Uncommon Thief

  Chapter 11

  The First Temptation

  Several weeks later, Maria and Fred were sitting under a tree in front of the UCLA library having a late lunch. It was a pleasant October day, as the morning fog had finally given way to the warm rays of the sun. Fred was relaxing with his head in Maria’s lap. The sweet aroma of her body was intoxicating to him, and he could have lingered there all day.

  Maria was running her fingers through his hair as they discussed what to do on the weekend. "I've got to study a lot this weekend," Maria warned.

  "You can take time out to go to the football game, can't you?"

  "Maybe. When is it?"

  "Seven o'clock, but we'll have to leave at five to make it there on time."

  "Okay, but that's about all I will be able to do this weekend. I've got a biology test on Monday."

  "You've got to eat, don't you?"

  "Not necessarily, but it would be nice."

  "And I can't imagine you missing mass."

  "No. I wouldn't dare miss mass. God might punish me by letting me flunk my biology test."

  "Okay then. I'll take you to mass at ten thirty, and then I’ll buy you lunch. That way, you won't starve, God will help you pass your biology test, and I won't have to go a whole day without seeing you."

  "Do you always get what you want?"

  "Of course. I am going to be a lawyer."

  "I hate to mention this, but it's three o'clock. You'd better get moving or you’re going to be late for work."

  "No, don’t make me go. I'd rather stay here with you."

  She laughed and tried to pry him up. "Come on, you lazy bum. Get out of here. I don't want you to get in trouble."

  Fred sighed. "Okay, I am gone." After he gave her a long kiss, he took off. It was twenty-five minutes to downtown, so he had to hustle.

  When Fred arrived, Jim threw him the keys and said, "Better get rolling, Fred. You're five minutes late already, and I don't want to be waiting around all night for you again."

  "What, your lady friend’s complaining again?"

  "Not yet, but I don't want to get her started."

  "Okay, you can count on me. I'll have you out of here on time, don't worry."

  "Quit your bloody jabbering and get a move-on."

  "Okay, au revoir."

  Fred hit the San Bernardino Freeway, and, even though he was only five or ten minutes late, traffic was already getting pretty heavy. He wasn't able to make up any time until he got out of San Bernardino, and even then only a few minutes. When he arrived at the Palm Springs branch, he walked in the bank lobby and saw Candy at the end of the counter. She wasn’t smiling, which made him feel uneasy.

  Fred felt he needed to apologize to her for running off the way he had the last time he’d seen her. He approached her cautiously. "Hi, Candy."

  She forced a smile. "Hi, Fred."

  "Hey, about the other day. I’m sorry I was short with you. It's not that your idea wasn't enticing, because it was, believe me. Actually, I've given it serious consideration, but I just don't know if I could pull it off. It's just not me."

  "I understand. You're just too much of a Boy Scout."

  "Well, I don't know about that, but anyway, I hope we can still be friends."

  "Sure. Your Maria is a lucky woman to have someone so faithful."

  "Well, you certainly put my fidelity to the test."

  "But you are turning me down, right?”

  Fred paused a moment for reflection, although it was a simple question with an obvious answer. Then Fred heard himself say, "Well, yeah, for now."

  "You mean there’s still hope?" Candy asked cheerily.

  "There's always hope."

  Candy gave him a calculating look, and Fred knew immediately he was in trouble. What had he done? Why hadn't he just told her there was no chance in hell of her mistress idea ever happening? Why had he left the door open? He should have been upset with himself for how ineptly he had handled the situation, but somehow he didn't feel bad at all. She was the most desirable woman he’d ever known, and she had invited him to be her lover, for godsakes! What else did he want, an engraved invitation? How could he close the door to such an exciting relationship? The fact was, he couldn't.

  Up to that evening, he’d been able to analyze the situation with Candy somewhat objectively. It was obvious from his moral and religious training that any relationship with her was out of the question. Besides, he wasn't entirely sure Candy's proposal was genuine, as it had occurred to him she might just be teasing. After all, she was planning to be an actress. But that night, Candy seemed genuinely hurt and disappointed that he had rejected her proposal. For the first time, he was convinced she wasn't teasing; she was absolutely serious. If I pass up this opportunity now, I might regret it for the rest of my life. And what if what Candy said was right? What if it is possible for us to have this relationship and always keep it a secret? How could I pass that up?

  Luckily, by the time Fred got to the Redding branch, he was starting to regain his senses and realized the idea was ludicrous. Then and there, he decided to go to confession and get some spiritual guidance before he found himself giving his soul to the Devil.

  But, if Fred thought his moral scrutiny was over for the evening, he was woefully mistaken. As he drove into the San Bernardino Branch parking lot, he saw Sam Stewart leaning against his VW, waiting for him. He looked at his watch and was horrified to see he was ten minutes late.

  "How's it going?" Fred asked. He wanted to add ‘Santa’ to his greeting but restrained himself.

  "Can't complain. You're running late again, I see."

  "Yeah. I've been trying to catch up all night but haven't had any luck."

  "Well, I reckon I should warn you. In a few weeks, you'll be waiting for me every night."

  "Really? Why's that?"

  "Come November, there’s gonna be lots of snow up there in them mountains around Arrowhead and Big Bear. Driving will be mean, and it will take a lot longer than usual to get down off the mountain."

  "Well, I guess I'll bring a good book."

  "You just might hit some of that there snow yourself between Palm Springs and Banning. Yeah, I used to have your route years ago, and several times I got caught in some near blizzards."

  "That should be fun." As sarcastic as it sounded, Fred was serious. Snow fascinated him. He guessed this was due to the fact that he saw so little of it living in California. "Speaking of snow and the approach of winter, have you ever thought of playing Santa Claus during the holiday season? You'd be a natural. I am sure you could make a mint."

  "Let me just ask you one question," Sam said icily. “Have you ever had 200 snotty-nosed kids coughing and sneezing all over you?"

  "No, but it sounds like you may have."

  "You're damn right I have, and it's no fun—believe me."

  "Okay. Just curious. I guess I better go. Jim's got some hot woman he's meeting tonight, and he already warned me not to be late."

  "Jim has hot women after him every night. Don't rush on account of him and his libido."

  "That’s true. Okay, see ya later."

  As Sam got in his car and drove off, Fred turned toward the bank and walked to the front door. He unlocked it, stepped inside and locked the door behind him, just as he always did. Then he started walking to the place where the bags were usually left for him. It was dark, and he couldn't see too well, but there was a nightlight that illuminated the bank enough so he could get around without running into furniture. He spotted the bags and walked toward them, but as he scanned the bank lobby, he noticed something odd. The bank vault appeared to be open. Fred wandered over to it to get a closer look, and sure enough, the massive steel door was wide open!

  A million thoughts began to run through Fred’s head. How much money is in there? Is there any kind of alarm inside the vault? If someone were to walk in when it was open, would anything happen? Who would be so stupid to leave a bank vault open? I wonder if they’d miss $1
,000 or even $10,000?

  After staring in the vault for several minutes, Fred knew the right thing to do was to call the motor pool and report to them that the bank vault was open. He picked up one of the bank phones and dialed the number. It rang several times.

  "Hello. This is Sinclair."

  "Mr. Sinclair, this is Fred Fuller."

  "Fuller? What's wrong?"

  "Well, I am over here at San Bernardino, and I noticed that someone left the bank vault open."

  "Oh shit! Okay. Stay right there, and I'll have someone get over to the bank in just a few minutes."

  "Okay."

  "Thanks for calling, Fred."

  After about fifteen minutes, a dark blue Cadillac drove up. A short, stocky man got out of his car and approached Fred. He seemed a little wobbly as he walked, his speech was slurred, and he smelled of liquor. "You Fuller?" he asked.

  "Yes,” Fred replied.

  "I'm Harvey Hamlin, the cashier here. I understand we have a little sit-uration."

  "Yeah. I noticed the bank vault was left open, so I reported it to my supervisor."

  "Well, aren't you (burp) Mr. Honest Abe?"

  "I thought if someone happened to look in and see the vault open, it might be somewhat of a temptation."

  "What? You mean someone might want the six million bucks that’s in there right now?" He started laughing like Fred had told him a hysterical joke.

  "Is that really how much is in there?" Fred asked incredulously.

  "You're most certainly damn right. (burp) Counted it myself this afternoon."

  "Damn! Isn't that a lot of money to be in a small branch like this?"

  Hamlin shook his head and wobbled. Fred grabbed his arm to steady him. "Not when you got three major defense plants (burp) less than (burp) two miles away with 12,000 employees. On payday, we can shell out two or three million easy."

  "Six million is a lot of money," Fred said. "With the vault open like that, could someone really just walk in there and take it?"

  Hamlin laughed. "I don't know why not. The alarm isn't activated until I close the vault.”

  “Really?”

  "Yeah, you missed your opportunity, (burp) Fred. You could have just walked in there and taken six million dollars. Instead, you called Sinclair. What a dumb ass!"

  He started to laugh again and then went inside the bank, staggered around a bit, and headed for the vault. He went inside the vault, Fred guessed to check and see if all the money was still there, then tried to swing the heavy steel door around but staggered and nearly fell over. “How about a little help here, Fred?” he asked.

  Fred rushed over and helped him push the vault closed. Then Hamlin turned the wheel on the front of the vault, which Fred figured activated the locking system and the alarm.

  "You can go now, Fuller. The bank's money is safe, or the insurance company’s money is safe actually. The bank wouldn’t have lost a dime even if someone had cleaned them out entirely."

  “Really? Not a dime?”

  “Nah. Some insurance company’s profit would dip half a percent—no big deal.”

  "I know it's none of my business, but I am curious about what happened. Why was the vault left open?"

  He stiffened. "You’re right. It's none of your damn business!" Hamlin replied irritably.

  "Okay, okay. Just curious. Like you said, no big deal."

  He sighed. "If you must know, my wife, she left me.” Fred could see tears welling in his eyes and he began to choke up. “She took the kids, and she didn't even leave a note.” He took a deep breath, like he was trying to calm himself, then exhaled slowly. “I don’t know how it happened. Everyone had gone. I was about to close the vault when my mother-in-law called. She told me her daughter had finally taken her advice and dumped me. It was so upsetting I just dropped everything and left."

  "Why do you think she left you?"

  "I guess she finally got tired of being married to a drunk."

  "Hmm. I’m so sorry, Mr. Hamlin. I hope you find your family," Fred said sympathetically.

  "Thank you. I’m sorry I messed up your evening."

  "You didn't mess anything up. I only lost about an hour. It's no big deal."

  "Well, you’d better get out of here. Sinclair is going to be looking for you."

  "Okay. Can you make it home alright? I could drive you home and you could pick up your car in the morning."

  "No, that’s okay. I am starting to sober up now. I’ll make a cup of coffee and take a nap on the sofa before I try to drive."

  "Good. I’ll see you later then."

  It was already nine, and Fred had nearly an hour’s drive ahead of him. He knew Jim was going to be furious, so he raced home as fast he could, keeping a lookout for the California Highway Patrol. As it turned out, his race back was unnecessary, as Jim had been sent home and Sinclair was waiting for him at the motor pool.

  "Did Hamlin show up?" he asked.

  "Yes, sir. He came about fifteen minutes after I called."

  "Did you see him close the vault?"

  "Yes, sir. He went inside, checked it out, and then I helped him close it."

  "Good. Nice work, Fuller. It's good to know we have an honest employee."

  "No problem, sir."

  It was too late to go see Maria, so Fred went straight home. When he walked in, Steve was watching TV. He went to the refrigerator, got a Coke, and then plopped himself down on the sofa.

  "How was Maria tonight?" Steve asked.

  "I don't know. I just got off work."

  "How come you're so late?"

  "You won't believe what happened."

  "What?"

  "The cashier over at the San Bernardino branch left the vault open with over six million dollars in it."

  "You've got to be joking!"

  "I had to wait around for him to get his drunk ass over to the bank to close the vault."

  "He was really drunk?"

  "Yeah, downright plastered."

  "I bet he was relieved that you discovered it before someone robbed the bank."

  "Not really. He said I was a dumb ass for not taking the money."

  Steve laughed. "You’d be their first suspect!"

  "Not necessarily. What if I took the money and then closed the vault?"

  "What about the alarm?"

  "Mr. Hamlin says the alarm doesn't activate until the vault is closed."

  "Too bad you didn't know all that before you discovered it open."

  "You mean; you think I should have taken the money?"

  "Not really, but six million dollars is a lot of temptation," Steve said, “even for a Boy Scout.”

  "Yeah, with that kind of money, you could go just about anywhere in the world and live like a king for the rest of your life," Fred mused.

  "But you would have to leave all your friends and family, and you could never come back to the United States," Steve noted.

  "Unless they didn't know you took the money."

  "But Hamlin would have remembered he left the vault open and told the FBI, don't you think?"

  "That would be the big gamble, but I am pretty sure he would lie to save his ass. He wouldn't want anyone to know he did something as stupid as leaving the bank vault open. Besides, he was so drunk he might not have known whether he left the vault open or not."

  For a moment, they both sat silently, pondering the situation and what they could have done with six million bucks.

  After several minutes, Steve smiled and then broke the silence. “Well, it's a moot point now since the vault is closed and the money is safe. It's probably a good thing you didn't know then what you know now or you might have taken the money and ended up ruining your life, not to mention Maria's.”

  "Yeah, I guess you're right.” Fred looked at his watch. “Speaking of Maria, I’d better call her before it gets any later." Fred went into his bedroom, dialed Maria's number and told the desk clerk he wanted Maria's room. He immediately rang her number. The phone rang several times.
>
  "Hello?"

  "Hi, babe."

  "Hi, Fred. Where have you been? It's almost ten thirty."

  "I got slightly delayed at San Bernardino."

  "What? They didn't have the bags ready again?"

  "No, it wasn’t that. This time, some idiot forgot to close the vault."

  "How could someone forget something like that?"

  "He had some domestic problems. His wife left him."

  "So what did you do?"

  "I called my supervisor and then had to wait for Mr. Hamlin to come and close the vault."

  "Damn. I missed seeing you tonight."

  Fred’s curiosity was aroused as to how Maria would have reacted if he’d decided to steal the money. What would she do if she had to choose between me and her family and friends? He knew it was a cruel thing to ask her, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to know. "Maria, what would you have done if I had called you and said I had six million dollars and we needed to leave the country tonight?"

  "I would have said you are crazy."

  "I'm serious. That vault had over six million dollars in it, and all I would have had to do was walk in and take the money."

  "Come on! You couldn't have just taken the money."

  "Yes, I could have. The alarm is not activated until the vault is closed. Hamlin said I could have walked right in and taken the money."

  "But they would have known you took it."

  "That wasn’t my question. What if I called you and said I've got six million dollars and we need to leave the country tonight? What would you have done?"

  "I would have said goodbye."

  He sighed. "That's what I figured."

  "Well, I am not going to leave my family and friends to go off to some third world country and hide the rest of my life."

  "Don't you love me?"

  "Of course I do, but the man I love is a decent, honest man, Fred—not a thief."

  "Doesn't the thought of having six million dollars tempt you just a little?"

  "No. I know you will be making lots of money when you become a lawyer, and I can wait. Anyway, I've always been told a law license was a license to steal, so be patient. Wait until you get a license before you start stealing other people's money."

  "You're a real comedian."

  "I know. You're lucky to have me."

  "Yeah, well I guess I better go do some studying or I'll never get that law license you're depending on so much."

  "That's right. Get to work, Fred."

  "Okay. Goodnight. Love ya."

  "Love ya too. Bye."

  By Monday, Fred had managed to purge the six-million-dollar question out of his mind; however, when he got to Palm Springs, another temptation was waiting impatiently for him.

  "Well, if it isn't the Boy Scout," Candy spat.

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "I heard about the open bank vault."

  "Oh, that. Who told you about that?"

  “Joe, the morning messenger. It’s the talk of the motor pool.”

  “Hmm. Wonderful.”

  She shook her head. "You just walked away from six million dollars, just like that?"

  "First of all, I didn't know there was six million dollars in the vault, nor did I know that the alarm wouldn't go off if I took the money."

  She sighed. "I know. I’m sorry. It would have been just so fabulous had you been able to take the money."

  He looked at her in disbelief. "So, if I had called you Friday night and said ‘I've got six million dollars. Pack your bags, we're leaving the country’, you’d have said—?"

  "What time are you picking me up?"

  Fred laughed. "That's what I figured. What about your family and friends?"

  "Money attracts friends. I'll have all the friends I'll ever need with that much money."

  "What if you could never come back to the United States again?"

  "With six million dollars, we wouldn't need the United States."

  "What about your career?"

  "Career? With that kind of money, we’d have enough to make our own movies, and I could star in them."

  "What if we got caught and you went to jail as an accomplice?"

  "You're too smart to get caught. Anyway, life isn’t any fun if you don’t take a little risk once in a while."

  "One last question. How would I know I could trust you?"

  "Like you say, I'd be an accomplice. My neck would be on the line too. So, if you got caught, I would get caught. And who knows? I might just fall in love with you."

  "Wouldn't that mess up our business relationship?"

  She shrugged. "Maybe, or maybe I wouldn't care."

  About that time, the bank manager walked in and saw them talking. He looked at his watch and said, "Shouldn't you be halfway to Beaumont by now?"

  "Yeah. I am out of here. Bye, Candy."

  "See ya, Fred."

  Again, Fred had been ambushed by Candy. She had a way of totally immobilizing him. She was so gorgeous and sexy that he couldn't think rationally when he was around her. But when she told him she might fall in love with him, that was a major jolt—at least a 6.7 on the Richter Scale. If Candy really loved me, that would change everything.

  Fred couldn't take his mind off of Candy all evening. She was so different from Maria, like they were from different planets. How could he choose between them? Deep inside, he didn't want to choose; he wanted both of them. It was selfish and stupid, but it was how he felt. Candy wouldn't care if he married Maria as long as he took care of her, but unfortunately, Maria would not share him with anyone. What a perilous existence it would be to try to have them both!

  That night, Fred had trouble sleeping again. Life had become too complicated. He knew he should steer clear of Candy, but she excited him, and he didn't know how long he could resist her if she didn’t stop ambushing him.