Chuck heard a loud cracking sound coming from the old part of Jared’s house . When he got in, he found Jared dead in the basement, but there was another surprising discovery in the room. Chuck didn’t even think he could end up in prison because of that.
It was already nighttime. Chuck was coming home after a long tiring day at work. He saw his neighbor, Jared, struggling to drag a heavy bag to his house.
“Hey, Jared!” – Chuck exclaimed, closing his car door. “Wait a minute. I’ll help you!”
The older man dropped the bag and looked up, yelling. “Did I ask you to help, kid? No need!” – he said and started dragging the bag up the stairs again.
Chuck shook his head, disregarding the older man’s modesty, and rushed to help him. But the bag was quite heavy, and Chuck could barely manage it.
When they reached the porch of Jared’s house, he opened the door and Chuck was about to go inside when Jared took the bag from his hands. “That’s enough, kid. I think I can carry it alone from here,” he said and tried to close the door, but Chuck stopped him….
“Come on, Jared! Let me at least get a peek inside, huh?” – He laughed. “The whole neighborhood probably knows you might as well turn down the president if he wants to look at your house. What’s inside that I can’t see, huh?”
“Billions, boy, billions!” – Jared joked. “And I don’t want anyone encroaching on my billions. So thanks for your help.”
“Well then, Jared, why don’t you buy yourself a new car? After all, you’ll soon have to harness horses to drive this one!” – Chuck laughed, pointing to Jared’s old car. “Anyway, good night!” added Chuck and went home.
A few hours later, Chuck went out for a smoke. He was in the backyard when suddenly he heard a loud crack and a scream from Jared’s bedroom window. Chuck rushed to Jared’s front door and knocked several times, but no one answered.
“Hey Jared, it’s me! Chuck! Open the door!” called out Chuck. But there was no answer.
Chuck rushed into the backyard and noticed an open window in the backyard. “Jared, I’m right here! Right under your window!” – He called out to Jared again, but he didn’t answer.
Sensing something amiss, Chuck snuck into Jared’s house through the window. Once inside, he found an open trapdoor in the center of Jared’s bedroom.
“Jared, are you in there!” – He called out, kneeling beside the hatch. Again there was no response.
Finally, Chuck climbed down the ladder that led him to Jared’s basement and was shocked to find the older man lying in a pool of blood on the floor.
“Oh no… Ja… Jared!” exclaimed Chuck. His hands reached for his phone to turn on the flashlight and call 911, but the light showed him something he hadn’t seen before.
Gold. A huge collection of gold antiques on the shelves. Putting the phone back in his pocket, Chuck grabbed a duffel bag from the corner and stashed what he could in it.
The next day, Chuck called work, but didn’t say anything to his wife. It was a normal day for her, so he left and drove into town, which was two hours away, with a few bags in hand.
Upon entering an antique store, Chuck noticed a man sitting at a table.
“Hello, sir. I’d like to get an appraisal on these items. It’s an old collection that my grandfather passed down to me in his will,” Chuck said, trying not to show his concern.
“Of course,” the old man replied, gesturing for Chuck to place the items on the table.
After a while, the salesman frowned. “You say it’s an inheritance, right? I wonder,” the old man muttered and reached under the table. A loud siren sounded, causing Chuck to startle and back away.
“What’s going on?” – Chuck said, covering his ears with his hand. He saw doors and windows closing with a rumble like a movie, and his gaze locked on the old man.
“Don’t try to run away. It’s no use,” the old man said calmly. “But you want to know why I know these items were stolen? It happened almost thirty-eight years ago…”
****
Arnold, a well-dressed man, entered the kitchen with a smile, greeting the staff, including Jared, the loyal servant who had worked for him for nine years. Arnold was a second generation antiques dealer and was continuing the glorious business that had made his father a great fortune.
Jared met his boss and informed him that his personal cook, Katherine, was already preparing his favorite breakfast.
“One more thing, Jared,” Arnold said. “An old friend of mine is coming to visit me today. Please get everything you need ready for him.”
Arnold’s friend, Edward, arrived after lunch. They hugged while the staff helped Edward with his bags and prepared everything for dinner.
“My friend, I found a collection of eighteenth century tableware on the black market! The very one my father dreamed of,” Arnold announced excitedly.
Edward hummed disbelievingly. He knew Arnold’s father well and had heard about the mythical collection.
“Let’s have a look,” Arnold suggested with a smile. “Jared, go back to the kitchen and talk to Catherine about lunch tomorrow. Edward and I have gone off to do our own thing, so don’t get in our way.”
“Of course, sir,” Jared replied, realizing that he had better not interfere with his boss and his guest in their conversations. Although Jared was far removed from the world of antiques and dark markets, he realized the conversation was about something special. Instead of returning to the kitchen, he hid in his boss’s room, eager to learn more.
Jared saw Arnold and Edward enter the bedroom, and heard everything they said, from talking about the hidden under the tiles key to opening the large safe hidden behind the dresser.
“Sorry, but caring is important, even here,” Arnold said as he opened the safe.
“You’re definitely your father’s son,” – Edward grinned. But his smile disappeared when he saw the contents of the safe, which Jared couldn’t see. But Arnold’s guest was amazed and offered him a huge sum of money right on the spot.
“Not for sale, my friend,” Arnold replied with a smile. After everything was put back in place, they both left the room. Jared, without looking at the contents of the safe, came out of the closet that hid it with eager thoughts and plans.
In the evening, Jared asked his boss for permission to go home, and Arnold agreed gladly.
But Jared didn’t go home. Late that night, he showed up at the local morgue in his old uniform. After working a few nights as a pathologist, Jared had learned a few things. He realized he liked dealing with living people better, but some of the knowledge remained. He had an easy time getting to the refrigerator in the morgue. People rarely worried that someone might steal anything from the morgue.
Finally, he started looking through each refrigerator, reading the tags attached to the legs. And finally he saw “John Doe.” It was probably a homeless man, with no family or relatives. So Jared felt no guilt when he decided to take him in. He carried the body through the same doors he’d come in with. No one even noticed the disappearance.
The robbery took weeks of preparation. One night, Jared, dressed in a police uniform, went to his former boss’s house and cut the power to the entire house. Armed with a flashlight, he went to the door and knocked.
Blinding the servant momentarily with the flashlight, he realized that it was a new employee – a replacement for the previous one. The warden was not at home, and the newcomer politely asked how he could help the officer.
“Good evening. I’m Officer Graham. We received a call about an intentional power outage at this address,” Jared announced. “My supervisor is a good friend of your boss, and he asked me to come and check out the neighborhood.”
“Thank you. I guess that’s true because the power just went out,” the clerk replied.
“Is there anyone else in the house?” asked Jared.
“Only the cook, but his lodging is about a hundred feet away,” replied the servant. “Would you like to come in and check out what’s going on inside?”
“Good idea,” Jared agreed and as the servant turned away, he gave him a punch. He then tied him up and cupped his mouth, leaving him on the floor. After that, he headed upstairs to his former boss’s room and took up a collection.
Then Jared went downstairs and out the back door. As soon as he was outside, he hid behind the trees and changed clothes, hiding his police suit in a hole he’d dug beforehand. He filled it with gasoline, set it on fire, and carried the heavy bag deep into the woods.
Soon Jared returned to the car he had stolen and drove away.
The police were left powerless, as the rookie had not seen “Officer Graham’s” face and the blow he received caused a concussion.
Jared left town and spent 14 months in hiding, working here and there. He had to wait a while before he found a buyer. It turned out to be a man named Harry, who was into collecting.
Harry offered Jared a large sum for the collection and arranged to meet him at a bar. Jared had to wait for Harry for a while.
“Where is it?” – Harry asked, immediately sitting down at the table.
“I didn’t bring it to the bar,” Jared replied, quickly finishing his drink.
“I’m not one to play around with,” the collector said threateningly.
“Follow me,” Jared said as he finished his drink and walked out.
Harry realized that Jared was leading him somewhere and followed him. However, as they turned down a street, Jared suddenly noticed his former boss, Arnold, who had a serious expression on his face. Arnold’s eyes went up and he instantly realized the situation. Jared made a desperate decision and rushed to escape, the only thought in his mind was to save himself. Arnold called for backup and threatened to shoot.
But Jared proved to be persistent and cunning. He darted through the streets, skipping between buildings, turning at intersections, and looping through fences and trash cans. Eventually, he came upon a huge crowd gathered for a protest. Jared broke through the crowd, jumped over the barrier and disappeared while police officers tried to make sense of the situation.
“That’s how we lost track of him,” the antique store owner finished his story with a sigh and looked at Chuck. “No one knows if Jared was selling anything, or if he’s just hiding out.”
Chuck sweatdropped as he continued to pound helplessly on the door with his fists.
“Judging by the things you brought,” the antique dealer continued, “I’m guessing it was the latter. I apologize for my manners. I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Arnold.”
