Escaping the Past

“Why do you want her?” Lou asked.

“Because she’s priceless,” Wes answered.

“What?” Lou asked, dumbfounded.

Wes motioned to the kitchen chairs and indicated they should all sit. Lou sat slowly and warily, regarding him suspiciously. He sat down beside her, absently kicking at the floor with his heels. “Maybe we should start at the beginning.” He turned to face her. “Your mother was in some deep shit, Lou.”

“I kind of figured that when she was murdered,” Lou said sarcastically.

“She was working for a man named Jerry. Jerry Hayes.” Wes said.

“I remember him. He was a friend of a friend from when she was a kid,” Lou nodded.

“Jerry is no one’s friend, Lou. He’s bad news. He’s a thief and murderer. He single-handedly pulled off one of the biggest jewelry heists in history a few years ago. He stole some priceless jewelry as it was being moved from a private collector’s home to a museum for display.”

“What does that have to do with my mother?” Lou asked impatiently.

“Your mother met Jerry, and he hired her to run errands and make some deliveries. A pregnant lady was the perfect cover. She could go almost anywhere and no one would suspect a thing.” He smiled at the thought.

“You knew my mother when she was pregnant?” Lou asked.

“Yeah. I knew her. I watched her get deeper and deeper into the shit. I couldn’t do anything to stop her.” He adjusted the ball cap on his head. Lou flinched as he reached into the inner pocket of his sport coat.

He opened his jacket and showed her the gun that was still in the holster on his side. “Just going in my pocket.”

She nodded, her mouth suddenly dry.

Wes pulled a wallet out of his pocket and flicked it open. Lou read the bold letters, FBI, and looked closely at his photo on the paper.

“FBI?” she asked.

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; He refolded the wallet and put it back in his pocket.

“I’ve been working this case for a long time, trying to get in good with Jerry and his crew. It’s taken me years but I did it.” He looked proud, yet defeated. “My first job was to track down the missing jewels from that jewelry heist. I’ve been able to do that, or almost all of them at least. But once I got involved, I realized Jerry is involved in a lot more than just some thefts. He’s responsible for killing a lot of people, but he’s really good at covering his tracks. Everyone who works for him is expendable. If they know too much or they become trouble, he just gets rid of them.” He drew in a breath. “That’s what happened to your mother. She knew too much.”

“Knew too much about what?”

“No one is sure.” He shrugged. “There at the end, she got a little too cocky. She went too far and she got a little greedy. It was almost like she knew he would kill her and she was going to get everything from him she could before it happened. Your mother took a piece of jewelry from him, one of the most valuable pieces. It was a huge diamond, priceless.” He laid the wooden cask on the table before them and opened it. Lou gasped as she saw the huge diamond winking back at them. She reached one finger out to touch it.

“What did she do?”

“She tried to blackmail him. Turns out this piece of jewelry can actually tie him to a whole string of robberies and murders which could put him away for a long time. She knew it had a ton of value to him, even if she couldn’t resell it on the open market. He bit. He agreed to give her $50,000 for it, a fraction of its value, but still a lot to someone like your mother. She had no idea what that piece was actually worth. She made arrangements for the money to be left in a black canvas bag and she said she would swap. But the swap never happened. I still don’t know how she pulled it off but she got away with the diamond and the money. Then she ran.”

“But they found her,” Lou stated blandly.

“ Jerry hates to lose. So, he killed your mother but before she died, she gave the bag to you. You were seen running away with it. It was a black canvas bag and this was in it.” he said dramatically.

“I thought the only thing in the bag was Sarah,” Lou hissed as she stood up and began to pace.

“What?” he asked blankly.

“The night my mother died, she threw Sarah into a black canvas bag and I ran with it. I never knew anything else was in the bag.” Her eyes reached his, pleading with him. “I swear it.” She held up one hand. “I don’t even know what happened to the bag.”

“It took me seven years to get in with these people, Lou. I know how dangerous they are. They’ll kill you and everyone you love to get that diamond.”

“All this time, I thought they wanted Sarah,” Lou moaned.