Tommy whips his car through slower moving traffic, rushing to get across town. He hopes he'll be able to make it to the warehouse on time. He's been looking forward to this heist for weeks because it promises to be the biggest payout of all. A few more of these and I'll have the down payment for Jen's operation. He smiles to himself. Her condition remains stable, but with her heart the way it is, Tommy knows she can go to stable to critical in a matter of seconds.
Tommy recalls the first time he stepped into the old lady's home as his car slides around the sharp curve. I can make bank with this job, he concluded as he continued to scope the mansion out.


We'll hit the jackpot that's for sure. He skids into the empty lot. I hope they didn’t leave without me. Hopping out of the car, he jogs across the lawn. The door flies open, Vinnie jerks him inside.
“Nice seeing you again too, pal.” Tommy laughs.

The strong smell of pot hits him as he’s slung through the entryway. He glances through the haze to find Larry toking it up in the corner. This was a ritual he started years ago; he claims weed helps calm his nerves. Being the jittery type, Tommy figures he can use all the help he can get. "Sorry, I'm late. I was setting up the cameras and lost track of time."

Larry glances up from his hookah. "You found us another house to rob?"

"I have two, but it'll be months before we can hit either one."

"How do you want to split the house, Tommy?"

"I'll do the alarm and safe. Vinnie, you take the upstairs, Larry the downstairs. When I yell time, we'll head to the car, got it?" His buddies nod in agreement. "Let's get to it then."

***

The daily hustle and bustle of the squad room continues all around them. The three Berryville Detectives are reviewing recent burglary reports at their desks on the far side of the room. They're hoping to find something that'll help solve their case but haven't had any luck thus far.

"I don't understand how a robber can walk into a house in broad daylight, grab a bunch of stuff and walk out without being seen. It's like the crook has an invisible shield or something." Kirk scans through the reports again. After ten years in the lab, Kirk decided he needs a change. So, he took the detective exam and now works alongside his two favorite detectives, Rachel and Jerry.

"According to the reports, the thief is in and out within a very short amount of time. So, we can assume that whoever is pulling off these jobs is familiar with the house and the victim's routine."

"That's a great assumption, Jerry. Were there any strange cars reported in the neighborhood?" Rachel asks.

"No, and the neighbors don't recall anything out of the ordinary either."

"Is there any security footage, Kirk?"

"There's one traffic cam on Fremont and Main, but since the robbery occurred during the morning rush, it's going to take a while to sort through it."

"We still need to pull the tape, see what we can find. Is there any connection between the victims?"

"I haven't found anything yet and by the looks of it, I doubt I will."

"Why, Kirk?"

"Their lives couldn't be any more different and the locations are miles apart."

"Keep digging into the victims' backgrounds. Jerry and I will see what we can find on the webcam, if that's alright with you, Jerr?"

"Sounds good to me, sergeant." Jerry has been with the police force for 16 years, he made sergeant in 10. After suffering from several health issues, the doctor advised him to either retire or find a less stressful job. Jerry didn't want to give up police work entirely, so, he decided to step down from the sergeant position, after encouraging Rachel to fill the spot. She took the test and was promoted to sergeant soon after. Although Rachel outranks him, she often asks for his approval out of respect.

"Guys, there's been a robbery on Church Street. Patrol believes it was done by the same perp," Joe says, walking towards them.

"We're on our way, captain," Rachel glances at her crew.
***

The three men pull up to the beautiful two-story brick mansion just off of homestead drive. The immaculate home sits on five acres of well-kept lawn. Several large statues encompass the grand entryway. A row of French Lavender flowers runs the length of the walk and two large flower beds are on either side of the steps.

"You weren't kidding about it being fancy, Tommy," Vinnie says admiring the million dollar home.

The group circles around to the service entrance located in the back. "Only take what we can get rid of things that'll be hard to trace," Tommy instructs as he punches in the code.

Vinnie hears gravel crunching in the driveway. He glances up to find a car headed their way. "Someone's coming, Tommy."


They didn't have a single visitor the entire time I cased the joint.


***

The detectives see forensics diligently working the scene when they pull up to the house. The residents is a two-story baby-blue Victorian. It at the houses around it are listed on the National Historical Registry.
"This is Jack and Elizabeth Barkley. They own the house," a uniformed officer informs her.

"My name is Rachel, and these are my partners, Jerry and Kirk. Can you please explain what happened this morning?"

"My wife and I left for a business trip. We came back and I found this.”


"Who would do this to us, Jack, who?" Elizabeth buries her face in her hands.

"I don't know, honey." He gently wraps his arm around her. She snuggles against him.

"At least you weren't hurt," Kirk says.

 Terror fills Elizabeth’s eyes. "He's right, we could've been killed." Feeling her body tremble, Jack pulls her in closer and then glares at the detective. 
Feeing the animosity grow between then Rachel steps in between the homeowners and Kirk. She clear her throat and then says, “How long were you gone?”
“We left Sunday night and returned today.”

"Do either of you have any enemies, maybe someone who has a grudge against you?"

"I can't think of anyone, can you honey?"

 Elizabeth wipes a tear from her cheek. She sniffles and says, “No, not a soul.”

"Does anyone else have a key to your house, a housekeeper, nanny, or gardeners perhaps?"

Elizabeth glances up. "We can't afford to hire help; we're barely scraping by."

"Barely scraping by?" Rachel glances inside the elaborate house.

"Well, not barely, but we have to watch what we spend." She gets a dreamy look in her eyes. "The baby will be here before long." Seeing Rachel eyeing her stomach Elizabeth laughs. "I'm not pregnant, sergeant. We're adopting a beautiful baby girl from Russia."

"I bet that cost a small fortune."

"It took most of our life savings, but it'll be worth every penny when we hear the pitter-patter of her little feet."

"If you think of anything useful, please let me know." The sergeant hands them her card.

Jack takes it from her. "We will."

Rachel walks across the lawn; her partners follow. When they're a safe distance away, she turns to face them. "I have a new spin on the robberies, guys."

"What's that?" Kirk asks.

"What if it's an inside job?"

"We've already looked into the staff from the first crime scenes and they said they don’t hire out."

"What if it's the owners and not their staff?"

"Why would they want to steal their own stuff?" Kirk questions, scratching his head.

"They wouldn't steal it, they'd move it to a different location. Then file a false police report and wait for the insurance money to roll in."

"I can see someone doing that if they need money, but..."

"One couple told us the economy is hurting their business, and this couple said the adoption wiped them out. So, who's to say the other couples aren't in a financial crisis as well?"

"It's possible I suppose, unlikely but possible."

"Don't you guys think it's odd that the robber seems to  know all the codes and that nothing suspicious is reported when it happens, Jerry?" 

"I'll check the owner's whereabouts, but I still say your theory is way off."

"Have my instincts' been wrong before?"

"There's always a first."

"I'll tell you what, if I'm wrong, which I'm not, I'll make you supper anything you want."

Jerry’s eyes light up as he pictures the delicious feat. He’s all about his food. His large waist is proof of that.

"When you lose, you’ll take me to the restaurant of my choice."

"You don't want me to cook for you?"

"I've tasted your food and I'd much rather eat jailhouse slop."

"I can cook a lot of things." He pats his rounded belly.

"Don't you mean you ruin a lot of things?" Kirk and Rachel laugh.