come see her. Well, this might have a good ending after all and the only thing I had to do was play along with whatever she wanted until the money was in my possession. Then it was goodbye and I would be free to move in any direction of my choosing. I decided to wait awhile before going over and allow more time for her to feel insecure and miserable. She was going to give me what I wanted and there was nothing else to discuss.
I walked over about an hour later and knocked on the door softly until Allison opened it and waved me in. In the dim light, I couldn’t see what her face looked like but once she stood in a brighter lit area, the damage was evident. The entire left side of her face was swollen and colored purple and the area where I grabbed her arm was also highly discolored. For a second, I almost felt sorry for her pain before remembering that she provoked me to cause those injuries. Without really caring, I asked her how she was and tears came tumbling down without a verbal response. She approached and tried to hug me but I evaded her arms while repeating my request for the name change to the account. This time, she didn’t ask for any reason but said we could go to the bank anytime although her face didn’t look too good at this time. It didn’t matter to me how she looked as long as we got this business taken care of within a short time. We sat for awhile but she was in no shape to speak so I told her to take some aspirins and go to bed. Before leaving, I mentioned that she should be ready early tomorrow and afterward
s, we would talk about future plans. Those words probably soothed her a bit because she immediately went into her bedroom and lay down. If she had only done what I wanted when asked the first time, all of this battling would have been avoided and my departure could have occurred very peacefully. But leave it up to a woman to complicate matters that could have been very simply handled. The next morning I went to her apartment and was pleased that she was dressed and ready to go. The swelling on her face had gone down considerably and she even managed a smile. The bank business took about thirty minutes and put the money and the safe deposit key entirely in my control which gave me a well earned sigh of relief. I drove Allison back and left her at the door saying that some business needed to be taken care of and we would meet again later this afternoon. She didn’t seem very happy and probably hoped that I would stay for awhile but for that woman, it was just the beginning of several disappointments.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I really didn’t have anything to do but wanted to avoid more words with Allison that could lead to another conflict and going out for a drive seemed the right thing to do. At this moment, the sight of her made me sick and if I never saw the woman’s face again it would suit me fine. When I returned and entered the apartment, the first thing noticeable was the answering machine flashing numerous times and it was evident to me who the messages were from. There was even a note slipped under the door from her that I didn’t even want to read. All of the phone messages said pretty much the same thing; that she wanted to forget about what happened and get back to the way things were. Allison was actually assuming the blame for our dispute and stated that she would never question me again. Too bad that she came to her senses after causing a lot of trouble for me but it didn’t matter. My mind was made up and we were through for good. I erased all the messages, threw the note away and tried to focus my mind on other matters that were far more important. Getting back with Steve and planning another job might just be the answer and I decided to get in touch with him and discuss a few potential locations. In his last talk with me, Steve indicated that he was running low on cash and would eagerly go along with any lucrative prospect so it was just a matter of looking around to see what kind of place would be our next target. Starting tomorrow, I would cruise around various parts of the city and look for the ideal spot to ply our trade.
I didn’t receive any phone messages or unwanted knocks on my door the next day and figured that Allison was out of town for a few days. Unfortunately, she would eventually return and begin her pleadings all over again. I wasn’t a person who tolerated harassment and if she didn’t understand that our thing was over, then the point would be made very emphatically. In the meantime, I had other important tasks to do and decided to drive around the downtown area and see what caught my eye. It seemed better to return to the city again and leave the suburbs for another time. The newscasts still carried the story of our robbery and just didn’t want to let it go. The clerk that Steve shot was still in critical condition and the hospital wouldn’t say whether or not he would pull through. I was kind of leaning toward him dying as a way of eliminating a potential witness against us although there was no certainty that he would remember the events before the shooting. The woman who was wounded had not been able to come up with a coherent account of the robbery due to her fright and had been no help to the authorities. As safe as it looked for us, I was leery of committing another suburb job until the entire matter cooled down. Downtown had always appealed more to me because of the variety of businesses and the maze of streets that allowed for many different routes out of the area. I really had nothing in mind but looked for the usual firm that took in lots of cash, had easy access and stayed open until after dark. In a city of this size, there are many robberies other than the ones I did and one would think that owners would take measures to safe guard their property but urban people never seem to think that a terrible event will happen to them and go about business as usual.
I was counting on store employees to discount the possibility of a crime occurring at their workplace and minimizing their self protection measures. Of course, there would always be alarms, and a neighborhood watch that would instantly alert police if anything looked suspicious. I expected these countermeasures but knew from experience that they could be circumvented and how much time it would take for police to respond. The only aspect of a job that I could never predict was how people would react and it always amazed me when idiots attempt to resist and play hero. They are usually the ones who end up dead and it’s really their own damn fault. I drove slowly through the area and made note of those locations that interested me and met my criteria. For some reason, my eyes kept returning to a large jewelry store that had flashing diamond pieces displayed in the front windows. I had never been interested in items before but the thought of those sparkling little bursts of light made me think that there might be a far bigger profit in stealing and selling them than ever could be realized from just taking cash. Trying to unload the goods would bring new obstacles that I had not dealt with before but the idea was tempting enough to look into it. I would give Steve a call and see if he knew anything about fencing jewelry and if he did; the job might present a very attractive opportunity to make a ton of money.
There was no use wasting time on casing the jewelry store until I knew for certain that we had a way of selling off the loot and headed back to my apartment. No phone messages greeted me and I immediately dialed Steve at his new place and was pleased when he answered promptly. I told him what had interested me and asked about the procedures of unloading jewelry. To my surprise, he stated that a few jobs from his past had involved just those items and the same people who bought his goods might still be around to do business with. He mentioned that diamonds usually went for about thirty percent of their value but if we had a good haul, it could amount to more money than we ever saw before. I could tell that he was really excited about this prospect and his encouragement pushed me over the edge to make a change in my usual manner of operating. If this job was done right, we could scoop up dozens of diamonds from displays and wherever else they were kept, put them all in a few small bags and exit the area quickly. The store was located in the middle of downtown and conveniently near every street that we might want to use. Now I had to get busy and plan all the details so that the job went off like clockwork and hopefully, involve no more shootings. Of course, it someone was hurt, it would have occurred due to their interference and not by our intentional design.
I was getting so caught up in this new endeavor that thoughts of Allison had all but vanished from my mind so it was a rude awakening for me when she knocked at the door. Upon opening it, I stood in the doorway and blocked her from coming into the apartment. She seemed a little surprised at my stance and asked if I was still mad at her. I told Allison that there was nothing to talk about right now and some time was needed for me to sort things out before any discussion could occur. A flash of anger came to her face when she realized that I was not going to grant admittance and after a few seconds, told me to come by soon and walked away. I was hoping that she got the message and would refrain from stopping by again but who knows what a woman will do when her life has been turned around. I didn’t care what happened to her and as long as she didn’t bother me again, we could end this matter peacefully. After attending to this little unexpected situation, I returned to figuring out a viable plan that would provide a successful outcome to our heist. I wanted to spend at least a few more days watching the store and obtaining any information that would come in handy. I particularly needed to know the number of clerks on duty just before closing and the best traffic pattern to use. Other details would be included until I was well versed in the entire procedure and felt confident that it could be pulled off with a minimum of risk to us.
I met Steve at a local park and then went to a secluded area where we could discuss the logistics of the operation. He had good news for me and said that the people who bought his jewelry in the past had been cont
acted and they were interested in buying precious stones. From what I had seen in the store window and displays, there were a myriad of diamonds available for the taking and if we could get thirty percent or more of their value, it should set me up with enough cash for years. Steve was a good learner and assimilated his role very quickly with the added stipulation that harming anyone was to be avoided unless absolutely necessary. A robbery is one thing for police to deal with but when someone is shot, they make a more concerted effort to apprehend the criminals and I already had enough publicity about my prior jobs to fill up a lifetime. I just wanted to take a little more time and iron out any wrinkles in the plan that didn’t seem quite right and then commit the caper two days from now on Wednesday at eight thirty in the evening That was the exact time that I had noticed clerks removing the show pieces from the windows and displays and preparing to lock them in a huge safe. The timing was very important because once that safe was locked; it would take a cannon blast to blow it open. It would also be dark at that time and very few people in the streets to take notice of us. Four clerks would still be in the store and maybe a couple of customers lingering about. It was possible that one of the clerks would work in the back room on a deposit and I wouldn’t want to miss any cash that was available. We would be wearing our usual stocking masks and Steve would take care of seeing that the stones were put in our bag by the clerks while I took care of business in the back.
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