"Who's there?" he could hear her ask through the * master
glass.
He held his breath. Finally, she opened the storm door and stepped out on the porch, holding the door open behind her. He slipped through the door as he heard her mutter, "Damn fool kids."
Inside, he moved quickly into a darkened corner and waited for the maid to come back inside. His heart was racing. Suddenly he was overcome by terror.
What if he was caught?
If the maid turned on a light, he would be as visible as if he had been dressed in neon.
In the future, he would have to plan his jobs Some dream.
more carefully.
But the maid walked by him without turning on a light. She went on and stepped into the living room.
"Who was that, Flo?" a man's voice asked.
Wimpler moved quietly along the hall, as he heard the maid say, "Just some kids, Mr. Mason."
"I hope they didn't wake Mrs. Mason."
As Wimpler reached the door, he peered in from the shadows. The man was getting up from the sofa. He was fortyish, well-fed, and prosperous looking. "I have to go out, Flora," the man said. "Don't wake Mrs. Mason."
"Yes sir. You'll be back soon?"
Mr. Mason put his hands around the maid's rump and pulled her to him. He kissed her heavily on the mouth. "Soon enough," he said. "Soon enough."
Flora giggled as Mason walked toward a coat
rack near the door. Wimpler slipped quickly upstairs. If they had jewels, they would probably be in the
Only one of the upstairs doors was closed. Waiting outside, Wimpler could hear the sound of soft breathing. He opened the door, stepped inside, and saw a figure on the bed. He caught his breath.
Mrs. Mason slept atop the covers, in the nude. She wasn't as full-figured as Phyllis, his next door neighbor, but she would do. She was in her thirties and well-kept, with large breasts and long slim legs.
Wimpler found himself starting to get excited, imagining the things he could do to her while she slept. And if she awoke and saw no one in the room, she would probably think she had been dreaming.
Wimpler almost laughed.
But first things first. With an effort, he turned away from the woman and began searching the room. He found what he was looking for in a top drawer of the dresser. A jewelry box was filled with necklaces and bracelets and rings. He took them all - and put them in a small, cloth bag he had brought with him. Then he secreted the bag under his invisible clothing.
He turned back to the sleeping, nude form of Mrs. Mason.
But fear overcame his lust. It was time to leave. He reached down and playfully stroked one of Mrs. Mason's breasts. She smiled in her sleep. Then he whispered in her ear, "Your husband and your maid are making it, dear."
The smile slid off her face and Wimpler went
quickly to the door and went down the stairs. 2021
„„,_„ , , ,. , , treating back, he knew what was going to happen.
When he finally got back to his own house, he ^ ^ bacfc ^ derk wag * *Q ^
heaved a sigh of relief. He removed his black night oor r
suit and dumped his take out on the bed.
The diamonds sparkled and shone and he let wi ler tumed ^ r£m from stor
them wash through his fingers as he played with dowQ /m Street tQ ^ gu station
them on the bed. How much, he wondered. Ten J
telephone and call the police. Inside of thirty seconds, the store would be surrounded.
He d find out tomorrow when he went to 47th
thousand? Twenty? He got off the subway at 42nd Street where he
^^^ ^ he had ^ ^ beWnd Sq
Street m Manhattan to sell them. - j. hnpiarv career
As he got off the subway at 47th Street and Ave- Rewa¿¿fthe streetsHe d six hot d vend.
nue of the Americas, he was surprised to realize his ^ izza ^ ^Donalds, a *B
heart was pounding again ^ Chinese ^^ f()od sh food stQres b
What if someone called the pohce? the dozen, noticed and counted only because he was He took a deep breath and walked into the first
starving.
He fished in his pocket. He had fifty cents. In New York, it wasn't even enough for a sidewalk hot dog. And besides, he wanted to go home. He went down to the subway platform, took the train back to Brooklyn, got off at Atlantic Avenue and walked down to the docks.
wholesale jeweler he saw.
"May I help you?" a clerk asked. Was that suspicion in the man's eyes, Wimpler wondered. He almost backed out, but then cleared his throat and said, "I want to ... er ... sell some jewelry. It was ... my mother's. She's dead now."
May l see i . I ^ f^gj. j^d aiwayS told him that a man ai^^
Wimpler dumped the contents of his cloth bag on I ^ when ^^ ^
the counter He could feel the sweat running in nv- I had ^ ^ Life had been a 1qssfof ¡^ &¿