Pawnshop horrors

Jimmy Childress snuck through the bushes on the side of the house, keeping an ever watchful eye for any movement inside it. His modus operandi was always the same. Find a door in a secluded spot cloaked in darkness, apply masking tape to the lower portion of the glass in order to break it without any sound outside that would carry in the still of night. There would be a dull thump that wouldn’t arouse any  suspicion. Normally, a short but forceful rap of a hammer in its center would suffice, then all he had to do was peel away the tape and the glass came along with it. Then all he had to do was reach inside the hole, unlock the door from the inside, and voila. He has done this type of burglary hundreds of times before. The only downside was that if he ever got caught, it would be easy to pin all of them on him instead of the one that night. This was a risk he was willing to take because his prints weren’t in any law enforcement system and getting caught would be his first offense. The added bonus was that he was a minor, so his ultimate sentencing would be light. His only rule of thumb was to take only what you can carry without trouble, hopefully cash or jewelry.

He had studied the house for over a week and never saw any movement around this time of night. The house resided at the end of a cul-de-sac with a large stand of woods behind it which made it a juicy target. 

He entered the kitchen and paused to listen for any signs of the occupants. Satisfied he was alone, he started for the second floor because it was also part of his routine of things. He always worked his way down before leaving.  He made quick work on the upper floor, pocketing a few pieces of jewelry, no cash, and came down the stairs to hit the ground floor next. Much to his dismay, he wasn’t finding enough in the rather large house. He’d thought he would find more, and was about to call it a night when he saw another door that stood just to the left of the one he came through. He opened it and saw it led down to a basement. He stepped onto the top step and closed the door behind him before turning on the lights. He proceeded down the stairs, and once he was halfway down them, he heard a sound coming from somewhere below him. He stopped in his tracks and swore under his breath because he was careless in thinking he was alone. A voice came from below. “Jimmy, don’t stop now.  Come on down, we have been expecting you”. The blood in his veins came to an icy stop while hairs on his neck stood tall like saw grass.

He still stood motionless, trying to comprehend who it was that knew his name, let alone known he would be there. He took the last five steps and looked around the corner leading into the main room of the basement which was the same size as the floor above it. That is when he saw a man sitting in a chair bound and gagged with a neat-looking man in a blue suit standing over him with a menacing looking gun in his hand.  He motioned with the gun for Jimmy to take a seat waiting for him directly across from the bound man. Jimmy did as he was told, and as he did so, was looking for a way out of this unusual predicament. “How do you know my name? Have we met?” Jimmy asked.

“Well, you don’t know me, but I certainly have been following your work for quite some time”. The man replied.

“Let me be more specific for you. Introductions are definitely in order. My name is Grandy Jenks and over in the corner is my son, Bart Jenks”. He said, as Jimmy noticed the young man standing in a darkened corner for the first time. He too was armed with a gun, and nodded his head as if introducing himself without saying a word.

“We are the purveyor’s of G & B Pawn. You know the establishment well because you are one of our repeat customers. You have been selling us your stolen goods for quite some time.” Grandy said, in an amused voice.

Jimmy didn’t know what to say. Again, he swore under his breath about another mistake he has made. 

“Anytime we conclude a purchase we check the items against a police report that is provided to our establishment because we are bound by law to report it when discovered. After your second visit we noticed a trend with you young man. That was the exact moment you made it to the top of our list.”  He stated, with much amusement, again.

“List, what list?  If you knew the items were stolen, then why didn’t you go to the police and turn me in? The first time I sold to you was over five months ago, and I have been back many times since.” Jimmy sneered.

“Well my boy, let’s just say you are … er … our hobby. Don’t you watch the news? You have become quite famous as of late.” Grandy exclaimed, with grandiosity.

Now, Jimmy was getting angry at this man and his riddles.

“Like I said, after your second visit we took an interest in your career and began to follow you quite closely.  You are quite the busy thief. All those houses you robbed.  Anyway, it was your last four houses you should be concerned with, because that is when we enhanced your work, so to speak.”  He said matter-of-factly.

As Jimmy was trying to digest all of this, Bart stepped out of his hole and placed a small table directly in front of the two men, then untied and unbound the first. He reached into his waistband and from its backside, produced two handguns and placed them onto the table. He then returned to where he was standing when Jimmy first saw him.

“As I was saying, you’re quite a famous man. The police have been searching for you because you have killed the occupants of your last four burglaries, seven dead in all. But, being the sporting fella that I am, I’m going to give you a chance to survive this. On the count of three, the two of you will reach for those loaded weapons and eliminate the other.  The one who survives has a chance to escape the fate of the other.  Those are the ground rules gentlemen.”  Grandy explained.

Both men turned their attention from him to each other, anticipating the countdown.

“One……Two…..Three”

Both men reached for the weapon closest to him and fired at the other. 

Because Jimmy was much younger and quicker than his opponent, the owner of the home managed to get off only one shot before succumbing to his fatal wounds.  The basement was filled with the smell of cordite and Jimmy’s ears were ringing from the report of his weapon, but he quickly raised his gun at Grandy. Unfortunately for the young burglar, Grandy had already put a well placed shot in the center of his forehead, killing Jimmy instantly.

After staging the basement to look like the homeowner and the intruder shot it out, killing each other, Grandy and his son Bart had one last stop to make before they went home. They entered Jimmy’s sparse apartment using his own key taken from him an hour before, then placed all of the items he had sold to the pawn shop into a shoe box and hid the serial killer’s trophies in the freezer behind several frozen pizzas. 

The news came on the following night with a breaking story stating the police had solved a spate of killings tied to a young man in the area. The police chief told the public that they were sure they got the right man since he used the same method to gain entry to all of the homes of the deceased as well as many, many more. The city could now rest safely.

Grandy got up from his recliner and turned off the television when his son walked into the room and announced with a smile, “Dad, I think we have a new candidate”, as he brought the stolen property list and items for Grandy’s perusal and acceptance.”