X (Kinsey Millhone 24)

“What happened to your safecracking career?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t call it a career. It was an avocation.”

“A hobby?”

“Let’s call it a passion and leave it at that.”

“What was the draw?”

“I liked the challenge. Problem solving. Getting in there and figuring it all out. I avoided vaults. Those are in a whole separate category that’s way over my head. I started with home safes you could pick up and take with you to work on in your spare time. The fireproof models are lightweight, really just a shell of thin steel walls filled with insulating material to protect the contents from damage in case of a fire.”

“Have you ever heard of a Diebold Cannonball Safe?”

“Oh, sure. It was a Cannonball that stumped Jesse James in Northfield, Minnesota. Burglar-resistant safes are a tough proposition. With most, you’re talking about a seven-hundred-and-fifty-pound box embedded in concrete. Safe like that you have to work on in place, which is time-consuming. In those days, I didn’t care about finding cash, which is good because I never netted much.”

“How’d you manage to support yourself? Did you have an outside job?”

“I was twelve.”

“So mowing lawns.”

“Sometimes, sure. You know what the real problem was? Safecracking requires so much equipment. Drills, cold chisels, sledgehammers, electric saws with diamond-edged blades. An acetylene torch is mandatory, which means you have to have a hose and tank. Punch or drift pins you can’t do without, maybe a two-twenty-volt electric cutting torch. What was I supposed to do, hide it all under my bed?”

“No blasting caps?”

“I never got into those. Practice with explosives, you can picture the complaints.”

“Your mother and your grandmother didn’t notice the gear you had stashed in your room?”

“I told them I was interested in how things worked. You know, tinkering. What did they care? I could fix small appliances and that was good. I spent a lot of time in my room. I was quiet and industrious. I made good grades. I wasn’t truant. I didn’t hang out on street corners with the bad element.”

“Eventually you lost interest, is that it?”

“Essentially. Robbing banks has a bigger thrill quotient for a lot less time and effort. I got addicted to the rush. I’d walk in, calm and relaxed. Three minutes later I’d walk out the door higher than a kite with no illegal substances involved. How can you beat that?”

“You weren’t concerned about getting shot to death?”

“I didn’t carry a weapon. The first time a bank guard told me to drop, I’d have dropped. Meantime, I was nice about it. I didn’t yell. I didn’t threaten people—”

“Not ever?”

He smiled. “Okay, sometimes. In a note. I know tellers are gullible, but I tried not to take advantage. Most were beautiful young girls I’d have been happy to date. I thought of them as my ninety-second relationships. Brief, but intense. One teller wrote to me for a long time after I went to Lompoc. I can’t remember her name now.”

“Lucy.” That got his attention, but I didn’t want to stop and explain. Instead, I said, “You couldn’t have enjoyed prison life.”

“Uh, no. I did not. I met some very smart gentlemen and a number of thugs. I learned how to protect myself, which was not always pleasant for the other fellow.”

“Why would you risk going back?”

“Look, I appreciate your concern. Especially coming in here like this. You didn’t have to go out of your way.”

“I feel responsible.”

“You needn’t. I can take care of myself.”

“And you’ve done so well to date,” I remarked.

“Don’t be a wiseass. I can see you have advice to offer. You want to say your piece?”

“Sure. I think it’s a mistake to get caught up in someone else’s melodrama. Especially those two.”

“You don’t find it amusing?”

“Not even a little bit,” I said. “Ari knows there’s something afoot.”

“Of course he does. Teddy likes it that way. Keeps him on his toes.”

I pulled my shoulder bag up onto my lap and removed one of my business cards. “That’s my number on the off chance you’ll want to get in touch.”

“I already have your number. My PO passed it on. And I’m sure Teddy knows how to reach you.”

“Of course. Silly me. She’s the one who set this in motion, isn’t she? You expect to make money off this scheme, whatever it is?”