Twice Tempted by William Manchee

Eleven

When I got back to my apartment I was so high I couldn't go to sleep. I had to talk to someone but I didn't want to talk to Steve because he was too judgmental. He would just chew me out for being stupid. Randy on the other hand would love what had happened. I searched through my telephone number book and found his number in Ventura. He was home for summer vacation from the University of Pittsburgh. After a minute he answered.

"Hello."

"Randy, this is Fred. You weren't sleeping were you?"

"No way, how are you?"

"Fabulous."

"Fabulous?. . . Oh, my God! . . . You must have gone back to Venice Beach and lost your virginity. Steve told me about the little hippie girl."

"Well, no, that’s not exactly it."

"But, I’m warm, right?"

"Can't I be fabulous without a woman being involved?"

"I don't know how," Randy laughed.

"Well other things can make a person feel fabulous."

"Yeah, maybe lots of money so you could afford lots of women?

"You're still crazy as ever I can see."

"But I’m right, aren't I?"

"Well, in this case you are."

"I knew it," Randy said. "What's her name?"

"Candy."

"She must be some hot banana to lure you away from Maria."

"Yeah, it's so bad I can hardly think when I am around her?"

"That sounds dangerous."

"It is. . . . I gave her $2,000.00 tonight."

"You did what?"

"She doesn't want to marry me, she wants to be my mistress."

"What? Are you nuts?"

"Yeah, I think so. I’m so much in love with her I would do anything to make sure she never left me."

"Why would she want to be your mistress?"

"Her dream is to be a great actress and she will do anything to achieve that goal. I think she loves me but she won't let love get in the way of what she wants."

"It sounds like she's using you to me."

"She is and she admits it. But I don't care as long as I am with her."

"But she'll just dump you when she finds someone else that can help her more than you."

"I’m not sure she would after tonight."

"Why? Just because you gave her $2,000."

"No, the way she made love to me."

"You made love to her!"

"Two solid hours."

"Wait a minute, you realize Maria won’t marry you if she finds out you’re not a virgin."

"That really didn't occur to me at the time, I guess I've gone off the deep end."

"Actually it sounds pretty exciting, but it's not like you, I am just shocked."

"You haven't heard the most shocking part yet."

"What could be more shocking?" Randy asked.

"I can't talk about it over the telephone. Next time I see you I'll fill you in."

"I'll be there in two hours."

"No. No. . . . When the time is right, I'll tell you about it. Promise me you won't discuss it with anyone."

"Discuss what?"

"I'll tell you later, I've got to go. Bye."

"Okay. . . . Bye."

I knew I had left Randy disturbed as he hung up the phone. I wished I hadn't alluded to the bank robbery. Now he would be bugging me until I told him about it. It's not that I didn't trust him, because I did completely. But I was afraid if I told him what happened he might later be forced to testify against me and end up committing perjury.

When I opened my eyes I saw the display on the clock radio and it read 6:45 a.m. The night had finally passed. For a moment I laid in bed pondering my dream and wondering if I'd ever be free of it. It wasn't long however, before I remembered it was Monday and all hell would be breaking loose at the Bank. I felt like calling in sick, but I knew that would look bad. The only thing I could do was go to work and act like nothing had happened. My mind could repress all recollection of Friday night, it was possible, I knew it was possible. I'd keep my mind focused on something else at all times.

Twelve

All morning I managed to focus my attention on my classes and homework with some success, but before I knew it the hour had come to go to work. As I drove downtown, I kept my thoughts on Candy, my conversation with Randy and the term papers that I had yet to start. I parked my car in the usual place and walked over to the motor pool. Jim was standing at the pumps filling one of the bank's vehicles with gas.

"Hi Jim," I said trying to act natural.

"Hello Fred," Jim replied somewhat subdued.

"Did you have a good weekend?"

"Yeah, not so bad. How was yours mate?" he asked.

"Fabulous?"

"Fabulous, well then, you must have done something quite extraordinary. Let me guess. . . . One of your women came through or you went to that Dodger game everyone's been talking about."

"Right on both counts."

"Both counts, you did have a fabulous weekend."

"You're not a baseball fan are you Jim?"

"Well, I prefer soccer, but I must admit I am starting to get into baseball a little bit."

"Did you go to the game?"

"No, but I had it playing on the radio all right. Of course, I can't say that I heard much of it since my young lass was keeping me pretty busy."

"Maria wasn't too interested in the game either."

"So you went to ball game with Maria and got lucky with- . . . What's her bloody name?"

"Candy."

"Candy. The girl who wants to be your mistress right?"

"Right."

"Tell me Fred, when you and Maria get married are you going to invite Candy to the wedding?"

I smiled and laughed at Jim's sarcasm. I had decided I couldn't hide the situation with Candy and it might actually help in making my life appear ordinary.

"Probably not. Although she would probably like to come."

"You better be careful lad, as I remember Maria was unforgiving and good with a knife."

"Well, you're the master at juggling women so how about some pointers?"

"My only advice is not to fall in love with either one of them. If you do then the other one will feel it in the way you treat her, she'll know there is another."

"It may be too late then," I said. "I love them both."

Just then our conversation was interrupted by Sinclair's shouting, "Fuller! Get up here. I need to talk to you."

Sinclair's voice sent shivers up and down my spine as I knew the dreaded moment had arrived. I took a deep breath, looked at Jim, raised my eyebrows and said, "I wonder what he wants."

"I've got some ideas," Jim replied.

"What?"

"You better go ahead and see Sinclair, but stop by here before you leave, I need to tell you a few things."

"Okay."

As I walked toward Sinclair I felt my heart pounding rapidly. I needed to calm down so I took a deep breath and tried to relax. When I got to Sinclair, I gave him a puzzled look."

"Fuller, there is going to be a change in your route today."

"Really?"

"Yes, there won't be a bag at San Bernadino."

"How come?"

"Didn't you hear the news today?"

"No, I've been at school all day."

"San Bernadino got robbed?"

"You're kidding?"

"No, Harvey Hamlin is dead."

"What!"

"Consequently the bank's closed today."

"Was it armed robbery? Did Harvey get shot?"

"No, but he might as well have."

"What do you mean?"

"He died of a heart attack during the robbery. When they catch the robbers they'll be charged with felony murder since Harvey died while a felony was in progress."

Sinclair's words stunned me. It had never occurred to me by dragging Hamlin into the vault I had turned a simple bank robbery into murder. Despite the horror I felt inside I managed to keep a poker face and finally replied, "Damn!"

"Oh, Sam quit so you'll have to pick up Arrowhead and Big Bear too."

"Jesus! I won't be back here until midnight."

"Well, we don't have any other choice."

"Okay, I better get going."

"Oh. Before you go, those guys you talked to before from the FBI, they want to talk to you again for a minute."

I knew eventually I was going to have to face the FBI, but I wasn't prepared for it at this moment.

"If I've got to do two routes I need to get going?" I said.

"It will just take a minute," Sinclair said and smiled.

"Okay, where are they?"

"Take the elevator down where you met them before."

"Okay, thanks."

As the elevator descended, I felt like I was sinking into the pits of hell. I didn't think they knew anything or Sinclair wouldn't be sending me out on my run, but nevertheless I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. As I entered the conference room, I put them in my pocket so they wouldn't give me away.

"Mr. Fuller," agent Harper said as he saw me enter the room. "Thank you for coming down."

"No problem."

"Do you remember agent Walters?" Harper said

"Yes, sir, nice to see you again," I replied.

"I guess you've heard about San Bernadino," Harper continued.

"Yes, Mr. Sinclair just told me about it. I can't believe it."

"Did you see anything unusual Friday night?"

"No, nothing in particular comes to mind."

"We need you to tell us everything that happened. We need a minute by minute account without any details left out."

"Why?"

"You may have seen something and didn't realize it."

"Okay. Well. . . . Ah. . . . When I drove up I was pretty much on schedule but Sam wasn't there yet. I guess you know I have the longest route so I'm the last driver to get in at night. Sam is supposed to be there when I arrive so I'm not delayed."

"What did you do when you discovered Sam wasn't there?"

"I went inside to get the bags."

"Did you do anything inside the bank other than bring out the bags?"

I gave Harper a calculating stare and then responded, "Well, when I got inside I noticed it was pitch black. The night lamp was apparently out so I went back outside to get a flashlight. Just as soon as I got out of the door I was blinded by headlights. It scared the shit, excuse me, the crap out of me. It turned out to be Sam, luckily."

"Did Sam say why he was late?" Walters said.

"Yeah, he said one of the tellers was out of balance I think."

"How long did Sam hang around? Harper said.

"Just a couple minutes."

"Then what did you do?"

"Well, I put Sam's bags in the car and then went inside to get the bags that were still in the bank."

"Did you see anything unusual inside?"

"Well, other than it being real dark . . . actually I did see something kind of unusual?"

Walters leaned forward and asked, "What?"

"In the darkness there was a light from down the hall. I thought maybe someone was still in the bank so I went down to talk to them and tell them the night lamp was out."

"Go on," Walters said.

"It was Harvey Hamlin's office, the light was still on. I knew it was his office because he had taken me in there one time for something."

"What did you see?" Walters said.

"Nothing really, it was empty. Nobody was there so I just turned off the light and left."

"Did you do anything else, anything at all?"

Harper's question bothered me, if I had left a fingerprint somewhere else in the bank they would find it sooner or later. Should I tell them I went into the president's office. It would be better for me to tell them than for them to discover it later. "No, I just dropped by the kitchen and bought a coke."

"I thought it was dark, how could you see to buy a coke?"

"I turned on the kitchen light. It's quite a ride from San Bernadino to LA so I usually buy a coke to drink on the way back."

"Okay, that will do except we will need to take your fingerprints."

"My fingerprints, why?"

"Fingerprints can be most helpful in determining what happened at a crime scene. We need to know the identity of every print in that bank. Walters will take your prints right now."

"Okay. . . . I guess I better tell you one more thing."

Walter's eyes widened as I continued, "I know I shouldn't have done it, but you know I've always kind of wondered what it would be like to be a bank president. Since I was killing time Friday night I went into the President's office and sat in his chair just to see what it felt like. I didn't touch anything though. . . . At least I don't remember touching anything."

"How long were you in his office," Walters asked.

"Just a minute."

"Anything else," Walters said.

"No, that's it I think."

"Oh, by the way," Harper added. "I understand you found the vault open at San Bernadino about six months ago?"

"Yeah, can you believe that?"

"Well, Mr. Sinclair was pretty impressed with your honesty."

"I am sure any other messenger would have done the same thing," I replied.

"Not necessarily," Walters noted.

I smiled, took my hands out of my pocket, extended them to Walters and said, "Okay, well let me give you my fingerprints and then I better get going. I've got a long run tonight."

"Okay, right over here," Walters said as he pointed to a pad and some fingerprint charts at the end of the table. He took each of my fingers and pressed them onto the ink pad. Then he pressed them onto the chart in the appropriate spot. I tried to let my hand go limp so my fingers wouldn't shake but apparently Walters felt the tension and asked, "Ever had your fingerprints taken before?"

"No, Sir."

"Don't worry about it, it's just routine."

After Walters was done, I went upstairs and to talk to Jim. I was curious as to what he had to tell me. There were several drivers at the pumps as I walked up, so I waited for them to leave and then I began talking to Jim.

"What did Sinclair want?" Jim said.

"Agent Walters and Harper are downstairs and they wanted to talk to me."

"I figured as much. I saw them come back with Sinclair."

"Come back from where?"

"FBI Headquarters. Sinclair had a meeting there today with Walters and Harper, some new agents and a couple bank officials. He told me all about it."

"Really? What happened at this meeting?"

"They read the coroner's preliminary report. They know Hamlin died of a heart attack. They're not sure what caused it but he was pretty stressed out Friday night. Apparently he had gotten into a tussle with one of the bank examiners and told him to fuck-off. When his superiors found out about it, they fired him."

"Shit."

"They're bloody sure Hamlin was in on the heist, but they can't figure out who was working with him. They knew he had a serious drinking problem so some professionals might have approached him knowing he was vulnerable. It could have been a double-cross which would explain the tape on his mouth and wrists; or Hamlin might have just succumbed from all the stress he was under, they just don't know."

"Couldn't someone have just surprised Hamlin and overtaken him?" I asked trying to act dumb.

"They don't think that's likely since the perpetrator had to have had inside information."

"Why is that?"

"There was no sign of a forced entry. They apparently waltzed in and out of the bank unnoticed."

"Hmm."

"The assistant cashier has been cleared. She had half the combination to the vault and should have stayed there to make sure Hamlin closed it, but she says Hamlin made her go home before the vault was closed. She claims to have protested but Hamlin insisted she leave. I guess her alibi checks out."

"So, do they have any suspects," I asked.

"That's why I wanted to talk to you Fred. You are their number one suspect and they have you under surveillance."

"Oh Shit! I can't believe this. What about Sam Stewart?" I said. "Isn't he a suspect?"

"They said Sam quit his job on Wednesday and hasn't been seen since."

"Well, then he obviously must have done it. Why else would he quit his job and disappear."

"That's what I told Sinclair, but apparently Sam stopped to buy some ammo at an army surplus store on his way in from Big Bear. The owner is quite sure about the time, so it would have been nearly impossible for him to have been at the bank any earlier than you."

"Damn."

"I don't think Sam has been ruled out entirely. They've got agents looking for him, but you definitely have the number one billing at this stage of the game lad."

"What do you think I should do, Jim?"

"Keep your mouth shut for one thing. They've got a tail on you and probably a lot of bugs. You might warn your family and friends too, they're sending agents up to Ventura."

"Oh my God! You've got to be kidding."

"I’m afraid you're in deep trouble Fred whether you deserve it or not."

"Listen Jim, if you hear anything else will you tell me?"

"I damn bloody will. . . . I don't want to see an innocent man take a tumble."

"So you believe I am innocent?"

"No, I didn't say that, but even if you took the loot I wouldn't blame you. I'd of done the same had I been given the chance."

"You're a good man Jim. Can I get your phone number in case I need to call you."

"Sure," Jim said as he reached in his pocket for a scrap of paper and wrote his number on it.

"Now don't be alarmed if a young lass answers."

"Oh believe me, I wouldn't be."

"If by chance you're not here Monday, take care."

"Thanks, Jim."

After talking to Jim I got the hell out of there as fast as I could without attracting attention. Once on the road I took a deep breath and tried to relax. After fifteen or twenty minutes I began to look forward to seeing Candy at the Banning Branch. I hoped she would still be there since I was already thirty minutes late. I increased my speed to try to make up time. Tonight of all nights I needed to see her. By the time I got to Palm Springs I had made up ten minutes. The road from Palm Springs to Banning was mountainous and full of dangerous curves. It wouldn't be possible to make up too much time but I tried anyway. The wheels of the white Impala shrieked as I sailed around each bend. Suddenly I realized I was rapidly approaching a slow-moving car ahead. The road seemed clear beyond the car so I passed it quickly. My anticipation of seeing Candy had become so intense that I scarcely noticed I was traveling 75 mph on this treacherous mountain road.

As I approached the summit, I observed a car parked in a lookout adjacent to the road and some people admiring the view. Suddenly out from behind the car came a little girl. There was no time to stop so I swerved sharply to the left barely missing the child. My heart nearly stopped as I narrowly averted plunging over the cliff on the other side of the summit. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw the child's mother lift her up. She was okay. Thank God! The near accident brought me back to my senses. Candy will be there, just relax I told myself.

When I approached the Banning branch there were no cars and the bank was dark except for the night lamp. My heart sank as I realized I wasn't going to see Candy. Depression overcame me quickly as I walked to the door of the bank and slowly unlocked it. Tonight I really needed Candy. "Damn it!" I blurted out to the empty lobby. As I walked toward the bags I looked around hopefully but saw nothing. I picked up the bags and started to leave when I heard a whisper.

"Fred, where have you been?"

I looked toward the voice and saw someone standing in the dark behind the teller's windows.

"Candy. Is that you?"

"Who else do you think would be waiting around for you?"

My heart began to pound with excitement, I dropped the bags and quickly ran over to her.

"Oh, I am so glad to see you. I thought for sure I would miss you."

"Actually this worked out pretty well because everyone is gone and we are alone."

We put our arms around each other and began to kiss. Then Candy said, "Boy, you sure are tense."

"It's been a tough day. You won't believe it but I've got to go to Arrowhead and Big Bear tonight."

"You've got to be kidding."

"No, I’m not. Sam quit."

"Well good, no one will notice if you're an extra fifteen or twenty minutes late."

"Oh really, what did you have in mind?"

"Come with me and I'll show you."

Candy grabbed my hand and led me down the hall and into the ladies room. Just inside the door was a sofa where Candy sat down and laid back, her eyes beckoning me to follow her. I knelt down and began kissing her thighs. She closed her eyes and moaned gently. I pulled off her shoes and carefully removed her stockings. I began to caress her thighs with my hands and my face causing her moans to intensify with each stroke. Her legs were so smooth and sensual and had such a sweet aroma that I could have played with them blissfully for hours, but I sensed she was ready for something more.

So I pushed one hand under her blouse and stroked her soft supple breast. With that she became so aroused that she grabbed my arm and pulled me on top of her. We kissed passionately trying to remove our clothes without unlocking our lips.

Once naked our bodies merged into one being and we made love for what seemed an eternity. I had never before felt such an intense exhilaration. This was the second night we had sex but the first night we had made love.

For several minutes we said nothing. Words could not describe what had happened between us. Candy’s body felt so warm and smelled so sweet, I never wanted to let her go. Eventually, however, I remembered I had a route to finish. I didn’t want to God knows I didn’t, but I had no choice. I started to get up to leave but Candy yanked me back.

"You can't go yet," she said softly. "You can't leave a women in this condition."

I sat up and looked at her. "But, I am almost forty-five minutes late already."

She put her hand on my arm. "Just hold me a minute longer, . . . please."

"Okay," I said and laid back down. She rolled over on top of me and gave me a sexy little smile.

"Did you enjoy that?" I asked.

"Mmm. . . . I sure did. Did you?"

I nodded and replied. "God, did I ever."

She smiled, put her head on my shoulder and took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of her sensuous body. After a few minutes she sat up and gave me a serious look. Her breasts were so beautiful I just stared at them mesmerized.

"Fred, can we talk for a few minutes before you go?"

"Huh?"

"Can we talk?"

"Sure, I'd love to talk to you honey, but I am really late. I've got to get out of here, we can talk tomorrow."

"But it's important."

"I'm sure it is, but wouldn't you rather talk about it when I'm not rushed?"

She sighed. "Okay. Okay. . . . Go. Get out of here."

We got dressed and walked to the door. Candy peered outside to make sure no one was around. The coast seemed clear so we walked outside. I locked the door behind us, then we kissed and said good bye.

The urgency that had driven me earlier in the evening was gone. I was again enjoying the drive and particularly the memory of my encounter with Candy. Before I knew it I was in San Bernadino passing by the San Bernadino branch on my way to Arrowhead and Big Bear. As I drove past I scrutinized the bank carefully. It was dark and the parking lot was empty. To a stranger it would seem as if nothing had happened. Then I noticed a dark blue car parked near the drug store. A man sat inside sipping a cup of coffee. I surmised that it was an FBI agent watching to see if the bank robber would return to the scene of the crime as they often do. Sorry friend, not this criminal.

As I headed into the mountains I thought of Sam. I wondered what had happened to make him quit his route so suddenly. He certainly had not mentioned quitting to me. The memory of the little girl calling him Santa Claus amused me. He could make so much money if he would just play the role. It couldn't be that hard; the financial reward would be worth the drudgery of sitting hundreds of children on his lap. I figured money must not be that important to him.

As I got into Arrowhead I noticed I was getting low on gas. I saw a Union 76 station so I pulled in and drove up to the pumps. A burly man with a beard came out and walked over to my window.

"Fill it up," I said. The man nodded and then set the hose on automatic while he washed my windshield. As I was watching the attendant do the windows I observed a small grocery store across the street. In front of the store was parked a red Volkswagen Beetle that looked similar to Sam's. The attendant finished the front window and proceeded to the rear. Then I thought I saw Sam come out of the store with a load of groceries and get into the VW. By this time the attendant came around and I handed him a credit card and asked him, "Do you know Sam Stewart?"

"Yeah, everybody knows Sam."

"Isn't that him getting in the car over there?"

"Sure is?"

"Huh, I'd like to go talk to him for a minute."

"Well, it looks like you're too late, he's leaving. Maybe you can drop by his house."

"You know where he lives?"

"Sure, I'll give you his address."

Seeing Sam running around kind of pissed me off. Why didn't he have the decency to give two weeks notice like everybody else? It was a major pain in the ass to do his route plus mine anyway and then to find out he didn't even have a good reason to quit made me mad. When the attendant came back he gave me directions to Sam's house but it was way out of my way so I blew it off. I picked up the bags at the Arrowhead branch and proceeded toward Big Bear. It was a beautiful trip through the tall pine trees during the daylight. After dark, however, there wasn't much to see just miles and miles of winding road, nevertheless it was peaceful and I enjoyed it. After a while my anger subsided and I started to think that Sam must have had some good reason for quitting. Sam always seemed like a decent guy so I figured I ought to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I finally arrived back in LA after midnight. The motor pool was deserted when I pulled in. As I unloaded my bag a security guard came over and said he would take my bags downstairs. I thanked him and left. It had been a very long, scary day but I had survived it. In retrospect, I couldn't have planned it any better than it actually turned out.

When I got home, the daily newspaper was lying in front of my apartment door. I took it inside, turned on the light and opened it up. The headlines jumped out at me. "BANK ROBBERS GET 6.7 MILLION DOLLARS FROM BANK USA. Cashier Found Dead in Vault." Suddenly I was sick again as I read the article over and over. It said the police and FBI were baffled by the crime. They thought it might be an inside job but they really had no clues. There was no sign of forced entry, no evidence of a struggle and no one saw anything unusual. As I was pondering the article the phone rang.

"Hello."

"Fred, where have you been?" Maria asked.

"Maria, hi, I just got in from work." I suddenly felt very guilty talking to Maria.

"It's after one and I was worried sick about you."

"Sam quit and I had to take his route and mine."

"You're kidding?"

"No, it was a very long night."

"Did you hear about the robbery?"

"Yeah, I was just reading about it when you called."

"Isn't that one of the banks you go to?"

"Un huh, it's usually my last stop."

"You didn't see anything Friday night did you?"

"No, the FBI asked me the same thing."

"The FBI already talked to you?"

"About a half hour before I left today."

"Do they know who did it?"

"Apparently not, according to the newspaper. Of course, they won't tell anyone anything until they have something solid."

"Did you know the guy who got killed?"

"Harvey Hamlin, yes I knew Harvey. He was a pretty nice guy when he was sober."

"You're so lucky you didn't get to the bank during the robbery, you might have been killed too."

"I suppose I could have, I hadn't given that much thought."

"Now I am going to worry about you every time you go to work."

"You needn't worry, the odds against this happening again are very remote."

"I hope so."

"Listen Babe, I am really beat and I need to hit the hay."

"Okay, I'm glad you made it home safely."

"Thanks. Sweet dreams."

"I love you."

"Me too. Good night."

It wasn't a lie I said to myself, I did love her. It was possible to love two women, not too smart, but certainly possible. I didn't want to break up with her but I knew it was the only decent thing to do. She'd get over me and find someone who would be true to her. In a few days I would tell her, but right at that moment I needed sleep.

Thirteen

I was looking forward to the weekend to relax and do some serious thinking. Since I hadn't got up the nerve yet to tell Maria our relationship was over, I was planning to juggle the weekend between her and Candy. On Saturday morning I slept late as I planned to meet Maria at noon for lunch. When I went outside to get the paper, I noticed a man in a suit sitting by the pool reading a magazine. He was obviously the FBI agent assigned to keep an eye on me.

Maria and I went to Denny's for lunch and then had planned to go to the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art. As we were leaving the restaurant I noticed two men in dark suits standing outside the restaurant reading their newspapers. I recognized both of them, one of them had been outside my apartment earlier in the day and the other agent I had seen the previous week staking out the San Bernadino branch of Bank USA. Having two agents assigned to me now was a major concern. Why did they assign a second agent to me? Were they getting ready to arrest me? Had they discovered some incriminating evidence in the bank? I looked back and saw them walking fifty yards behind me. "Shit."

Maria gave me a funny look and said, "What's wrong with you? You look like you saw a ghost."

"Nothing. . . . Nothing's wrong," I said. "Let's get to the museum before it gets crowded."

"Okay Honey. You sure you're all right?"

"Yeah, let's go."

We found the car and took off down Wilshire Boulevard. I kept an eye on the rear view mirror and immediately observed a dark blue sedan following us. It was the same car I had seen in San Bernadino.

"Damn," I inadvertently blurted out.

"What's wrong?" Maria asked again.

I rubbed my forehead as if I were in pain, "I have a headache."

Maria gave me a concerned look. "Do you want to go home?" Maria asked.

"No, I will be okay. It will go away in a minute."

"Are you sure? I'm worried about you."

"Maria, I love you."

"I love you too, what's wrong?"

My eyes began to swell up and I had to struggle to keep from crying. "Maria, I've done something very bad."

"What did you do?" Maria responded on the verge of tears herself.

"I can't tell you, it would be dangerous for both of us. It may be that I have to leave town soon."

"Leave town? What are you talking about?"

Maria began sobbing.

"I’m going to take you home now. I don't know when I will see you again. I wish I could explain everything to you but I can't."

"I'll go with you."

"I can't let you quit school and give up everything just because I screwed up. Besides you may not want to be with me after you find out what I did."

"Is this involving the bank robbery?"

"Don't ask, the less you know the better. It's for your own good."

"I can't bear to think that you'll be gone and I won't even know where you are."

"I'll call you from time to time to let you know I am all right. I can't call you at the dorm though, the phone will probably be tapped."

"Damn it Fred, how could you let this happen!? Our life was so perfect."

"This isn't something I planned; I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"So what am I supposed to do without you?"

"I don't know how long I will be gone; I may never be able to come back. You probably just need to forget you ever met me."

"You can't forget someone you love."

"I know, but you've got to try."

When we arrived at Maria's dorm, I parked the car. We sat silently for a while, not wanting to leave each other. "You've got to be strong," I said. "You'll get through it."

"No! This can't be happening! You can't do this!"

"I am sorry, Babe, I am really sorry."

After a minute I got out of the car, walked around to Maria's door and opened it. "Come on. I'll walk you inside." Taking Maria's hand I escorted her inside the dorm. We embraced, I told her I loved her and left. As I looked back she turned and slowly walked away. I wondered if I would ever see her again.

As I drove home I questioned if I had done the right thing. I hadn't planned to say good bye to Maria today, but I just couldn't lie to her anymore. It was better for her to be rid of me even if it hurt for a while. There was no telling what was going to happen. The most important thing was to protect her from whatever was in store for me.

I looked in the rear view mirror and saw that the dark blue sedan was still following me. What was the purpose of their surveillance? Were they worried I would flee the country or did they think I would lead them to the stolen money? They must not have enough on me to arrest me or they would have done it by now. But how will I know when they do have enough? Can I afford to wait around for them to nab me? My mind was racing trying to analyze every aspect of my desperate situation. By the time I got back to my apartment I had worked myself into a frenzy. I needed to talk to someone so I decided to call Randy. As I was about to pick up the phone, I remembered the phone was probably bugged.

I remained in the apartment for a few minutes just for the appearance of normalcy, then got back into my car to go see Randy. He was only two hours away and I had best tell him what was going on in person as it might be a little tough to take over the phone. I decided to travel the coast route and meet Randy half way. We could talk as we walked along the beach where no one could possibly overhear us. When I got to Santa Monica I pulled into a grocery store, went inside, bought a few things and used the phone.

"Hello," Randy's mother answered.

"Hi, Mrs. Hanson, this is Fred Fuller, is Randy there?"

"Hi Fred, how are you?"

"Great, how are you doing?"

"Oh, I am hanging in there."

"Glad to hear it."

"It's nice to hear from you. I'll go get Randy."

After a minute Randy came on the line. "Hello Fred. What's up?"

"Remember our last conversation?"

"How could I forget?"

"The time has come, I need some advice."

"Well, fire away, my wisdom is at your disposal."

"No, we can't talk over the phone."

"We can't?"

"No, meet me at Meyer Beach. You know where we used to camp out."

"Yeah, okay."

"It will take me about an hour to get there so I'll see you at two o'clock."

"Fine, see you then."

I arrived at Meyer beach before Randy so I found an empty picnic table and sat down to wait. It was a warm day and there were quite a few sun bathers laying out soaking in the sunshine. I could see a group of surfers who were gathered on a point where the surf was a little more vigorous. The setting brought back pleasant memories of past experiences. After a few minutes I spotted Randy's VW pulling into the parking lot so I got up and went to meet him. We shook hands and gave each other a short embrace."

"Hello Randy."

"Hi Fred."

"Thanks for coming. Sorry to drag you out here and ruin your Saturday."

"Nonsense, that what friends are for, right?"

"Let's take a walk, I've got the FBI following me."

"Really? The FBI is following you?" Randy said as he looked around nervously.

"I am afraid so."

"Why in the hell would the FBI be following you?"

"Before I tell you any more I need to warn you that what I am about to tell you could be dangerous to both of us?"

"You know I would die before I betrayed your confidence."

"I know, that's why I am here. I've got to talk to someone and you are the only one I can trust. But if you didn't want to get involved I would understand."

"I am already involved, you’re my friend so just tell me what in the hell's going on."

"Did you read about the bank robbery in San Bernadino?"

"Yeah, it was in all the headlines."

"I’m the bank robber."

"Get out of here. You're joking, right?"

"No, I wish I were."

"But someone was killed in that robbery," Randy said in a deadly serious tone.

"Yeah, Harvey Hamlin, he died of a heart attack right in front of my eyes. I put him in the vault so he wouldn't be discovered immediately. I needed time to figure out my options."

"But now they are going to charge you with murder."

"I know, smart move wasn't it?"

"What did you do with the money?"

"Remember I told you about that old abandoned mining camp called Devil's Canyon."

"Oh yeah."

"It's there."

"Damn. And I thought I was the wild one."

"Upstaged you on this one, didn't I?"

"What in the hell are you going to do now?"

"That's what I want you to tell me."

"Yeah. Right."

"So far they have just been tailing me so I guess they don't have enough to arrest me. The question is: Do I sit tight and hope they never get enough or lose the tail and get the hell out of the country?"

"It's too dangerous to hang around I’m afraid. If you did it, they are going to figure it out sooner or later."

"I was pretty careful not to leave any evidence."

"But if you did leave some evidence and they find it you're a dead man."

"Where should I go?"

"They would probably expect you to go to Mexico since it's close by and easy to get through the border. They are probably watching it pretty closely."

"The airports are obviously out of the question," I said.

"Canada, I'd go to Canada," Randy said.

"Why Canada?"

"They'll just think you're another draft dodger if you go up there. You wouldn't be so conspicuous plus they speak English in Canada."

"The U.S. has extradition treaties with Canada."

"Well, with all that money you should be able to buy a new identity without much trouble."

"I’m going to take Candy if she'll come."

"That's probably a good idea. Aside from the fact that you'll have some pleasant company, a man and a woman traveling together are less conspicuous than a man alone. The only question is: Can you trust her?"

"Yeah, I think so. She'll love the adventure particularly when she finds out we're millionaires."

"Keep a close eye on her, you may not know her as well as you think."

"I will."

"Listen, I need to lose the Feds. Got any ideas?"

"Yeah, take a walk down the beach and I will disable their car while you're gone. When you come back they won't be able to follow you."

"Great, thanks a lot."

"Good Luck."

We gave each other a hug and Randy pretended to drive off, but actually only drove out of sight and then parked and waited. I took off my shoes and started to walk down the beach with the agents following closely behind. Two girls were walking along the beach ahead of me so I hurried to catch up with them.

"Hi, my name is Fred."

"Hi Fred," one of the girls responded with a smile.

"It's a beautiful day isn't it?"

"Yeah, sure is."

"You girls go to school around her?"

"No, we go to USC."

"Oh no, the enemy. I go to UCLA."

"Well, I guess we won't hold that against you."

"You are so kind."

"So what can we do for you, Fred?"

"I was just feeling a little lonely when I spotted you two gorgeous women walking down the beach. Just seeing you picked up my spirits so much, I just wanted to thank you."

The girls giggled and the vocal one responded, "That's a pretty good line but we’re on our way to meet our boyfriends."

"Oh no, you've ruined my day."

"Sorry."

"Well, can I just walk with you a minute, I want to meet these lucky guys."

"I guess so if you really want to."

I looked back and the Feds were about a hundred yards behind me and I could see in the distance Randy working on their car. When I saw that Randy was finished and had left I thanked the girls, turned around and walked back to my car. As I walked past the Feds I nodded my head, smiled and said, "Good afternoon."

"Afternoon," one of them responded.

When I got back I jumped in my car and took off. I looked back in my rear view mirror and the road was clear. "Free at last," I said, "thank God!"