Sean's Predicament

Chapter 1-2

A week after his initial foray through the neighborhood, Sean was ready to do what he did best: relieve the owners of the targeted house of their valuables. He knew their schedules and the helps’. The cook/housekeeper always left at eight P.M. on the dot, along with the girl he figured was the maid. There was a gardener, but he was gone before five.

The teenaged son who still lived at home had a girlfriend he visited at least three times a week. Tonight, being Saturday, he left the house dressed as if he was going on a heavy date. Twenty minutes later, the husband and wife exited, also dressed to the nines. Sean knew, because he’d checked the social pages, they were on their way to a fundraiser across town.

Sean waited in the wooded area behind the house until eleven before cautiously approaching the back yard. He knew the security was primo, but nothing beyond what he could handle. Easing his way beneath the second floor balcony—after jamming the motion sensors covering the pool area and patio—he took a grappling hook from his backpack, flung it up to catch on the railing, and seconds later he was on the balcony. Picking the lock on the door to the son’s bedroom was no problem. Neither was disarming the wireless security system for the door, and the rest of the house, using his jammer.

Once inside, he used his detector to check the room for hidden cameras. It came back negative, but he didn’t put it away. He was aware from his research that the company that had set up the security liked to put cameras in places where there were valuables. A nice thing to know. It’ll save me time hunting around.

He left the son’s bedroom, staying on high alert as he walked down the hallway to the master bedroom. Easing open the door, he did another check for cameras, and smiled when he found two. They were activated, so he took care of them.

I wonder if they ever forget to turn them off when they’re going to bed. If they do, that should give the guys monitoring them a thrill.

Sean found the reason for the cameras in the large, walk-in closet. There was a well hidden, well secured safe. It took a few minutes before he got it open.

The treasure trove—or one of them. He emptied the jewelry boxes, putting the contents into chamois bags before placing them in his pack. He also checked the jewelry box on the dressing table in the bedroom, wishing he could take an obviously valuable necklace. But he didn’t, because doing so would clue the owners in on the fact he had paid them a visit. It was always like that with him. Take the hidden, well secured items—leave the rest so the burglary would be discovered later rather than sooner.

From there, he made his way to the ground floor, all the while searching for cameras. He found one in the study off the living room and disarmed it. It took a while, but he finally found the safe where the owner kept his coin collection. The collection went into the backpack as well.

After that, it was just a case of looking for anything else Sean thought was worth taking that wouldn’t be immediately missed. By the time he was ready to leave, his backpack was full.

A good night’s work. He smiled as he left, rearming the security system before closing and locking the patio door. Then, again after getting out of range of the motion sensors at the back of the house, he rearmed them as well and returned to where he’d parked the car, two blocks away. Twenty minutes later he was back at the apartment.

* * * *

The next morning, Sean watched the news while sorting his ill-gotten gains to take to the two fences he trusted in the city. So far, last night’s burglary apparently hadn’t been discovered. But one he did a week ago was finally, if not the top story, at least before the sports and weather. He was amused when he realized he was slightly offended by that.

Once he had everything ready, he went into the bedroom to begin packing. He had pulled off four successful jobs in the last five weeks and wasn’t about to press his luck.

“Yeah, pup, we’re on the move again,” he told Pax when the dog stood in the doorway, watching. “Grab whatever you don’t want to leave behind.” Pax looked at him for a moment, then disappeared. He returned with his rope toy and well-gnawed rawhide bone gripped between his teeth, dropping them on the floor. “Okay, that’s weird,” Sean muttered. “Guess you’re way too used to our moving.”

Since the apartment came furnished, Sean didn’t have all that much to pack, ending up with two large duffle bags and a smaller one for Pax’s bowls, toys, and food. After checking to be certain he hadn’t forgotten anything, he lugged the larger items down to the car, stowing them in the trunk. Then he came back for his laptop, his backpack which held his tools, and messenger bag—and of course, Pax. The backpack went into a special hiding place under the back seat, along with the laptop.

“Ready, pup?” Sean asked, opening the passenger-side door. When the dog hopped in, Sean put his travel harness on him, attaching it to the seatbelt. Minutes later, they were on the road, heading to the first of Sean’s fences. By noon, with most of the money from the previous night’s work deposited in an off-shore account, Sean and Pax were driving down the highway out of town, heading east.