The Locksmith by Linda Calvey (reading in the dark .TXT) 📕

the lounge, sinking into their old brown sofa. She looked around, trying to see everything through Charlie’s fierce gaze. She wasn’t impressed. The TV was an old one, too small for even this tiny room. The curtains were old and had a brown floral pattern chosen by Cathy many years ago. She’d always hated them, so dark, so cheap. The sofa itself was in surprisingly good nick considering it’d been around for as long as she could remember but she knew in that glance that none of it was enough for her any more. She wanted nice things, expensive clothes, a beautiful home, but more than that, she wanted a future for them all. They’d been scraping by for too long. Even with the small crooked jobs they’d been doing, they were only covering the basics. Ruby had some new clothes, they had food, and a roof over their heads, but she knew she wanted more. She wanted comfort and ease, and there was only one way people like her could get it.

If there was any doubt still remaining, it went in that moment. I want everythin’ Charlie has – and more, she thought to herself and smiled, imagining the fine leather seats she’d have, the diamond rings on her fingers, the designer clothes for George. She could almost taste the luxury, the refinement. They were only just beginning.

Bobby was pacing the kitchen, his balaclava and black gloves in his bag, his jewellery all removed and hidden away so if he got caught or seen he couldn’t be identified that way. He looked over at the clock. It was almost 11 p.m. and it was time to head down the road, his small holdall containing his twirls. Ruby had insisted on waiting up for him. She nodded as Bobby said, ‘It’s time.’ She watched him head out through the back door, creeping along the alleyway and circling around the houses to get to the end of the street. Bobby usually got a bit nervous before jobs, but as this was the first for Charlie Beaumont, he seemed to be more anxious than usual.

He walked quickly, head down, black holdall gripped in his hand. He walked straight into The Anchor, the meeting place, and saw the landlord had been ‘briefed’. There was only one other customer in the pub.

‘Ready?’ the man said.

Bobby replied, ‘Yes, mate.’

The pair of them headed off.

Bobby and Ruby had already been to the betting shop and sussed it out. Bobby knew the alarm system was one he could handle. They’d gone inside and placed a bet at the time, checking where the locked doors to the back rooms were and getting a feel for the place.

Once inside, Bobby gingerly opened the safe. The other man, whose name Bobby didn’t know, looked inside and whistled softly.

‘What is it?’ Bobby hissed.

‘You don’t want to know,’ the man said, reaching in and bringing out armfuls of notes, which he started to stuff into the black holdall. The man appeared to be doing some mental arithmetic as they worked, but Bobby was too keen to get the hell out of there to take much notice.

‘Done?’ Bobby whispered.

‘Done,’ the man said.

CHAPTER 18

After Bobby left, Ruby made herself a coffee and sat down, flicking absent-mindedly through a magazine. She didn’t read a single word. She was thinking of Bobby, wondering where he was and when he’d be back. It was just past midnight, and she was dozing in her chair when the back door creaked open. She awoke instantly. Bobby walked in, yawned then threw his holdall onto the table.

‘How was it? Did you get the money?’ Ruby searched Bobby’s face as he sat down heavily, placing a large black holdall, stuffed to the gills, on the table.

‘There weren’t sixty grand in there. The safe was massive but it was ’alf empty. I don’t know who gave Charlie the information but they was lyin’.’ Bobby looked anguished.

Their first job for Charlie Beaumont and this had happened. Ruby swallowed hard. Her brain began whirring though she was exhausted, adrenaline kicking in as fear stole through her body.

‘Tell me everythin’,’ she commanded.

‘We got there. I sorted the alarm system no trouble, while the other geezer did the lookout. He knew where the safe was, which is why Charlie had put him on the job. We went inside, found the safe, again, no trouble. Then, I opened it. There was money, but I knew it weren’t as much as he’d said there’d be. We didn’t ’ave time to count it. We stuffed it into the bag then did the usual: he went and checked the exit was clear while I locked the safe up, re-set the alarm and crept out. Charlie told him to give the money to me and so ’ere it is. It was a nifty job, no security, no problems except the bloke I was workin’ with seemed surprised when I opened the safe. I’m thinkin’ there wasn’t as much in there as they thought, which isn’t good news for us.’

‘Oh Christ,’ Ruby swore. She knew if Charlie had set them on the job, it was because it was a big haul, not their usual small robberies of office safes or pub takings.

‘So what do we do, sis?’ Bobby said in a small voice, perhaps already imagining the punishment Charlie Beaumont would mete out on him.

‘We count it,’ said Ruby, firmly. Ruby tipped the contents of the black bag onto the Formica tabletop. Notes scattered and fell on the floor, though most of the money was in wads of one thousand pounds. They spent the next hour counting and re-counting.

‘You were right, Bobby, there’s forty grand. We’re twenty short and my guess is that Charlie will think we’ve pocketed the difference,’ Ruby said slowly.

Bobby stared at her. ‘We’re dead then. No one cheats Charlie Beaumont.’

Ruby sat for a moment, thinking. ‘There’s only one way to handle this, Bobby. We’ve got to tell him straight, and not just that, we’ve got