MurderVerse

"He sees a squirrel running away from a tree with an acorn, he wants to arrest it."

That's my partner, Mike.

We came through the academy together.

Mike passes a bottle of celebratory bourbon to Gene in robbery.

"That's a home invasion," Gene says.

Laughs all around.

Another Voice: "They're scared-a-him in Central Park, hey Mike?"

"Hell, I'm scared of him." Mike takes a drink.

Big laughs

Capt. Lee: "They scatter like rats when they see him coming."

Lame but everyone fake laughs because Lee bought the bourbon.

Unfamiliar Voice: Are squirrels rats?

Another Voice: The rat family, I think.

Voice of authority

A Question: "What's the difference between a snitch and a rat?"

Nobody knows,

Momentary silence.

A joke without a punchline.

***

Crime is a joke without a punchline.

Six Guys chopping through reinforced concrete and steel for money,

Money that isn't theirs.

Two guys are murdered attempting to divide the loot,

Two more guys are arrested without incident,

The fifth guy, the mastermind, rats out the last two,

The two he couldn't kill.

Both go away for life.

The Mastermind gets bullshit probation for cooperation or some such.

Checks in with a PO once a month for Coop Rat Nation.

But there's a sixth accomplice nobody knows,

Never caught,

Until now.

Mike explains:

A State Trooper pulls over a 65yo man on his way to Atlantic City

Crime: broken tail light.

The old man's clean, everything checks out

Until his GF tries flirting with the Trooper.

"We have money to spend down on the boardwalk, know what I mean?"

"I know a bribe when I hear one, ma'am."

"Oh no." Exclaimed the GF. "Not me."

"Pay her no mind, I inherited a small sum from my brother when he passed."

Again the GF, "We're poor as church mice, Mr. State Trooper."

The Trooper didn't care much for her tone,

But listens,

Listens patiently.

She was an actress who hadn't found her starring role yet,

He was her sugar daddy, He being the 65yo Romeo,

Her costar.

Gambling helps them calm down, takes the edge off.

The vigilant State Trooper has heard enough and calls for backup.

These two had dug themselves a hole they couldn't climb out of.

A search of the vehicle uncovers a Coach bag with 300k

"Lucy you got some 'splainin' to do."

They're detained.

The cash matches the money from the bank heist

They're arrested.

The GF flips, tells everything.

He's charged with multiple felonies,

She slips away, and is never seen again.

He get's a free ride back to New York City courtesy of our brothers in the New Jersey State Police.

To the New Jersey State Police, raise a glass.

***

Five years later

Interrogation room

Is he a rat or is he a snitch?

A squirrel without any nuts?

A joke without a punchline?

Palawant looks through the one-way glass at Terry Stubbins

He's seventy now, but looks 100

He vibes constant sadness.

A Brief History...

Terry had worked for Mosler Safe from 1971 until 2001.

He rose through the ranks

Master locksmith, Vault man,

There wasn't a box he couldn't open.

But lost his J to the O to the B

When Mosler went bankrupt.

That was 2001.

A few years later...

A friend of a friend introduced him to some guy who could hook him up

Terry Stubbins jumped

Terry knew it was dirty money

He earned more in one night than had in a year with a legit job

They called again. And again he rode out,

He took all the work he could get

He needed the money, then he wanted the money, then he couldn't live without it.

His wife and daughter became very high maintenance

Soon...

Terry became a consultant, not a safecracker

He demanded his money upfront,

At least 25k

Before the job even took place.

This last job, Terry took his cut on the back end, in cash

Big mistake

Two of the fellas had already been murdered.

He never spent the cash, kept it hidden

Kept it safe but not in a safe.

***

Convo as follows...

I'm detective Talawant

I'm Terry

Thanks for meeting with me, Terry.

I told you everything I know about the job

I don't want to talk about the job.

What then?

Your girlfriend

She wasn't my girlfriend

Well that's good because she was only thirteen years old

She looked twenty-one to me.

Talawant laughed

That's New York from a distance.

Honestly I don't know much about her

But you know something

She said she was from Nebraska or someplace out west

Her dad was a farmer

Where did you meet her

In a bar

Name?

I don't remember, an Irish-sounding place

And she was in the bar?

Sitting on a bar stool like a little princess.

Did she catch your eye?

No.

How did this child get from a barstool to your car on the Jersey Turnpike?

She started a conversation

How?

Hey mister, how are you doing

And you said?

Terry shrugs; can't remember

He takes a minute to think about it

I guess I said, I'm fine, I don't know.

Terry how did the girl get into your car?

Ok. She says she came from Nebraska because she thought New York would be exciting but it's not. It's dirty and dangerous and she'd really like to leave.

So you offer her a ride?

I offer to take her to 625 8th Ave. and buy her a ticket to Nebraska

And what's she say?

She wants to go with me, wherever I'm going.

And...

I'm going to Atlantic City to unload this cash hanging around my neck like an albatross.

Okay

She says she'll keep me company. I think I could use the company

It never occurred to you that transporting a minor across state lines is a federal offense

If I'd given it any thought I wouldn't be here right now.

The joke without a punchline sitting here

The squirrel with no nuts

The girl without a name

without a life.

Terry said, she couldn't keep her mouth shut that's why the police took an extra interest over and above what they normally might do

Yeah she had a lot to say

Obviously.

Why didn't she ever testify at my trial?

She went missing after being taken into custody

Terry astonished, she escaped from the jailhouse?

From a halfway house

Did she ever make it back home?

How old would she be now, I often wonder about her

did you ever ask her name, Terry?

I probably did but I'm bad with names, what was it?

Doris

Two hunters found her body in some woods in New Jersey

New York from a distance.

***

The Timeline

1. 1971 - 2001 Terry works for Mosler

2. 2001 - 2003 Terry is unemployed

3. 2003 - 2020 Terry involved in criminal activity

4. 2005 - Doris is born in Schenectady NY.

5. 2005 - Terry involved in ill-fated NYC bank heist.

6. 2005 - 2018 Terry holds cash

7. 2017 - Age 12, Doris runs away from home, lands in NYC.

8. 2018 - Age 13, Doris meets Terry in an Irish pub called Saorlaith

9. 2018 - 2020 Terry arrested, tried, convicted, sentenced. 20yrs

10. 2018 - 2019 Doris sent to half-way house for girls, runs away

11. 2019 - Terry sent to Sing Sing State Prison

12. 2019-2022 Doris' whereabouts are unaccounted for

13. 2022 - Doris is found dead in a wooded area off 'Lois Lane