Saturday, August 30th - Dallas, Texas
Pip (slang, origin unknown, probably 1920s American) - extraordinary person or thing
Thanks to Will Littlesoldier, it was Penelope’s first job, and she was amused that she was actually enjoying it. It was a specialized occupation. She got paid to ensure that people’s homes were properly secured against burglars. She also got to investigate thefts, but the company didn’t quite trust her to work alone yet. She had wanted to put down the name of Mary Jane Kelly on her application, but it was the time for truthfulness. She was on something called probation. It wasn’t the kind of probation that the authorities had over convicted criminals, but she was keenly aware of the implications. That was especially so because she had been upfront with the company’s owner and business manager about her past transgressions.
However, they wanted someone who could be smarter than the average thief. They wanted someone like Penelope. She had to pass a polygraph test confirming her good intentions toward the future, such as not using the company as cover for future creeps. She also had to sign a form validating the fact of the matter. If she were caught in the act of committing a felony, then she would forfeit all pay, perks, and allowances due to her by the company, etc…
All for a regular paycheck, and Penelope just about had a fit when she found out how much the government liked to deduct from her hard-earned cash.
There was also the matter of retribution. The retribution had nothing to do with her employer but everything to do with the change in her personal values. She returned the American Indian jewelry and cash to the Emunclaw tribe in Oregon. She made an abbreviated list of those individuals who had suffered because of her. There was Jeremy’s girlfriend in the Caribbean. There was Sammy’s family. There was Jobe’s family. There was Alan Harcourt’s family. There was the police officer who had been injured aboard the DART train, Frank the security guard at Cedars on the Ridge.
When the police ascertained that the remains of one Jeremy Collins had been located in the bottom of the missile silo outside of Abilene, Texas, his lawyer had executed his will, and surprisingly, Penelope had been his main beneficiary. It turned out that Jeremy had been a prolific thief and more active than Penelope had known. Despite his extravagant spending habits, he had saved a significant amount. She had paid the taxes on it and separated the remainder between the ones she felt responsible for hurting. Anonymously, of course.
Jeremy was responsible for his own death, her inner voice reminded her icily. Something inside her was still pissed that she hadn’t kept some of the money for Jessica. But Penelope didn’t need to remind herself that Jessica wouldn’t take another dime from her daughter. Stoically, if not amicably, she had refused the offer, and immediately found herself a job at Cedars on the Ridge, teaching new skills to the blind there. She was also wearing a very nice-sized engagement diamond on her left hand, a gift from Freddy Clark, who had recovered from his injuries without complication. And Jessica had moved in with her fiancée.
The police questioned the hell out of Penelope and the rest concerning the kidnapped children, but Penelope kept to a simple story about Jessica being an innocent bystander. It was impressive to see a detective get so frustrated speaking to her blind mother. Jessica played on her alleged frailties and denied that she knew why she had been taken. The media had come to the conclusion that Anthony was a certifiable loon, and his counterparts had escaped justice. But they were still vowing to catch the other perpetrators. John Rife and his two cattle hands didn’t know exactly what they had witnessed and had no problem with the truth. Penelope had asked for their help, and they had helped.
The Dallas Police Department couldn’t positively identify Penelope as the thief who had broken into the Durfrene Row house. To be specific, since Anthony had denied the break-in, they couldn’t even prove there had been a crime. And they didn’t know what to make of the decomposed corpse of one Merri Littlesoldier, who had been found inside the house days later. The pathologist had estimated that she had been dead for years and that Anthony must have been transporting the remains around with him.
After a month, the commotion had died down as the press had moved onto the next scandal, leaving a much relieved Penelope.
So on a quiet Saturday afternoon, she sat at her desk and looked at the security plans for an upper-middle-class house in Plano. She examined the photographs and made a few notes on how to improve the security of the house. When she was done, she completed the file, typed up her notes on a desktop computer, and filed the whole thing in her personal safe.
It wasn’t creeping, but it wasn’t altogether bad. Sometimes she even got to break in to test security systems.
Will had given a statement to the police regarding his suspicions about his brother’s actions. They had verified his statements and released him. He had called her cell phone, or rather Jeremy’s cell phone, a few days later and told her he would be returning to Oregon for a few weeks. She hadn’t known what to say to him.
Penelope put her head into her hands, propping her elbows on her desk, and thought, Well, how the heck else do you tell a man that you think he’s incredibly sexy, and by the way, do we have any chance of starting up a relationship? She didn’t know. She hadn’t had to work at it before. Will seemed to be interested in her as the heroine, not the woman.
Thffft, her inner voice said. Wait ‘til he gets back in town. Put on a little black number and heels. Don’t forget the make-up. Then ask him out. You can be blunt. If he says no, well, then you tried, didn’t you? The problem with that was that she was very much afraid of her reactions if he did, in fact, say no.
“Working on a Saturday?” a voice asked from behind her.
Penelope rubbed her eyes. There she was, thinking about him, and he appeared as if by magic. Slowly she turned and saw Will standing at the doorway to the little office she shared with three other security experts. Wearing worn jeans and a yellow polo shirt, he was leaner. His face had a gaunt appearance that accentuated his high cheekbones, but altogether, he didn’t look like a man who had been a guest in the underworld.
“You’re not normally at a loss for words,” he commented idly. “It makes me think something’s wrong.”
Her mouth opened. Then she forced some inane words from inside her. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting you. You surprised me.”
Will folded his arms over his chest. “Joseph John had me in a cleansing ritual for the better part of two weeks. There was darkness smeared on my soul. Or so he said. Actually, I feel fine. I haven’t drowned any kittens, and I don’t even have a taste for red meat.” A slight warming smile curved his lips and he added, “I think Joseph John would like to get his hands on you to do the same.”
Penelope wasn’t sure what to say. Speak, stupid, instructed her inner voice wrathfully. Before he gets away. Say something witty and amusing and alluring. “I don’t know if I want to do another ritual with Joseph John. I seem to have changes made to me, whether I like it or not.”
“Peter,” Will said carefully, referring to the owner of the company that now employed Penelope and a friend of his, “says that you’re working out wonderfully. Not so much as a paper clip has gone missing.”
The smile that Penelope plastered across her face was not one of amusement. “Office supplies are beneath my notice.”
Will put his hands into the air disarmingly. “I was joking. Penelope, you’re going to have to develop a thick skin about your past cat burglary days. I assume they are behind you.”
“I haven’t so much as jaywalked,” she gritted. “I even have a social security number.”
“Good. Come to lunch with me. I’ll pay. We can both use a few extra pounds.” Will put his hands down. “I’m lecturing again at the museum. They seem to have forgiven the lapse in having a notorious relative. And one of the universities is going to take me on for the fall semester. They like all of my publications. Especially the one I’m putting out in the Cultural Review in January. It’s a comparison of Christian ideas of hell versus American Indian ones. The publishers are very excited.”
“Congratulations,” she said listlessly. “But Will, I’m not really hungry.”
Will frowned. “I haven’t seen you in a month. I hear good things about you. I know your mother is doing all right. The children have been returned safely. The police seem to have lost interest. You even return your library books on time. So what’s the problem?”
Penelope found a smile somewhere that she guessed looked genuine. She shrugged. “I’m just not the same girl, am I? Life changes. It isn’t always easy to accept.”
“No,” he agreed quietly. “But you’re a strong woman. Stronger than I would have anticipated. You planned to take Anthony down, and you did it the only way you could.” Will stepped forward and touched the arm that had been injured. His fingers gently clasped her wrist and turned her forearm toward the light. “You’ve healed, but the scars will always remain.”
Penelope would have shaken him off, but his touch was addictive. She looked down at his fingers and tried to find the words for the moment. Finally, she looked up and saw that Will was staring at her in a way that made her go weak in the knees. “Uh, I, um,” she said feebly.
“What can I say to you to convince you that I’m interested in being more than your friend, Penelope?” Will said with a tender smile.
“I think you just said it,” she said, staring up at him. “I thought you didn’t like what I was, certainly it wasn’t something you could get past easily.”
Will leaned in closer and softly kissed her on the lips, tilting his head as they made contact. When he pulled back, he whispered, “I think I’ve changed too. It’s something to do with a woman giving up almost everything to save your life.”
“I gave back the jewelry and money to the tribe,” she said. Her knees suddenly felt like Jell-O, although it wasn’t exactly a bad feeling.
“And all the others you stole from?” he responded with a hint of amusement.
“You mean the drug dealers, the pimps, the blackmailers, and the other crooks?”
Will nodded.
“I already spent theirs,” she said simply.
Will shrugged. “I guess it will have to do. Now lunch? A real date? I’ll even open the doors for you so you don’t have to use liquid nitrogen on them.”
Penelope genuinely smiled for the first time. “That’s a deal I can get on board with.”
Will kissed her again and they didn’t come out of her tiny office for quite some time.
The End.