chapter 42
DAWN BROKE CLEAR, cool, and crisp at 6:33 a.m. Walter had been up for an hour. He knew that one of the largest armed forces in the South was positioned all across Mississippi to take part in a tradition as serious as Thanksgiving—opening day of deer season. Tomorrow, hundreds, if not thousands, of smiling young girls and boys, holding their trophy deer, would have their pictures in small-town newspapers across the state.
Hunting’s economic impact is staggering. Hunters not only pay for their privilege to enjoy their natural rights to the outdoors, but also purchase food, gas, equipment, clothing, and the list goes on and on and on. Walter wished he were out there. Sebastian had offered to take him hunting on some land along the river that the Corps of Engineers made available for public. Walter promised himself that he would enjoy a hunt sometime soon, but for now, he had a crime to plan. He remembered what his favorite major league baseball player, Roger Maris, said: “You hit home runs not by chance but by preparation.”
Not having the codes continued to bother him, and he had devised a new approach that hopefully would solve the problem. Yesterday he’d purchased an expensive motion-sensitive and voice-activated video camera that he planned to have Bailey set up in the office to capture the code being entered. It was a waste of time and too risky to attempt breaking in without knowing the code. It wasn’t realistic that they could guess the combination, and the safe was too heavy for four old farts and a girl to move…even if it weren’t bolted to the slab. The surveillance camera was their best bet, and hiding it seemed plausible because of all the junk in the office. To maximize their chances for success, Walter was willing to wait—as long as it took—until the camera captured the code.
Walter started thinking about his recent conversations with Jake Crosby while he waited on the rest of the crew to make their way downstairs. There was no means of getting the cash into a bank account without raising suspicion, except by making small deposits over an extended period. Shit, we’re all too freakin’ old to even consider doin’ much of anything that extends any distance into the future. Walter chuckled at the thought.
He could tell Jake was disappointed and knew he wasn’t willing to risk breaking any laws, and his brokerage wouldn’t allow it anyway. Jake had wished him the best and hoped he could help Walter in the near future.
Walter took a long sip of coffee and then changed mental gears to Samantha’s phone call yesterday telling him that Kroger had requested a meeting for Monday and that they had disclosed that they would have attorneys present. She was nervous—he could hear it in her voice—and that, in turn, made him anxious.
At about seven thirty, Lucille and Bailey came down for breakfast. Lucille had toast with homemade blackberry jelly. Bailey drank a Mountain Dew. Her eye didn’t look as bad as Walter had expected.
After a few more minutes, Walter tired of waiting for Sebastian and Bernard and pulled out the camera. “Bailey, this is what I want you to do. It’s real simple. This is a motion-sensitive video camera that makes no noise. I need you to position it so it can film Moon Pie entering the safe’s combination. If we can get that, we’re home free.”
“How do I turn it on? Do I have to focus it?” she asked, a bit intimidated.
“It automatically focuses, and all you have to do is turn it on by pushing this switch. Point it at the lock, and make sure it’s hidden. Make sure it’s at an angle so the person punching in the code doesn’t block the camera. You may have to experiment a few times. Here’s how you review it.” Walter demonstrated by filming Lucille.
“Okay. I get it.”
“From looking at your cell phone pictures, I seem to recall that there is a shelf with magazines and some other junk on the right-hand wall. Somewhere on that shelf would be perfect. You’ll just need a few minutes to set it up. Can you handle that?”
“Sure. Levi always leaves to get us breakfast after he opens up. It takes him about twenty minutes.”
“Be careful.”
“This is a great idea,” Bailey said enthusiastically as she looked at the camera.
“It should work,” Walter said confidently.
“Now, if he’ll just show up and unlock the safe today,” Bailey said thoughtfully.
“Bailey, honey, we’re really not in a hurry,” Walter said. Then he added, “Does your ex-boyfriend know that your grandmother lives here?”
“Yes. Yes sir. He does,” she said, shifting her gaze to Lucille.