Jim had never stolen anything directly from someone’s home since he had been born. Of course, pilfering, such as getting a purse from an old fat lady or taking a bottle of wine from a store counter was unavoidable. A gentleman must live on something, Jim would remind of himself. He did not care about what other people thought of him. “It’s none of their business,” he often said to himself.
But this time something is quite different.
Yesterday evening, about , a big-nosed man wearing a black suit a tawdry tie knocked open the door of Jim’s apartment. After he swaggered in and dropped into a chair, he began to speak unctuously.
“Do you want to earn a lot of money, Jimmy?”
“What do you mean?” Jim did not want do ask the big-nosed man his name.
“I like a prudent man like you,” the big-nosed man smiled. “I know what kind of business you’re in. Don’t try to deny it. I’m not a cop or a private dick. As a matter of fact, I don’t like these two occupations at all. I simply want you to do me a small favor, a very small favor, and then you’ll get 5000 dollars from me in expression of my gratitude.”
“Five thousand dollars!” Jim nearly fell over.
“Yes, 5000 dollars for an easy job.”
Five thousand dollars! Jim had never seen so much money except in his dreams. He could really use the cash! Why just yesterday the landlady frightened him by saying that if he had not paid the three months rent he had owed by next Monday, he would be out on the street. Meanwhile, he also worried about Lisa’s tuition fee for next semester. Jim’s younger sister was the apple of his eye, and he would willingly sacrifice all he had, however meagre, to put her through college. He knew she had the drive and potential he basically lacked (Lisa herself hoped very much that she would become a doctor). Further, he had no other family member in this world.
“What exactly do you want me to do, sir?” Jim asked cautiously.
“It’s very simple. Do you know the stone house near the St.Louis, _8 T7 J7 \6 a
Church?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. That’s my brother’s house. All you need to do is fetch a painting. It’s hung on the east wall of my brother’s bedroom on the second floor, the third door on the left from the stairs. There is, however, an alarm system that could cause some trouble. I suspect you are familiar with that sort of thing, so for you, there should be no problem. That’s all.”
“Is that painting very valuable?”
“Only to our family.”
“But why … I mean, you are his brother … ”
“That’s not your business.” His voice became hard.
“I don’t care at all,” said Jim. “But you know, your brother is a man of some reputation. Were I caught, the consequences could be severe. I don’t want any trouble, you know. There’s a price to be paid for everything, and sometimes it’s not worth paying. I do need money, but I don’t need jail.”
“Don’t worry,” the big-nosed man cajoled. “My brother is a very gracious gentleman. Were he to come upon you in his house, he would surely let you go.” The man explained, grinning hideously.
God damn you! Jim cursed silently. But money was money after all. He needed money. “I think this may be a good deal. But I need time to think it over. Would you mind coming here again tomorrow morning? And, I think you’d better bring cash with you. I want cash, only cash, small used bills. That’s the point.”
“It’s settled then. I’ll come here tomorrow morning,” said the big-nosed man.
After closing the door behind his odd visitor, Jim plopped into a chair, lost in thought.
The idea of stealing itself was not difficult for him. He didn’t care about the electronic system—that kind of thing was simply a small challenge for him, since he had once been a salesman for an electronic company which produced various electronic monitoring systems and he understood them well. What made him a little bit guilty was stealing from a man’s house. He wondered how the man in question could have such a vicious brother. Jim decided that the man with a big nose was a son of bitch and wished he had kicked his ass just now. But then, he reasoned, what about Lisa? What about the rent? He himself was just one of the poor slobs who never got a break. “Whether that big-nosed man is a son of bitch or not has nothing to do with me. I don’t want to hurt his brother. If he wants to hurt his brother, that’s his business, not mine. I only want the money, and I don’t care where it comes from. Whether I pull the job or not is inconsequential. That son of bitch who was just here would find someone else to do it, so I’m really not stealing myself. As long as I can get money without being sent to the slammer, why shouldn’t I do it?” he reasoned.
Having thus reflected upon the matter, he decided that the benefit would exceed the cost.
发表于 2007-7-9 13:46:00
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