Repeat Performances (short stories)
By
Tim Myers
Stories that have appeared in anthologies or have been reprinted in the past, with afterwords about each entry!
Copyright © 2011 Tim Myers
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
No part of this story may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
Table of Contents
Looking for Freedom on a Southbound Bus
By Tim Myers
This story originally appeared in the Mystery Writers of America’s Anthology, A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime, 2003
I love alarm systems, the more sophisticated the better. Well, that's not strictly true. What I really love is getting around them. For me, part of the thrill of stealing is outsmarting the alarm companies and their laughable guarantees to keep people like me out.
As I worked my magic on the Watchdog 2010, a drop of sweat raced down my nose. Even though it was late at night, the humidity of summer was still thick in the air. I'd have to take Anna swimming tomorrow. I knew if I did, she'd want to invite one of her friends. She liked to do that more and more lately, and I'd been fighting the growing twinges of jealousy.
A light started flashing on the control panel in front of me that should have been dark, the rhythm speeding faster and faster. Okay, Chuck, focus on the task at hand. What happened? My mind raced over the schematics I'd pulled off the Internet, struggling to find out how I'd tripped the system. I could almost see the circuitry in my mind as I traced the path in my head.
Moving a few color-coded wires aside, I quickly saw the problem. I'd accidentally nicked one of the wires when I'd clipped in. From the look of it, I didn't have long to fix the problem, or I was about to have an explosion of lights and sirens I couldn't afford. Gently easing the split wire back together, I wrapped the break with a small bit of electrical tape. The light went off just as I did it! Whew, that had been too close.
Driving Anna from my mind, I concentrated on the task at hand.
There would be plenty of time for my daughter tomorrow.
Earlier that evening, I'd tucked her in, just as I'd done every night for the past seven years.
Alone.
Jenny had died in childbirth, and I'd buried my wife the day after I brought Anna home. Stealing was all I'd ever known, the only thing I'd ever been good at, and we always managed to get by, just the two of us.
"Do you have to go out tonight, Daddy?"
I brushed the long blonde hair out of my daughter's face. "Don't worry, sweetheart, Cindy's just in the other room. I'll be back before you wake up."
"Sing to me again before you go," she said. I leaned forward and whispered a song. "You're stalling again, you're stalling again, good night my sweet Anna, good night my dear child."
"Come on, Dad, I want a real song."
I laughed as I tucked the covers under her chin. "You'll just have to wait until tomorrow night. Now go to sleep."
She was asleep before I got out of her room. Cindy was hitting the books at the dining room table when I walked in. "Chuck, I need to be home by midnight. I've got a huge final tomorrow."
"I'll be back in plenty of time," I said as I started to walk out.
"If I have to sleep on the couch again, I'm going to double my rates," she said with a smile.
"You're a thief; you know that, don't you?" I asked with a smile.
"Hey, college isn't cheap," she said. "Besides, this is the end of my senior year. I've got bills to pay."
AS I got into my car, I felt the thrill of the hunt rush through me. Stealing wasn't just a profession with me; it was an avocation.
My hands started to sweat as I grabbed the wheel, and it had nothing to do with the summer heat. I always got that way before a score, no matter what time of year it was.
After I coaxed the alarm into submission, I took a deep breath before I headed for the safe. Stolen air smelled somehow better to me, as if I could taste the sweet oxygen around me. There was a richness that couldn't be explained any other way.
The homeowner should have put less money in the alarm system and more into the type of safe he had. It was a Claxton 150, one of the first safes I'd learned to crack starting out. In just a little more time than it probably took him to open it, I was transferring the cash and jewelry from the heart of it into my fanny pack. I love fanny packs; they are absolutely perfect for the kinds of things I steal, tucked close in case I need to get away fast.
It was time to go, but I have one weakness that I can't seem to break. Creeping into the library, I scanned the titles, searching for a book small enough to fit into my pouch. Every house I visit, I take a little token from their shelves for my own.
As I raced through the titles, something caught my eye. I pushed the light back, and sure enough, there it was. A first edition Poe! What was it doing hiding in the stacks though? I chuckled as I pulled the book down, smelling the richness of the old leather binding. This particular purloined letter was going home with me.
As I zipped my pack shut, I caught a glimpse of a stuffed animal, a copy of the original Winnie-the-Pooh used to illustrate the books. I'd read about the battle between countries for the original, but I thought Anna might like it, so I grabbed it, too. No room in my pouch, so I tucked Pooh under my arm.
That's when the overhead lights came on.
Cindy and I have a nice working relationship, and Anna has a dream that someday we'll all be together. How do you explain to your child that even though Cindy appears to be old enough to her, she's just a child herself to me? I dated enough, but the women rarely made it to the point where they got to meet Anna. It was just too hard for her to say good-bye. A part of me knew that my daughter needed a mother, but I couldn't get serious about anyone. For me, Jenny was it, and I had just about accepted the fact that I was one of those odd birds, a swan mated for life whose spouse was gone.
But it was tough telling Anna all that without sounding like a real sap.
He was holding a revolver right at my heart. Why do these guys always have weapons? Is it some kind of inferiority complex?
"What do you want?" he asked, his hand shaking more than I liked.
"Listen, stay calm. Nobody's going to get hurt." Brave words indeed, since I didn't trust him not to pull the trigger. I never robbed a place armed. In the first place, I hated guns. That's what happens after you've been shot a couple of times. Okay, some people say it's an expected risk from the business I'm in, but even a nick hurts like the devil. Too, armed robbery is a whole different ball game.
His voice shaking, he said, "Who sent you? You can tell Bruno he'll get his share of the money."
Was this guy on drugs? Clearly he was shaken about something, but what? I had nothing to lose, so I decided to play along. "Yeah, well Bruno's not so sure. He wants a little collateral."
"More?" the man asked, almost crying. "The bastard's got my dog. What else does he want?"
So Bruno was a dogknapper. I didn't even want to know what was going on between them. I hid Pooh's body with my arm. I didn't want this guy to know I'd stolen it. I was kind of embarrassed about it, to be honest.
Then I remembered the book. I started to unzip the bag, and I saw the guy's finger go white on the trigger. "Hold on," I shouted. "You asked me what he was after, and I'm going to show you."
I gently pulled the book out and showed him the Poe.
The relief on his face was obvious. "You don't seem too upset about it," I said.
"It's insured," the guy said, and his finger eased off the trigger. "No big deal. What else do you have in that bag?"
As he asked it, he eased up on the trigger, and the gun moved to one side. We were making real progress now. Funny thing, though. As he lowered the gun, I could see the safety was still on. Believe me, all it takes are a couple of hits to learn when another one might be coming.
I jammed the book back into my pouch and headed for the door.
Was I right, though? Could the safety have been off after all? I braced myself for an explosion as I hurried off, but thankfully, none came.
"Bruno isn't going to like this," I said as I took off into the night.
I was almost to my car when the alarm went off. At least he'd given me time to get away. But boy, he and Bruno were going to be at a whole new level of pissed when they found out what I'd done. Not that it mattered to me. I'd be out of their lives forever.
Cindy was asleep on the couch when I got home. I thought about waking her, but I really didn't mind the double time, not with the score I'd just made. She was pretty, especially when she slept, but she was still just a kid, nearly ten years younger than me. I covered her with a blanket, looked in on Anna and tucked Pooh in beside her, then stuffed my bag in a better safe than that of the guy I'd just robbed, before I went to bed.
"Come on, Dad, wake up." I looked up blearily to find Anna at the foot of my bed. She had Pooh in one hand.
As I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, I said, "Morning, sunshine. You like your present?"
She threw Pooh on the bed. "Please, Dad, I outgrew Pooh ages ago. He can sleep with you if you want."
I pulled on a robe as I said, "We're both offended."
Cindy popped in the door. "Are you decent?" she called.
"Come on in," I said.
"It's double time again, Chuck," she said with a smile. Then her eyes caught Pooh. "How precious," she squealed. That alone told me Cindy was way too young for me.
"Miss Anna doesn't like him. Why don't you consider him a bonus?"
"I'd love to have him," she said as I got my wallet and paid her. Still clutching Pooh, Cindy said, "Would you like me to drop Anna off at school? It's not a problem; it's on my way."
"No thanks. Good luck on your final."
She grinned. "I'm going to ace it. After all, I've got my good luck bear now."
After Cindy was gone, Anna asked, "So, did you like your note?"
I asked, "What note?"
"The one I tucked in your pocket last night. I was pretty sly, wasn't I?"
I grabbed for my pants, but there wasn't any note there. "Which pocket did you put it in, sweetheart?"