The miscalculation of a thief and rapist
By Joel Turtel (12/08/06)
"Jimmy, let's hit that big, brick house on Chester street. It's the biggest house in the neighborhood. Remember when we followed the pretty young wife the other day? Remember the expensive jewelry she was wearing? Remember the Mercedes she was driving? There must be a fortune in that house, Jimmy," said Benny Doland, his mouth almost watering.
Benny Doland was tall and skinny, about 30 years old. He had small, narrow eyes, a long nose, and heavy, wet lips. He had a high-pitched voice and his hands moved erratically as he talked.
He was talking to Jimmy, his partner. Jimmy Greeves was short, barrel-chested, around 27 years old. He had cold, brutal eyes, a small nose, and a thin, tight mouth. He looked at Benny Doland with contempt. "Yeah," he said, "the little wifey was sure pretty, wasn't she Benny? I sure would like a piece of that."
Benny looked at his partner with fear. He had seen that look on Jimmy's face before, and he remembered what happened the last time they hit a house. Jimmy had raped and strangled the pretty young wife in that house, and left her for dead on her living room floor. Jimmy Greeves had raped her five times. He had spent so much time raping the girl, that they didn't search the house to find the cash and jewelry. They left empty-handed. Benny didn't want that to happen again.
"Jimmy," he said, "remember what happened the last time? Please, Jimmy, let's keep our minds on robbing the place, not the girl. O.K?"
Jimmy looked up at his partner with a sneer. "You just case the joint and find the loot in the house, Benny. I'll take care of the pretty little wife." Jimmy looked at the cold eyes of his partner and didn't say anything.
Then Benny said, "Jimmy, what if they have a gun in the house? What if the husband has a rack of guns and his wife knows how to use them? I don't want to get killed just trying to rob a house."
Jimmy Greeves looked at Benny with contempt. "You idiot, don't you read the newspapers? Our friends in the State legislature just passed a gun-control law that forced all gun owners to hand in their guns to the cops. Ain't that grand? We always used to worry about getting shot when we hit a house. Now, we don't have no more worries. If I could, I would kiss the moron politicians who passed the gun-control laws. They give guys like us a free ride. All we have to do is break into the house, and the house and pretty little wife is ours for the taking."
Benny's wet lips smiled at the thought. "Yeah," he said, "I forgot about that. You're right. They just passed that law. And all the obedient law-abiding citizens in this town turned in their guns. Do you believe that? I guess they think they don't have to worry about guys like us any more. I guess they think the cops will protect them. Ain't that a laugh, Jimmy? Yeah, Jimmy, let's hit that house tomorrow night. Remember, we saw the husband with his packed bags riding off to the airport yesterday. I guess he's going on a business trip. The wifey will be all alone."
Jenny Hanson loved her house, her husband, and her two little daughters. She was 25 years old, with beautiful blue eyes, a delicate nose, and a wide, sensuous mouth. Her dark, lustrous hair flowed over lovely shoulders. She had a lush, curvy body that she tried to hide under sweatshirts and baggy jeans.
But Jenny Hanson also had an inner core of steel. She was raised as an army brat. Her father was a Marine Corp colonel who loved his daughter to distraction. Because he loved her so much, because he saw how beautiful she was, and because he knew how men were, he taught his daughter how to use guns from an early age. Jenny Hanson was a deadly shot.
Jenny had a close friend growing up, Betty Draper. One night, when they were teens, she witnessed her friend Betty being raped by a gang of drunk teenagers. Jenny had managed to escape before the gang could get her, too. That terrible night was etched in her brain, in her heart. Later, her friend Betty had committed suicide.
Sweet, lovely Jenny therefore kept several loaded pistols in her house. She kept them hidden and locked up, so her daughters could never find them or reach them. When the State legislators passed the gun-confiscation laws, her father had called her from his base in Colorado. He told her, "Honey, the hell with those damn politicians. The government in Australia just confiscated all handguns. Guess what? Rapes, robberies, and murders are way up there. What else could you expect? Jenny, I forbid you from handing in your guns. Do you hear?"
Jenny said, with love in her voice, "I know, my wonderful, protecting Daddy. You didn't have to tell me that. Do you think I would give up my guns because some gun-control morons want to take away my right to defend myself and my children? May those bastards be damned for disarming us. Especially for disarming the women in this town. Now every woman on my block is threatened by rape or robbery because they can't defend themselves with a gun. Don't worry, Dad, I have my revolver armed and loaded. Good-night, Daddy."
Her father, on the other end of the line, was proud of his daughter. "O.K. sweetheart, I was just checking. You know how I am. Good night, and call me if you need anything."
"O.K, Dad," Jenny said.
At 9:15 p.m. the next evening, Benny Doland and Jimmy Greeves broke a back window on Jenny's house. What they didn't know was that Jenny had a good alarm system. She was upstairs in Sara and Melissa's bedroom, reading to them from their favorite book. When she heard the alarm go off, she got up very slowly from the bed. Sara and Melissa looked up at their mother with fear.
"What is that noise, Mommy?" Melissa said. Jenny looked down calmly at her daughters and said, "Sara, Melissa, I want you both to stay in your bed and be very quiet. I have to see where that noise is coming from. It's very important that you be quiet so I can hear the noise. O.K, darlings? Do you promise?"
Sara and Melissa both nodded their little heads yes and watched as their mother walked slowly out the bedroom door. They heard the outside key to their door lock, something their mommy had never done before.
Jenny walked to the master bedroom, went into the closet, opened a stepladder, then took away some big boxes on the top shelf. Behind the boxes, was a small locked box. She took out a special key, opened the box, and removed the fully loaded revolver.
She calmly walked out of the master bedroom and down the carpeted stairway to the big living room. She heard the voices of two men whispering to each other. She heard drawers being opened, cabinet glass being smashed, and she heard curses too. She knew the men would find nothing. All their valuables were hidden in a secret safe under the floor in the master bedroom. The men's voices were angry, she knew, because they had found nothing.
Jenny switched on the light to the living room and came down the stairs. The two thieves, startled by the light, turned around and saw this beautiful woman slowly, calmly walking down the stairs towards them. What astounded them most was that the girl seemed to be totally unafraid. She held her right hand behind her back as she walked towards them.
"Get out of this house right now," Jenny said. She faced the two men with utter calm. "There are no valuables here," she said. "They are all in our bank vault. You will find nothing, here. If you leave now, I won't call the police."
Jimmy Greeves was astounded. This ripe plum was giving them orders. He was also angry. He said, "You bitch. Where's the cash? Where's the jewels? Don't give me that crap about the bank vault. We saw you wearing those expensive jewels. We tailed you."
"I told you there is nothing here." Jenny said. "Those jewels are fake. There isn't more than $100 cash in the house. Now get out, or I will call the police."
Jimmy Greeves's eyes turned cold. He took in every curve of her body, lusting for her. He wanted her even more for being so arrogant. "O.K., just for being nasty to us, me and Benny are going to have some fun with you. You won't mind, will you, bitch? We know you pretty little housewives always lust for bad guys like us. You asked for it, so now you're going to get it."
Jenny was seeing her friend Betty after she was raped and beaten. She was remembering the phone call Betty's mother made to her six months later, telling her that Betty had committed suicide. Jenny looked at the short, ugly thug approaching her and felt the steel rising in her.
She took the revolver from behind her back and pointed it straight at Jimmy Greeves's chest. The thug's eyes opened wide with shock as he saw the pistol come up. She fired twice, point-blank, and Jimmy Greeves flew backwards from the impact of the bullets. He lay dead on the floor in front of Benny Doland, whose startled eyes were wide open. Benny looked down at his dead partner, then looked at the barrel of the smoking revolver in Jenny's hand. What scared him most was the calm, merciless look on Jenny's face. He panicked, and ran screaming out the front door. Jenny watched him run with a grim smile of satisfaction.
When the police arrived, they arrested Jenny for unlawful possession of a handgun.
© 2006 Joel Turtel - All Rights Reserved
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