The Lady In Red
"Everything about her was a lie. She was the epitome of deception!
Inside the cold stone walls of the prison, Weiner murmured to himself for the umpteenth time.ÿ
Couldn?t she have told me the truth? I would have still helped her.
How he hated prison!ÿ
Weiner was an honest man. But with a greed to own rare and expensive books.
Now, he planned to rob the house at Hancock Valley to buy rare classics he found with an agent. He thoroughly studied the interior and exterior layout, etc, which the owners were foolish enough to post in a magazine. He chose a time when they were not in town. The servants went to the movies on Friday afternoons.
Four hours was what he would get. And that was amazing!ÿ
******
The next Friday, he spent an hour cutting off the electrical wiring outside the house to disable the cameras. It would take him about an hour to locate and rob the safe. Since he was a locksmith, safe combinations did not make him nervous.ÿ
He entered the house, with gloves on, quiet as a mouse. As he walked quickly up the stairs, he sneezed.
?Who is it?? The crisp female voice stopped him in his tracks.ÿ
He looked up, alarmed.ÿ
A young lady, dressed in an expensive red gown, walked down slowly.ÿ
?Oh dear! We have a visitor here. I don?t think I was expecting anybody.?
He sneezed again.ÿ
?What happened Mr????
?Weiner,? he said without thinking. ?I have hay fever. The flowers here?.?
?So, this is the first time you are, Mr. Weiner. And looking at you, I guess you have come to rob this place.?
ÿ?No, I can tell?..,? he struggled.
?I think I should call the police. I am sure they will be quite interested to hear,? she said, her voice soft yet firm.ÿ
?No! Don?t,? he threatened her.ÿ
She laughed at his discomfiture. ?I take pity on you, a middle-aged thief with a hay fever. You thought I was not in town. Well, I just came back today morning. I have to go to a party tonight. I was trying to open the safe but I don?t seem to remember the combination to open the same. I dread calling my husband. He will certainly be annoyed at my ignorance.?ÿ
?I think you have come prepared.? She looked at his box of tools. ?If you are kind enough to open it for me, I will let you go,? she said, walking him to the safe directly.ÿ
He removed his gloves as directed and opened the safe without much effort.
She thanked him profusely and saw to it that he went out safe and sound.ÿ
******
The next week, he was caught by his fingerprints and sent to prison for robbing the house of a millionaire in Hancock Valley.ÿ
He cried hoarse that he had been asked to open the safe by the owner herself. But the owner, a sixty-year-old lady, claimed that she had never seen him in her life or house.ÿ
Damn her! Didn?t she know about ?honour among thieves??
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