appealed to Jessica’s cautious nature. At the time, she had waist-length long auburn hair, de-frizzed by the weight of its length, which she pulled from her face with an Alice band. Her friends told her that dressing like a virgin while at uni was a sure fire way to have a rotten time, but Jessica was happy-go-lucky by nature, and her best attribute – a wide, bright smile – tended to attract plenty of attention from men.
So Ronald bought her a drink, snogged her at dawn on the lawn in front of the Chemistry building, and they’d been together ever since. Sometimes, she thought back to that time and contemplated Ronald’s motivation for dating her. He was already agitating various businesses to donate to his charity, and there were many times they attended five-star functions at posh London hotels so that the ambitious lawyer could ‘press the flesh’. Had that been the plan all along? Find someone, anyone, who would make a decent wife and companion – someone who wouldn’t expect glamour and money from a lawyer husband – and simply settle?
Because that’s what it felt like: Ronald had settled on Jessica, and for her part, Jessica allowed herself to be the doormat he desired. They hardly communicated anymore, and as for sex . . . it had never been great, but now it was a perfunctory act between two intelligent people who figured once or twice a year was enough to ensure they still had some sort of marriage to speak of.
But now there were children involved, so what could be done? Jessica loved Ronald, more than he love her, it seemed. Perhaps, when the money situation eased off a little, they could begin to reconnect?
If what they’d enjoyed when they’d first met was actually a connection in the beginning, that was.
Looking around the messy kitchen, with its crumby table and unswept floor, Jessica decided the dirt could wait.
And went upstairs to begin her foray into crime.
She wasn’t meeting Frieda before the ‘job’, because the Club (as the thieving BIBs called themselves), didn’t go near each other when the heists took place in case another was unnecessarily caught. So, Jessica was left with her own thoughts of probable capture, jail and a close relationship with a butch, bearded woman in some prison far away from her family.
‘It’s not too late to back out,’ Frieda had said, when Jessica called to voice her concerns.
‘I can’t. Rachel’s new face has to be paid for. And you’ve been doing it for a couple of years, haven’t you? You’ve survived.’
‘I get a kick out of it – and before you say it, I know it’s not normal. You’re doing it for entirely different reasons.’
Jessica wondered about Frieda. Why would someone with a lovely, wealthy family risk it all for amusement? Stealing would be the last thing Jessica would be doing if she was Frieda. Or Chelsea, Hailey and Rita, for that matter. What worried her was, with the absence of the sporting element that the others obviously had, Jessica was likely to fail where the BIBs succeeded. You’re always better at something when you enjoy it, aren’t you?
It’s not too late. It’s not too late.
Thinking of the Visa statement, Jessica forced herself to turn into the car park of the large neighbouring town of Milton.
Yes it was! The money was spent.
Switching off the engine, Jessica picked up the bag that contained her disguise, and made her way to the car park loos, careful to put up the hood on her jacket and keep her face down so as to avoid any chance of being caught on surveillance cameras. Frieda had also shown her how to park away from a camera, then walk to the carpark toilets on a different floor, to help to avoid CCTV detection.
‘Little safeguards,’ she had assured Jessica. ‘You just never know how far a store might go to try and locate you.’
Thinking of this advice now, Jessica slunk into the toilets, and quickly changed into her Lady Muck outfit. The skirt was more than a little tight – she
So Ronald bought her a drink, snogged her at dawn on the lawn in front of the Chemistry building, and they’d been together ever since. Sometimes, she thought back to that time and contemplated Ronald’s motivation for dating her. He was already agitating various businesses to donate to his charity, and there were many times they attended five-star functions at posh London hotels so that the ambitious lawyer could ‘press the flesh’. Had that been the plan all along? Find someone, anyone, who would make a decent wife and companion – someone who wouldn’t expect glamour and money from a lawyer husband – and simply settle?
Because that’s what it felt like: Ronald had settled on Jessica, and for her part, Jessica allowed herself to be the doormat he desired. They hardly communicated anymore, and as for sex . . . it had never been great, but now it was a perfunctory act between two intelligent people who figured once or twice a year was enough to ensure they still had some sort of marriage to speak of.
But now there were children involved, so what could be done? Jessica loved Ronald, more than he love her, it seemed. Perhaps, when the money situation eased off a little, they could begin to reconnect?
If what they’d enjoyed when they’d first met was actually a connection in the beginning, that was.
Looking around the messy kitchen, with its crumby table and unswept floor, Jessica decided the dirt could wait.
And went upstairs to begin her foray into crime.
She wasn’t meeting Frieda before the ‘job’, because the Club (as the thieving BIBs called themselves), didn’t go near each other when the heists took place in case another was unnecessarily caught. So, Jessica was left with her own thoughts of probable capture, jail and a close relationship with a butch, bearded woman in some prison far away from her family.
‘It’s not too late to back out,’ Frieda had said, when Jessica called to voice her concerns.
‘I can’t. Rachel’s new face has to be paid for. And you’ve been doing it for a couple of years, haven’t you? You’ve survived.’
‘I get a kick out of it – and before you say it, I know it’s not normal. You’re doing it for entirely different reasons.’
Jessica wondered about Frieda. Why would someone with a lovely, wealthy family risk it all for amusement? Stealing would be the last thing Jessica would be doing if she was Frieda. Or Chelsea, Hailey and Rita, for that matter. What worried her was, with the absence of the sporting element that the others obviously had, Jessica was likely to fail where the BIBs succeeded. You’re always better at something when you enjoy it, aren’t you?
It’s not too late. It’s not too late.
Thinking of the Visa statement, Jessica forced herself to turn into the car park of the large neighbouring town of Milton.
Yes it was! The money was spent.
Switching off the engine, Jessica picked up the bag that contained her disguise, and made her way to the car park loos, careful to put up the hood on her jacket and keep her face down so as to avoid any chance of being caught on surveillance cameras. Frieda had also shown her how to park away from a camera, then walk to the carpark toilets on a different floor, to help to avoid CCTV detection.
‘Little safeguards,’ she had assured Jessica. ‘You just never know how far a store might go to try and locate you.’
Thinking of this advice now, Jessica slunk into the toilets, and quickly changed into her Lady Muck outfit. The skirt was more than a little tight – she
Similar Books
