One Step Ahead

Payback's A Bitch

    July 12th, 2014 :  

      When he heard that, any doubts that Gerry might have had regarding the journal's authenticity evaporated. "He wouldn't cave that quick if he didn't really have something to hide,"  he thought. He also instantly doubled the figure he had originally decided on.

      "Well , since I'm basically a nice guy, I'll cut you a break," he said. "I think that fifty K should just about do the trick."

      "Greedy bastard, aren't you?" the other man responded.

      "I could just march myself down to the closest precinct and hand the fucker over to them. Would you like that better? Yeah, they'd know I robbed your place, but I think they'd be willing to cut me a deal to get their hands on this stuff."

      There was silence for several seconds, then a sigh. "Yeah, okay. Fifty it is. But it's going to take me a couple of days to pull it together without somebody getting suspicious."

      Gerry chuckled, and replied. "Like I said, I'm a nice guy. I can wait a couple of days. But if you start trying to stall, I won't be the only one reading about your...extracurricular activities, you get me?"

      "Yeah, I get you. But I have one question for you. Did Cynthia think you were such a swell guy when you were trying to bash her skull in with a Louisville Slugger?"

      It was Gerry's turn to fall silent. Finally, he regained enough of his composure to ask "How the hell did you know it was me?"

      "Not that hard to puzzle out, really. It had to be someone with access to the keys and the alarm code. Your grandmother is the only person here in town who has both of those. And since she's not that much of a lowlife, it wasn't hard to figure out who is."

      This surprised a short, harsh laugh from Gerry. "Seriously? You're calling me a lowlife? Isn't that kind of like Adolph Hitler calling somebody a racist?"

      "Maybe so, but that's not important right now. Where and when do you want to make the exchange?" the voice inquired.

      Gerry thought for a minute, then said "Today is Saturday, and since you're obviously not getting to the bank tomorrow, I'll be a sport and give you an extra day. You know where my Gram lives?" 

      "I do."

      "Well, there's a Chinese restaurant about three blocks from her house, it's closed for remodel. Meet me in the back parking lot Wednesday night. Eleven, lets say."

      "Yes, I know the place. I'll be there, Mr. Kirke." the other man replied, then ended the call.

      Gerry turned off the phone, then pumped his fist. Fifty large wasn't enough to carry him forever, but it would definitely make things a little bit cozier. His former cellmate would've been on his ass to keep milking it, to get as much out of the guy as possible, but Gerry decided that would be pushing his luck. He'd settle for a one time score on this one, and then skip town, get out from under the restrictions of his parole. No way was he gonna hang around here, always wondering if this whacko was gonna be skulking around somewhere, waiting for a chance to take him down.

      As he sat in his grandmother's kitchen, drinking a beer, an idea flashed through his head. He could get the cash from the weirdo, and still have some leverage, in case he slipped up sometime and got caught, or his ex started trying to cause him trouble about not paying child support. 

      With that idea firmly in mind, he left the house, got back into the car, and drove to the nearest Staples. He wandered the aisles until he found the section containing notebooks and ledgers, and searched until he found one that was nearly identical to the one currently hidden under his mattress. He paid for the book, then started driving back to the house. As he drove, he was racking his brain for a better hiding place for his prize. Then, a memory from his childhood surfaced, something that his cousin Joey had shown him once.