Augie picked a fight with Helene just so he could storm out of the house. That was easy enough since she was pleading another one of her headaches.
Angrily he got into his van and drove the few miles to Eliza’s neighborhood. He cruised around until well past midnight, watching as surrounding homes darkened one by one. Several lamps were on in Eliza’s house, though he noticed no activity behind the windows. Finally, the lights inside went out as their timers clicked off, leaving only the outside front-door light glowing in the September night.
He backed his van into the driveway, pulling it all the way to the end and then turned the vehicle onto the grass behind the kitchen. No one would be able to see it from the road. He left the van running.
Augie was taking a big chance and he knew it If Eliza had an alarm system, he would have to get out in a hurry. His plan was to let himself in and quickly check for alarm panels at the back, garage and front doors. If he found one, or if a screeching siren blared, he’d get right out and be well gone before the police could get there.
The latex gloves did not slip easily over his sweaty palms. Once he got them on, he pulled the copied key from his pocket and grabbed the flashlight from the front seat. He gingerly slid the key into the back-door lock. The knob didn’t turn.
Damn! The key must be for the front door. The front door with the bright light hanging over it. The door facing the street.
He snapped off the flash light and walked around the side of the house, careful to keep close to the building. When he reached the corner, he stood for a while, hidden behind a large evergreen, and collected his thoughts. Easy does it.
After ten minutes, no cars had driven by. There were no lights on at the Feeneys’ across the street. With those three little kids, the parents were probably exhausted and in as deep a sleep as their children were. It paid to know your customers.
Augie came from his hiding place and hurried to the front door. This was no time for fumbling. He used all his powers of concentration to slide the key into the lock.
The brass knob twisted and the door opened. Augie stepped right in and closed the door behind him. He switched on his flash light and scanned the walls on either side of the doorway. Nothing.
Then he hurried to the rear of the house, training the beams of yellow light on the walls around the back door and the door to the garage. The walls were bare. He was probably safe, but he had to act fast.
He headed directly upstairs and quickly found the master bedroom. The first place to check was the bureau. He opened the top drawer and hit immediate pay dirt. He grabbed the leather jewelry box, not stopping to open it, and dropped it into a pillowcase that he stripped from one of the pillows on the bed. The flash light scanned the darkness. No television or VCR.
Eliza’s walk-in closet was illuminated the moment the door opened by a light in the ceiling. He rifled through the racks of clothes. He could tell these were expensive duds, but he wasn’t inclined to bother with them. There was no real money to be made by bringing them to a resale shop. And wouldn’t he look like an ass doing it? An ass and suspicious as hell.
His gloved hand felt a protrusion coming from the wall. Though he had no skill at lock-picking, he gave the safe handle a try anyway. Unexpectetly, it opened. His heart raced as he anticipated the booty.
The safe was empty.
Augie retraced his steps from Eliza’s bedroom to the hallway and down the staircase. In the dining room, he found a mahogany case containing sterling-silver flatware and serving pieces. He greedily emptied the silver into the pillowcase. A large silver bowl filled, with flowers sat in the middle of the dining-room table. He dumped the flowers and grabbed the bowl. He hoped it was sterling.
A glare flickered on something as his light flashed in the direction of the living room. He followed the light to the round table that was decorated with at least two dozen picture frames. He swept them all into the bag. He would check if they were silver plate or the real thing later.
Enough with the pillowcase. He went to the kitchen and laid it by the back door. He tried to see if he could open the door out to the backyard from the inside. He could. Augie left it ajar, walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door. Sometimes people hid things in there. He rifled through the freezer.
Nothing.
Augie continued on to the den where he disconnected the big-screen television, a DVD player, a VCR and another tape deck of some kind. Since Eliza had a kid, a video camera had to be around somewhere, too. He found it in the paneled closet.
In four trips back and forth he carried all of the loot out to the van and pulled away. He checked his watch. Nice haul for thirty-five minutes’ work.
Later he carelessly discarded all the photographs, knowing he would make a pretty penny on the silver frames. They were all sterling.