Who Is It That's Stealing My Food? - Part V

It was almost dark. Jacob heard the gate creak and was immediately on high alert.

He was in the lounge with Luke. Luke had come out from his hideout under the house to watch TV.

“Stay here,” said Jacob as he got up and peered out of the window.

The doorbell rang: “Bzzzzz -Bzzzz”

“Who is it?" asked Jacob with a trembling voice.

“It’s me, idiot,” came the reply from Bob. “Let me in, pizza's getting cold.”

“Were you followed?” asked Jacob.

"Yeah, I have half of the detective squad with me surrounding the house; will you just calm down?"

‘I’ve got beer and Pizza. Hello you must be Luke,” asked Bob as he turned to look at Luke sitting comfortably in a chair as if he was king for a day.

“This is my friend Bob,” interjected Jacob, "he is helping me sort out this mess. He is a good guy, so don’t be scared.”

Luke was more interested in the pizza. He had not had pizza for such a long time, and it smelled really good.

“Why don’t you grab a couple of pieces of pizza and have it in front of the TV, while I talk to Bob in the kitchen. Hang on, I’ll get you a plate,” as Luke was about to grab a big slice of pizza.

****

“Holy crap,” was Bob’s reply. Give me a minute; I have to make a call.

Bob got his phone out and punched a number. “Jerry, it’s me, Bob.”

“You guys stay where you are; do not move. I want to watch this place like a hawk, front and back. Have you got me?”

“I will call it in. Are Tony and Bluey still outside Ryan’s place?”

“Tell them I will be there as soon as I can, but they are not to do anything until I arrive.”

He put his phone down and opened a beer.

“This whole thing has blown open now,” said Bob.

“Seems like Frankie Boy was actually Eddie’s stepbrother. They hated each other, but they did the job anyway. They owed money to some nasty people because of their gambling debts.”

"When Eddie ran off with the money, he left the other three stranded. Frank was upset and shot his stepbrother while trying to find out where the money went," Bob revealed.

"Frank has contacts, and he somehow managed to frame the other two for the murder because he had an alibi."

"No one really believed it except the judge. It now seems he was paid off by someone, and Frank also got temporary custody of Luke.”

"We all thought it was just a trick to find the money. Then Luke ran away, and it all started to make sense."

"We have been watching him for a few weeks now."

“Not closely enough Bob. He was snooping around here a couple of weeks ago, according to Luke,” snapped Jacob.

“One more thing, Jacob, there is a $50,000 reward for the money. Do you think Luke knows where it is?” he added.

“Let’s ask him,” said Jacob; he has been a wealth of information so far. It depends on whether he trusts us or not.

They both got up and went into the lounge room as Luke was devouring his last bite of pizza.

“How was the pizza,” asked Bob, trying to win favor.

"Wow, it was great,” replied Luke in high spirits.

"Listen, kiddo,” asked Bob, trying to be cool, "Jacob tells me you know about your dad.”

Luke hangs his head.

"Y-ee-sss," he replied. “But he was bad; I hated him!”

“Do you know what happened to the money he stole?”

“If you do, we must return it to the people he stole it from. We can’t let Frank get it after your great work in stopping him, can we?”

Luke shook his head.

“I can show you, but you have to promise that you will send me back there.”

“We promise,” said both Jacob and Bob like a pair of excited schoolboys.

Luke took them downstairs and moved the crate from under the window. Behind it was a blank wall.

He looked at both again, “You promise you will take care of me?”

“I promise,” said Jacob.

Luke went and got a piece of wood that was sitting by the table, went back to the wall, and smacked it hard with the wood.

The wall gave way and left a big hole. He hit it again, and with each blow, more of the hole was revealed.

“I’ll be damned,“ said Jacob, amazed that he had been sitting on $400,000 all this time and never knew. “No wonder no one ever found it. It was hidden in the wall.”

Bob was already on his phone, “I’m coming now, Bluey, don’t move until I get there. Is he still there?” The answer must have been yes.

“Okay, I'm on my way.”

He made another call. “Jerry, I want you guys in here now; we have found the money and the boy is safe. Come in now; I am on my way to make the arrest.”

“Jerry and Steve will be in, in a minute. I don’t want you to leave until all this is over,” said Bob.

He looked at Luke. “Don’t worry, kiddo; it's going to be all good.”

Luke gave him a small smile, hoping that he was telling the truth and looked up at Jacob.

Jacob looked across at Bob, “Hey buddy, thanks; I owe you.”

"Well, you can take me out for a big dinner with some of that reward money you’ll get.”

“You’re on,” replied Jacob, "Bob, do you know any good lawyers that can help me get temporary custody of this little guy?”

“I am starting to like the way he thinks!” putting his arm around Luke.

“Why don’t we go and get a bowl of ice cream, Luke, and watch some TV together?”

Luke’s eyes lit up in anticipation.

“I knew I did the right thing by coming back and stealing your food,” he said with a huge smile.

“Can I have some of that caramel one you have in your freezer?”

Jacob just smiled and shook his head in amazement. "I like the way this little guy thinks," he said to himself.

[Epilogue: Frank was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The other two involved in the robbery had their sentences reduced. They are now serving five years each.]

Jacob obtained temporary custody of Luke, and they became best buddies. Jacob hooked up with Mary again, and they plan to marry. They will use the reward money to move to a new house and hope it won’t have a basement. They also plan to adopt Luke through a formal process.

After all, he had seen Mary on the same night Jacob had! 😊

This was the final part of the five-part series:

Part I, if you missed it, is here:

The other two parts follow on from part II, here:

Till next time,

Calvin