Benny’s Luck

Benny surveyed the strip mall in the car’s headlights. The jewelry store was straight ahead of him and he could see a novelty toy store next to it and a coin shop on the other side of that.

He watched the security guard on the walkway in front of the jewelry store light a cigarette. When the guard kept looking toward the Chevrolet that Benny had stolen from the airport’s long term parking lot that morning, Benny decided he had sat there long enough.

He combed his dark hair, turned off the car’s headlights, got out and crossed the parking lot. The guard tossed his cigarette to the walkway, stepped on it, then opened the door to the jewelry store for Benny and followed him inside.

There were two clerks in the store. A gentleman with an expensive suit was waiting on an old man with a well-worn overcoat. A tiny blonde behind the counter flashed a bright smile at Benny as he approached.

His lady had given him an ultimatum. “Bring me some jewelry or I’ll find a man who will,” she’d said and added softly, “a better looking one too.”

“I heard that,” Benny had said. It wasn’t his fault that Roy, his cellmate, had broken his nose on his first day in prison. He’d been stupid enough to try and rob a gas station with a toy gun only to have the clerk pull out a real one from under the counter. “I know that’s a toy,” the clerk had said, just before calling 911.

Benny had given Roy a black eye and they’d gotten along fine after that. Roy was the one who’d told Benny about this easy score. Only the old security guard Roy had mentioned must have retired.

Since Benny was here already, he would see if he could steal anything. “Let me look at that one.” He tapped the glass over the displayed watches. “You ask anybody nowadays what time it is, they pull out their cell phone, if they ain’t gabbing on it already, but my lady, she wants a real gold watch with diamonds on the band.

The clerk’s smile wavered a bit as if she couldn’t imagine the type of woman who would be involved with Benny but she obligingly reached for the watch, her fancy gold bracelet clinking on the counter. Benny wondered how quickly he could snatch her bracelet and make a run for it. He stole a sideways glance at the security guard wearing a hip holster, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Benny since they’d walked in the store together.

He wished Roy was here right now so he could hit him for making this jewelry store sound like an easy heist when it wasn’t anymore, but Roy was still in prison.

Benny turned the watch this way and that, catching the store’s bright lights in the diamonds, pretending to be studying the item as the clerk rattled off its merits. Her voice was soft and he could overhear the conversation between the old man and the male clerk at the other end of the counter.

“Sam is off today and he’s the one who knows about coins. He could tell you how much your 1964 Kennedy half dollars are worth, but if you don’t want to wait until tomorrow, you could try the coin shop on the other side of the toy store. I know them and they’ll give you a good deal. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re worth at least $10 each.”

Benny looked that way casually as the old man reached for the coins back and he and the clerk noticed the gold watch. “If you’re really short of cash right now, I can give you a fair price for that watch,” the clerk said.

The old man shook his head. “It’s priceless to me. It’s been in my family for generations. I’ll try the coin shop. Thanks.”

Benny watched the old man pick up four coins from the counter, wrap them carefully in a cloth, and place them in a small pouch which he shoved into his trouser pocket. Benny had seen enough of the set-up to know that he’d never get past this particular security guard but the old man was an easy target. That gold watch must be expensive and he’d take the coins as a bonus.

Benny reluctantly gave the watch he was still holding back to the clerk. “You know it would really be better if I brought her in to see it and let her decide,” he said. Then he followed the old man out the door, the security guard watching him closely as if to check that Benny hadn’t magically managed to get his hands on any of the jewelry.

The old man walked faster than Benny had thought possible, so he hurried to catch up, bumping into the trash can on the walkway. The man turned at the noise and looked at Benny who was standing directly under one of the lights embedded in the overhang. Benny attempted what he thought was a warm engaging smile but it seemed to alarm the man who quickly opened the door to the toy store and stepped inside.

Benny followed but when he got inside, he didn’t see the old man. He walked around looking for him. Then he heard noises on one of the aisles and went to see what they were.

A row of four small black robot banks sat on a shelf rocking back and forth on stubby legs, making a clicking noise as their hands bounced on springs attached to a square body. Red eyes blinked over a coin slot big enough for a half dollar. Benny saw the old man walking toward the front of the store where the clerk was at the cash register.

He didn’t think the clerk would just stand by while he stole the old man’s watch off him and he didn’t want to wait until the store closed to get his chance. The banks had stopped moving. Those coins were in the banks, he was sure of it, the old man had hid them there.

He decided to settle for the coins and forget the watch. Looking around, he saw some shopping baskets at the end of the aisle, grabbed one and tossed the banks into it. The banks made clicking noises inside the basket as Benny ran down the aisle toward the door. He knew he could outrun the two men easily, he was fast, and quickly reach his car.

“Stop!” yelled the store clerk as Benny hurtled out the door and collided with the security guard from the jewelry store. The guard dropped the cigarette he was holding and Benny dropped the basket. Four blinking robots spilled out and clicked on the walkway.

The clerk burst out the door and managed to stop before he stumbled over them. “He stole those banks,” he said to the guard, pointing at Benny. “I’m calling 911.” The clerk dashed back into the store. Benny would have dashed as well, but the guard regained his feet first and now held a gun on him. Benny hated guns.

When the clerk came back out, the old man was with him.

“Why would he steal the banks? I know they’re cute but they’re motion activated, no one actually puts money in them to see them work.” The clerk picked one up, switched it off and shook it. There was silence. No rattle of any coins could be heard.

The old man laughed.

Benny could hear a distant siren. He hoped they put him in the same prison again. He couldn’t wait to see his old cell mate and give Roy another black eye.

 

Bio

K. A. Williams has had crime fiction published in Mystery Tribune, Trembling With Fear, Yellow Mama, Calliope, and The Rockford Review winning one of their Editor’s Choice Awards for prose in 2009.