Chapter 16

Bonnie's house was located in one of the most exclusive residential areas in New York City, the small, privately patrolled section of Queens known as the Jamaica Estates. On streets as clean as a street could be lived only the elite members of New York's social strata. Each house was sold only to those applicants who passed a rigorous screening and who, of course, could afford a bottom purchase price of around seventy-five thousand dollars. The lawns were green and immaculately trimmed and traffic was almost non-existent, so that kids could play in the streets. The area looked like something that would win the Ideal Neighborhood Award, if Good Housekeeping ran a contest!

Bonnie pulled into a carport at the side of a beautiful, rusty brick house and we got out of the car. I was surprised when she just pushed the door open, as I'd never been anywhere where you could leave your doors unlocked while you were away. The interior was furnished in the best of taste, but to me it seemed old-fashioned. Heavy dark furniture, rugs, chandeliers, and antiques were not my idea of what a house should be filled with. However, my ideas came from magazines and not from any personal experience with tasteful living.

She showed me to the room I was to sleep in and explained that it belonged to her son, Morris, who was attending a military school in Maine. Then we toured the rest of the house, including the basement, which had been converted into a game room complete with a pool table and all the trimmings.

A gigantic German shepherd named Fritzie with teeth bigger than my pinkies, bounded out of nowhere. I damn near fainted when he leaped on me and laid a yard of tongue alongside my face. Bonnie said he liked me and I petted him a bit. Better to have that baby dinosaur as a friend than an enemy.

Bonnie then told me she had to go out for groceries and asked if I minded being alone for awhile, I stared at her for a moment or two and then told her it wouldn't bother me at all. If the old broad was silly enough to let me stay alone in her house, who was I to knock it. It did cross my mind that she might be testing me, but if that was the case I would fail that test miserably.

As soon as she left the house I began scouting for anything expensive and portable enough to carry off easily. I used a great deal of caution and did my best not to disturb the orderliness of things, as there was no sense in giving the game away too early.

I found about eighty bucks in a drawer in her room and also a jewelry case loaded with goodies that I could fence in Manhattan without much difficulty. These I placed in a pillowcase taken from the linen closet in the hallway. I then went into her husband's room and found several other items of interest - watches, rings, and a hundred bucks in tens. I progressed into her daughter's room and began stuffing some jewelry into the good old pillowcase, but I was so intent in looting that I failed to hear the front door open. By the time it slammed shut I was busted.

Standing in the doorway of the room was one ugly girl, even uglier than Ace. She had orange hair, braces on her large teeth, and a face that looked as if someone had fired a shotgun into it at point-blank range. There were so many holes and pimples in her face that one couldn't even begin to count them. Her body resembled a beer barrel with arms, legs and head stuck on it. The legs were short and thick, while her arms were long and skinny and covered with pimples. Her clothing looked like something that the Salvation Army would refuse - dark, nappy blue sweater and a tweed skirt of some motley green shade. Her shoes could be called sensible, if one was kind, but I referred to them as space shoes.