The Lottery Ticket

by Michael D Goodman

  On reaching the back door the first of the three men kept a lookout whilst the second cut out the glass panel of the back door with expert precision, making sure the sucker was firmly pressed on to the glass so as not to break it and thus not make a noise. As quick as a flash they squeezed through the open panel. They were all in the house. Each of them had a bag to fill with their booty.

  Systematically they went from room to room, first downstairs and then upstairs. Once they had finished it was back to the fence to where a forth accomplice was still waiting. All that remained was for them to edge around the field to where they had left and the getaway van which was hidden from view of the road by the sports pavilion.

  The gang leader would never allow the booty to be stored at his home and so it fell to the single one of the group to store it in a garage he rented from the council in a block of ten which he could overlook from his flat.

  From here they would deliver the haul to, their ‘Fence’ and split the takings. All of them had served time in prison for various petty crimes and this is where they had hatched out their plan.

  Over the past two years there had been an increase in burglaries throughout the city and the towns and villages in the area. Many of these had been in the little towns, villages and hamlets around the city. The police had a theory that it was the same gang but as yet they had little to go on in their efforts to catch the culprits.

  This night the theft had taken place just down the road from the Campbell’s property which made John Simpson and his wife very nervous. The police had called to ask if they had seen or heard anything. All they could tell the police was that they hadn’t, but that they were looking after the house next door as they were away and that they would appreciate it if the police would patrol the area from time to time.

  The constable told them that he would pass their request on to his superiors when he returned to the station.

  “I had better check the house as far as I can”, John suggested to his wife.

  “Yes I think you should John, the problem is, because the gate is locked, you won’t be able to check the back”, she reminded him.

  “I’ll get the step ladders and have a look over the fence”, he called as he made his way to the front of the Campbell’s house.

  Looking at the house from the front he could see no sign of a break-in. Opening his garage door he collected his step ladders which he used when trimming his hedges and fixed them as close as he could to the fence. He climbed up and peered over next doors back way. Looking at the door he could see no forced entry and all the windows were secured.

  Satisfying himself that nothing was amiss at the Campbell’s home he put the steps back into the garage and went back inside his house.

  “I wish they had fitted an alarm system before they went, it would make it a lot easier”, John commented to his wife.

  “Yes it would, his wife replied, when I spoke to Jennifer before they went away she told me David was planning to have one fitted soon after they returned from their holiday. She said he had ordered it some time ago but the chap who was going to fit it was going on holiday just before they were and that he would fit it when they came home”.

  “I feel uneasy about all these break-ins that have happened lately and the fact that the police seem unable to catch the offenders, makes me feel even more worried, John commented. Still they say lightening doesn’t strike in the same place twice”, he said trying to reassure his wife and himself.

  The break-in down the road had all the hallmarks of the same gang that had burgled other properties in the town and elsewhere. The family had lost most of their small valuable possessions, jewellery, trinkets and ornaments. Some of the items stolen were small pocket size electrical items, these included children’s games and the like.

  John couldn’t help thinking how the family would feel on their return from their holiday in a few days time. They had not been contacted as far as he knew from talking to other neighbours. This would be one hell of a shock for them.

  The neighbourhood watch had been assured that patrols by the police would be stepped up some time ago but this had not deterred the burglars from their aim.

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  “These items are not too valuable”, observed the ‘Fence’ as he checked over the selection of stolen goods that lay in front of him.

  “Some of them have hallmarks on them”, pointed out the gang leader whose job it was to bring the takings to the ‘Fence’.

  “Just because its silver doesn’t mean I can sell it quickly or at high prices, I need to shift this stuff as sharply as I can, if it isn’t it could be traced back to me and then we will all be in the dock” he reminded his collaborator.

  “Ok, just give me what you think there’re worth”, the gang leader retorted hastily, for he wanted to get home to bed as his night had been a long one and he still had to make arrangements with the rest of the gang for the next hoist.

  When he finally reached home his wife was ready to leave for work.

  “Where have you been all night”, she inquired of him.

  “If you want to know I’ve been playing cards with some mates, he lied.

  The children were putting on their clothes ready to be dropped off at their Nan’s. She would have them during the holidays as no one could predict what their father would be up to if they were left at home. It seemed that a phone call would send him off with no word as to where he was going or when he would return.

  His relationship with his two daughters was virtually non existent. The only occasions he would spend time with them was if a childminder couldn’t be found, which would be mostly other members of the family.

  His family consisted of his hard working wife Sandra who worked for social services as a home help, his two daughters, Julie the eldest and Rachel who was a year younger than Julie, who was twelve.

  Sandra had by now given up on trying to make their marriage work since he went into prison. His mother and father had disowned him and wanted nothing to do with him as he had bought shame on the family name. They did continue to help Sandra and would help her whenever they could. This sometimes meant having the girls if their other Nan couldn’t. If Rodger, Sandra’s husband had to pick them up he would have to wait outside. Never again would he be allowed to cross their threshold they had told him because his stint in prison had given the family a bad name in the neighbourhood.

  Neither of the children had a loving relationship with their father. They had both tried but were invariably knocked back as he never knew how to show love. His term in prison had changed him. He was sent down for stealing copper piping from a builder’s yard. He was caught outside sitting in his van waiting for his mate to come and fix his puncture. Ironically it was due to a nail he had driven over on entering the premises.

  Sandra would have left him a long time ago had she not had the children. Her mother had always said he was a bad’un. Even before he went into prison he was lazy and if he did do any work it was very part-time and he wouldn’t hand over his earnings to help Sandra keep the family.

  “Why don’t you leave him”? Would be the pointed question her mother would constantly ask.

  “Because he’s my husband”, she would reply. “I married him for better or worse”, she would quote without much belief.

  “Yes, but when there is no ‘better’ what is the point of carrying on with nothing but the worse”, her mother remonstrated.

  “I know what your saying, mum, but I have to carry on for the sake of the kids”, she would excuse as the tears would begin to flow freely.

  Sandra was unhappy with her lot but her daughters kept her going. They would help her around the house which she always kept clean. If they thought she needed some quite time after one of the many rows they would go and visit their few friends.

  Their home wa
s a pre-war council house on an estate of identical houses. The garden was always in need of attention and this because Roger would do nothing to help keep it tidy. Sandra and the girls would do what they could so as not to cause the council to threaten eviction. If Roger was at home it would invariably mean that he was in bed sleeping or sitting in an armchair watching anything that was on television.

  The house had three bedrooms. One was the master bedroom which was shared in shifts between Sandra at night and Roger throughout the day. The furniture was mostly purchased from charity shops or boot sales and was nearly as old as the house. The second bedroom was shared by the girls with bunk beds given by the Salvation Army whilst Roger was in jail. Apart from the rented television this was the most modern piece of furniture in the house.

  The third and smallest bedroom had a sewing machine in it with an old kitchen style table. This was where Sandra would do the alterations on garments from other people. This helped to subsidise the wages from her main employment.

  She managed to give the children a small amount of pocket money now and then but neither of the children asked or expected any. They knew how difficult it was for their mother to eek out an existence each week without her telling them.

  The front room was like the rest of the house, sparsely furnished. The sofa was older than the armchair that was mostly occupied by Roger. Sandra had covered them both with throws she had made from old material that didn’t match but at least covered the cigarette burns that Roger had made when falling to sleep with a lighted cigarette in his hand.

  The rest of the furniture in the room consisted of a glass top coffee table dating back to the sixties and of course the modern television which was rented. The dining room was furnished with an almost antique table that had seen better days and four chairs that were really kitchen chairs.

  The kitchen had a number of units and plenty of worktop space. Unfortunately the units were sparingly filled as shopping was done on a need to do basis. Most of the time, the girls would sit in the kitchen on the two rickety stools to do their homework, whilst their mother would cook the meals. This gave them the opportunity to talk about their day.

  “I forgot to mention I had seen my friend Mandy in town last Saturday Mum” Julie mentioned.

  As if by magic Roger appeared in the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. Although he had been in the front room since getting out of bed he had only made it that far and sat watching the cricket on the television since the early afternoon.

  No one seemed to take much notice as he slouched around the kitchen with his pyjama bottoms on and a vest, looking for the things he would need to fulfil his need.

  Julie continued her conversation with her mum. “She told me about her holiday to Portugal, she was dead excited. I’d love to be able to go somewhere like that she said dreamily, eyes transfixed on nothing in particular.

  “So would I “, chirped in Rachel who was swatting over a puzzle she was doing in a girly magazine.

  “And I would like to take you some where nice like that too if I could”, Sandra retorted sadly. “When are they going”, she asked as if it really mattered to her.

  “She told me they were staying overnight in a hotel because they were flying out on the Thursday morning. They would be flying very early on that morning. I guess they must have been out there for just over a week by now”, she thought aloud.

  “When are they due back”? Inquired Roger, pricking up his ears to this compelling information. This could be useful information to his mates he thought to himself.

  Not realising that he had been listening to the conversation, Julie turned surprisingly to where he was propping up the worktop with his cup of tea in his hand and replied, “They were going for a fortnight so I guess they will be back on Thursday or Friday of this week”.

  That was all the information he needed. As he returned to the front room he was thinking he would have to act quickly if his plan had any chance of working. Firstly he would need to find out where Julie’s friend lived. To ask Julie for any more information might cause her to be suspicious.

  Suddenly it dawned on him where he could get that information without anyone being suspicious. While the females were gassing in the kitchen he would search out Julie’s diary. She was bound to have it in there somewhere.

  He knew roughly where it would be and sure enough it lay in the top of the small side table drawer. Flicking through the pages like someone possessed he found the page that gave him the information he needed. 23, Sissons Road was all it had underneath the girl’s name, with her telephone number. He guessed that it could only be the road in this same town as he knew the area and had passed it many times and wasn’t this the same road the gang had hit a few nights earlier. Quickly he jotted it down on a piece of paper from his daughter’s exercise book.

  He needed to get in touch with his mates as quickly as possible. He darted into the bathroom and washed and dressed. Almost running down the stairs he collected the van keys and shot out of the front door.

  At the sound of this Sandra thought it was someone at the front door. She placed the iron on the board and opened the kitchen door to the hall. On opening the front door she could find no one at it. She noticed the van had gone from its usual parking space on the road. When she came back into the house she went into the front room to find it empty.

  Going back down the hall and back in to the kitchen she was puzzled.

  “That’s strange your dad has just gone out the front door”, she informed the girls.

  “In all the time I’ve known your father he has seldom used the front door he usually uses the back door. Oh well never mind I expect he’s gone to meet his mates again”, she supposed rightly.

  She carried on the ironing and continued the conversation she had been having with the girls. She had lost interest in where he went when he left the house all she cared was that her daughters were happy and she was pleased that although they came from a poor background they had made friends with other children who had no hang-ups about social classes.

  She had met Julie’s friend’s mum at the school on the odd occasion and they seemed a very nice family. It was also obvious that Julie and Mandy where not only good friends but had over the years grown very close, even though their social classes was worlds apart. They would go into town just to window shop or to buy things they needed for school. Sometimes they would allow Rachel to tag along.

  Mandy would invite Julie round to her house now and then to work on some projects for school or just to do girly stuff. Julie on the other hand was embarrassed to invite Mandy to hers as she didn’t want her to bump into her dad who would quite often walk around the house in his night attire which embarrassed her so much.

  Because they lived not far from each other Julie would cycle round to Mandy’s. Mandy’s mum and dad always made her feel welcome and would invite her to stay and eat with them. In return Julie would help Mandy to do her homework for although they came from different backgrounds Julie seemed to be able to grasp most subjects much quicker than Mandy.

  Because Julie had to make do with cheaper clothing to make up her uniform she was teased by some of the other girls in the school. Whenever this happened Mandy would always be there to stick up for Julie. Mandy could never stand bullies and would report any she knew of.

  The time that Mandy had been on holiday seemed like an eternity to Julie and she couldn’t wait for her friend to return. They would have loads to talk about. Before Mandy went away both girls had decided to do a spot of detective work of their own in an effort to solve the increasing number of break-in’s that the police had failed to solve so far. Some of the preliminaries had been done, such as mapping the streets of the town and the villages close by that had been targets of the burglaries and the dates on when they had happened.

  Julie was going to update the map when Mandy returned and to t
ell her of the robbery at the house just up the road from where she lived that had happened while she was away.

  When they parted after their meeting in town just before Mandy was due to go on her holiday, they had made arrangements to meet up on the Saturday after she returned. This wouldn’t be long now as today was Tuesday.

  “Mum is it OK for me to meet Julie on Saturday? She will be back off her holiday by then and I did say I would”, she asked.

  “Of course you can”, replied her mother. She approved of Mandy as Julie’s friend unlike some of the other girls she sometimes hung around with.

  Julie went upstairs to write the entry in her diary. “That’s funny” she thought to herself, “I’m sure I didn’t leave my diary open”. She noticed it was open at Mandy’s address. “Maybe it was Rachel that had looked in it”, she surmised. She was not going to make an issue of it just now but she would tackle her sister tonight after they were in bed.

  Chapter 3

  A Change of Plan

  Roger drove to the block of flats where one of his mates lived. The news he was about to divulge would change the plans that had already been made for tonight. Taking the lift to the sixth floor he alighted and proceeded down the corridor. This corridor had doors on the left and rows of windows on the right.

  This was the only block of flats in the village and was council owned. Before he reached ‘113 The Towers’, he glanced out of the window which overlooked a row of garages. One of these he knew was rented to a Mick Russell, the man he was about to see. He knocked on the door and waited. The door opened slightly and the chain rattled as the man peered through the partly opened door.

  “Are you expecting someone to burgle you”, inquired Roger jokingly as he smiled at the unshaven face that looked out at him.

  “You can never be too careful these days, there’s some real crooks about you know”, he chuckled, as he took the chain off the catch.