The Ravine by Robert Pascuzzi Read Free Book Online

and rear of the house later that night, and it appeared that only a small lamp in the hallway was on, probably managed by the same timer theGrants used for the Christmas lights. Tony felt they needed a little more preparation, so he decided they would wait one more day to do the job. It was a fateful decision.

    Around seven o’clock the next night, Danny, Bags, and Tony met in the Turners’ finished basement, ostensibly to play cards and have a few beers, but the real reason was to review their plans and gather their equipment for the night. Because they had easy access to the house, they would not need the usual glass cutter or other tools to bust a lock. Tony pointed out that they would not need to take the pistol they had stashed in the shed or any other weapons, because the house would be empty and they would be in and out in a matter of minutes.
    Danny shut the basement door and locked it. He went over to the stereo and turned it up a few notches so his parents wouldn’t hear what they were talking about. Bags lit a bowl and passed it to Tony, trying to hold in the hit for as long as possible. Robert Plant began quietly singing “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You,” and the guys were completely stoned by the time Jimmy Page started his famous riff. Before long they were on their feet, playing some mean air guitar.
    “Okay,” Tony said, “let’s get down to business.” They would all dress in dark clothes and wear knit caps. He laid out three flashlights. “We can’t turn on the lights. The neighbors might see, and they’d be suspicious if they saw the lights on. We’ll have to do this in the dark, with just the flashlights.” Tony then took out three pairs of white surgical gloves. “Make sure you put these on before you leave the car.”
    Bags started to get a bit concerned. “What if the neighbors see the flashlights in the house and call the cops?”
    “Yeah, and what if your ass falls off?’ Danny said. “We can do this; we just have to use our heads.”
    Tony and Danny would drive their pickup, and Bags would bring his beat-up Volkswagen Bug. Most important of all, Tony and Danny would bring the two gym bags sitting in the corner for the cash.
    “Okay, we’ll leave at two on the dot, and take two cars over to Chagrin,” Tony whispered in his best conspiratorial voice. “Bags, you park across the street and Danny and me will park in front of the house. When we leave we’ll go in opposite directions, and meet back at your apartment.” As an actual matter of fact, Tony and Danny had decided they would stop at home first, leave some of the cash behind, and then meet up with Bags at his place. However, they didn’t call him “the Bagman” for nothing; Bags had already decided to bring his backpack, so he would get his fair share. By now, he’d spent enough time around the Turner boys to know that honesty was not one of their strengths.
    With the plans laid out, they hid everything in the closet, unlocked the door, and played a few hands of poker. Danny made a point of loudly protesting the bad hand he’d been dealt so his parents wouldn’t think anything suspicious was going on. The Monday Night Football game was on and Howard Cosell droned away in the background. It was just a month ago that he was the first to announce John Lennon’s death to the nation. Now the shock was starting to wear off. When Mrs. Turner came down with bowls of potato chips and popcorn, it looked like a typical Monday night. They’re not such bad boys after all, she thought as she headed back upstairs.
    At roughly the same moment, over in Chagrin Falls, a car was pulling into the Grants’ garage. Kevin Grant and his wife, Missy, had driven from Chicago that day, and were planning to head to Florida on Wednesday. Kevin’s parents had helped him and Missy get a start in the antique business, and every January they too would close their shop and go down to Boca for a visit to escape the Windy City at the worst time of