“You always fight like that?”
“I don’t fight,” Kurt said.
His mouth tasted dusty and dry. His heart beat fast.
The couple had left them in pitch black twenty minutes ago. They hadn’t looked around much in the crawl space. If the husband had climbed up on the ledge, he would have spotted the three of them. Kurt didn’t know what would have happened next, but he didn’t have to think about that anymore. The homeowners were upstairs, moving around, talking. He could hear the television and the occasional murmur of voices. And small, fast footsteps. The children.
Craig whispered something that Kurt didn’t hear.
“What?”
“Try the window over there.”
Kurt looked across the basement and noticed the small, square window for the first time. It was covered with a blackout shade, but a little bit of light leaked in around the edges. Kurt wondered if they could open it up and fit through it.
It was either that or stay down here until the couple left tomorrow morning. If they left.
“Let me check it out,” he said.
“Maybe I should,” Lonnie said. “I’m good at fitting through small spaces.”
“Maybe you should shut up and stay put,” Kurt said.
Another curse. Kurt ignored it as he walked across the cold concrete floor in the darkness. He knocked into something that slid over the floor like a broom—a fake-pine Christmas wreath. As he made it to the window, he raised the shade and studied the pane of glass to see if he could move it.
The window was maybe four feet high, four feet wide. It had two panes of glass and a lock in the center that Kurt turned. The bottom pane slid up over the top one; the sound of crickets filled the basement. The ground stood about three feet above the window, and a small grate separated the hollowed-out area in front of the window with the outside. Kurt put his arm out the window and prodded the grate. It was lightweight and easily moved.
They could fit through. And they could be outside in a matter of minutes, turn on the cell phone they’d taken from the house, and call Sean. They were already running late, so he wasn’t sure if Sean had gone ahead with the Steerhouse job by himself. At this point, Kurt didn’t care. He just wanted to get out of this suburban home without another death. And without anyone knowing the Stagworth Five had ventured into the grand state of Texas.
“Come on,” Kurt said.
“It’ll work?” Craig asked.
“Put that away,” Kurt said to Lonnie, who was waving around the Smith & Wesson.
“Afraid I’ll shoot you?”
“No,” Kurt said. “I’m afraid you’ll shoot some innocent bystander.”
Lonnie cursed again, telling Kurt to stop bringing up old news.
“I might need this for whatever’s out there.”
Kurt laughed. “Only thing out there is a lawn that’s probably in need of watering. Nothing more. Put it away.”
“You take your precautions, I’ll take mine.”
Kurt cursed at him. “I swear I have no clue why Sean brought you along.”
“I could say the same thing about you.”
With the gun still in his hand, Lonnie began to maneuver his skinny body up through the window. Kurt held his breath. If somebody was taking a night stroll, he’d be in for a surprise. Maybe something more.
14
“TURN IT UP!”
Sean laughed and obliged Wes. They’d found common ground on the Dodge’s radio stations: Led Zeppelin. “Kashmir” shook the speakers. Robert Plant sounded like a maniac, Jon Bonham’s pounding drums driving the song. Zeppelin had called it quits after Bonham killed himself with booze. They had realized they were a foursome and nothing more. Sean always admired this about Led Zeppelin. They’d never be The Doors, but he could still appreciate them for what they were. Vintage rock.
They pulled into the parking lot of the Steerhouse Restaurant just as the song ended. Sean turned off the stereo and the car, and they sat in silence, the music still echoing in Sean’s ears.
“You sure Rita knows
“I don’t fight,” Kurt said.
His mouth tasted dusty and dry. His heart beat fast.
The couple had left them in pitch black twenty minutes ago. They hadn’t looked around much in the crawl space. If the husband had climbed up on the ledge, he would have spotted the three of them. Kurt didn’t know what would have happened next, but he didn’t have to think about that anymore. The homeowners were upstairs, moving around, talking. He could hear the television and the occasional murmur of voices. And small, fast footsteps. The children.
Craig whispered something that Kurt didn’t hear.
“What?”
“Try the window over there.”
Kurt looked across the basement and noticed the small, square window for the first time. It was covered with a blackout shade, but a little bit of light leaked in around the edges. Kurt wondered if they could open it up and fit through it.
It was either that or stay down here until the couple left tomorrow morning. If they left.
“Let me check it out,” he said.
“Maybe I should,” Lonnie said. “I’m good at fitting through small spaces.”
“Maybe you should shut up and stay put,” Kurt said.
Another curse. Kurt ignored it as he walked across the cold concrete floor in the darkness. He knocked into something that slid over the floor like a broom—a fake-pine Christmas wreath. As he made it to the window, he raised the shade and studied the pane of glass to see if he could move it.
The window was maybe four feet high, four feet wide. It had two panes of glass and a lock in the center that Kurt turned. The bottom pane slid up over the top one; the sound of crickets filled the basement. The ground stood about three feet above the window, and a small grate separated the hollowed-out area in front of the window with the outside. Kurt put his arm out the window and prodded the grate. It was lightweight and easily moved.
They could fit through. And they could be outside in a matter of minutes, turn on the cell phone they’d taken from the house, and call Sean. They were already running late, so he wasn’t sure if Sean had gone ahead with the Steerhouse job by himself. At this point, Kurt didn’t care. He just wanted to get out of this suburban home without another death. And without anyone knowing the Stagworth Five had ventured into the grand state of Texas.
“Come on,” Kurt said.
“It’ll work?” Craig asked.
“Put that away,” Kurt said to Lonnie, who was waving around the Smith & Wesson.
“Afraid I’ll shoot you?”
“No,” Kurt said. “I’m afraid you’ll shoot some innocent bystander.”
Lonnie cursed again, telling Kurt to stop bringing up old news.
“I might need this for whatever’s out there.”
Kurt laughed. “Only thing out there is a lawn that’s probably in need of watering. Nothing more. Put it away.”
“You take your precautions, I’ll take mine.”
Kurt cursed at him. “I swear I have no clue why Sean brought you along.”
“I could say the same thing about you.”
With the gun still in his hand, Lonnie began to maneuver his skinny body up through the window. Kurt held his breath. If somebody was taking a night stroll, he’d be in for a surprise. Maybe something more.
14
“TURN IT UP!”
Sean laughed and obliged Wes. They’d found common ground on the Dodge’s radio stations: Led Zeppelin. “Kashmir” shook the speakers. Robert Plant sounded like a maniac, Jon Bonham’s pounding drums driving the song. Zeppelin had called it quits after Bonham killed himself with booze. They had realized they were a foursome and nothing more. Sean always admired this about Led Zeppelin. They’d never be The Doors, but he could still appreciate them for what they were. Vintage rock.
They pulled into the parking lot of the Steerhouse Restaurant just as the song ended. Sean turned off the stereo and the car, and they sat in silence, the music still echoing in Sean’s ears.
“You sure Rita knows
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