The Lion's Diamonds

by Richard Auffrey

  If we’d stayed much longer, there might’ve been a fight, men vying for her attention. She might not have left of her own volition. It wasn’t a safe place for such a classy piece of ass but most of them wouldn’t have wanted to mess with me.

  We drove to my apartment, both of us silent, as Kasey stroked my right thigh, my erection already bulging.

  If she wanted to go slumming for the night, then I’d be happy to oblige.

  Chapter Two

  Saturday

  The next morning, I woke to the smell of coffee and bacon. I opened my eyes, found I was alone in bed and figured Kasey was making breakfast. What a bonus.

  I was exhausted as we spent most of the night fucking. I couldn’t remember ever having been with a more sexually skilled woman. She played my body like I was a finely tuned muscle car. She found ways to get my motor going when I thought I was out of gas. She had no limits, allowing me access to every part of her luscious body and I took full advantage, filling her completely.

  Her body was perfect and seemed to be completely natural. I tasted every inch of her sweet skin and she returned the pleasure to me. Eventually, I was completely spent and the insatiable Kasey finally allowed me to go to sleep. I thought that I might wake in the morning and find it was all a dream. The smell of bacon and coffee convinced me otherwise.

  I threw on some boxers and a relatively clean t-shirt and padded into the tiny kitchen. Kasey was frying up a couple eggs and she wore my white, buttoned dress shirt, the only one I owned. My shirt for court appearances. It hung down to her mid-thigh.

  I walked up behind her and snaked my muscular arms around her waist, kissing her neck, nuzzling the velvety skin. She melted her soft body against me and I felt a stirring in my shorts. I pulled away, figuring we could get back to bed after some nourishment. I sat down at the kitchen table and Kasey finished cooking the eggs.

  “Feeling good?” asked Kasey, as she placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me.

  “Fuck yeah.”

  I eagerly dug into the food as Kasey sat down, sipping only some coffee. We sat in silence as I devoured my breakfast and once my plate was empty, she finally spoke again.

  “I need to apologize,” she said, her voice soft and contrite.

  “For what?” I knew there had to be a catch. Was she actually a hooker? If so, how much was she going to charge me for the night? She’d be pissed when I told her that I didn’t have enough money to pay her.

  Or was she really married, and had fucked me just to piss off her husband? Or maybe she had a STD?

  With her head gently bowed, her eyes looking down at the table, she said, “I lied last night. I don’t have a fiancée. I just wanted to meet you.”

  “You didn’t have to lie to do that.”

  I was immediately suspicious. It hadn’t been a chance meeting at all, but something she had preplanned. How much did she know about me and what was her game? It had been too good to be true. Of course, someone as fucking hot as her always came with a price tag.

  “I kind of wanted to get to know you a little better too, to see if I could trust you. I want your help.”

  “For what?”

  She lifted her head and looked at me, her eyes sparkling, a familiar gleam in her eye. I could tell it involved money. There were depths to her I hadn’t realized.

  “I want you to steal from a church.”

  I peered deeper into her eyes as I knew this couldn’t be a coincidence. I needed to be very careful but I was worried that Kasey was going to convince me to be a little reckless. The power of my addiction. The power of her incredible pussy.

  “Who’re you really?” I asked.

  “My name really is Kasey, Kasey Monaco. My boyfriend is Ilya Utkin, a wannabe gangster who stole some diamonds from his boss. Right now, he’s storing the ice in a church and if we work together, we can steal it.”

  Though I was on edge, suspicious of her every word, I tried to keep it from my face.

  “Why me?” I asked.

  “Cause I know you work at the church.” Kasey smiled.

  Kasey had obviously been planning this for some time if she knew I worked at the church. Was she trying to set me up?

  “Why do you want to steal from your boyfriend?”

  She bowed her head again, looking down at her cup of coffee, and snarled, “He’s a sick fuck, involved in hooking underage girls. He deserves to go down hard and taking his diamonds would be just.”

  “How long have ya been dating him?”

  “For three months and I only just learned that he was a sleazy pimp. I knew he was a gangster but thought it was more drugs and gambling.”

  She then grinned at me, stroked my arm, and said, “I like bad boys.”

  “How much are the diamonds worth?”

  “Five or six million.”

  “Holy shit,” I said, trying to sound convincing, as I didn’t want to tell her that I already knew about the diamonds.

  “With that much money, we could go off together anywhere in the world.” The velvet words enticed me though I still was wary.

  What a wonderful fucking idea but I didn’t believe she was serious. She wanted my help but I doubted she wanted to fly off with me to some paradise. I might be useful to her now but once she had the diamonds I didn’t think she’d need me anymore.

  “What’s Ilya’s connection to the church? Why’d he hide the diamonds there?” I asked.

  With a scowl on her face, she said, “Cause of another sicko. Ilya found out one of the priests is a pedophile so he blackmailed him into storing the diamonds in the church safe.”

  Yep, those would be filthy and sick pics. Guess that also explained why the priest ignored his female parishioners. I was right not to trust him. It seemed his attentions were directed toward innocent altar boys. Sick fuck indeed.

  Kasey continued, “Ilya stole the diamonds from his boss, Levushka, who was planning on using the diamonds as payment for a shipment of weapons. Levushka only has seven days to find the diamonds before the trade’s supposed to take place. If he can’t recover them, the weapon dealer may kill him for wasting his time. So, in eight days, Ilya can take the diamonds back from the church as his boss will probably be dead. Ilya figures he can then take over the organization.”

  “Does anyone suspect Ilya was the thief?”

  “Nah. He set up a couple of his own men, killing them and making it look like a rival’s work. He plans on killing the priest once he gets his diamonds back but you can steal the diamonds before Ilya returns to retrieve it.”

  “Why would you think I’d help you steal from a vicious Russian gangster? I’m just a maintenance man.” I think I already knew the answer as I suspected Kasey’s research had been quite thorough.

  She looked at me, staring into my eyes, and a big smile formed on her sweet, heart-shaped face. “Of course, I checked you out. It wasn’t hard. I know you did time for armed robbery.”

  She was right. It wasn’t hard to uncover and I was interested in robbing her boyfriend.

  “The problem is that I’m not a safecracker.” No need to tell her I already knew the safe combo.

  “I thought you could force the old priest, Father Hanlon, to open the safe. That should be simple.”

  “You’re very well informed.”

  “Millions in diamonds would make anyone work hard. Are you in?”

  I paused for only a few moments, grinned and said, “Hell, yeah.”

  I wanted to trust her but warning bells still rang in my head. For now, playing along was my best choice and I could hope that she was legit. I also wanted to fuck her again.

  And after breakfast, we returned to bed for another hour of amazing sex. There wasn’t any drug that could compete.

  Later that afternoon, as we lay in bed, Kasey and I made more concrete plans on how to steal the diamonds. The scheme entailed that I’d steal the diamonds next Saturday, the day before Ilya was to make the pick-up. I’d force Father Hanlon to open the safe, take
the diamonds and Kasey would be waiting outside in a car so we could leave together.

  Kasey was going to purchase airline tickets to Morocco, a non-extradition country. We would leave that night and never look back. Who wouldn’t want to run away to an exotic locale with such a sexy woman? We would be out of the country before Ilya realized we had stolen his diamonds.

  Despite that compelling fantasy, I had other plans in mind.

  Kasey left before dinner, to see Ilya, and she promised to contact me tomorrow to talk more and set up the next time she could come see me.

  Once she left, I checked on my passport and found that it was still valid. Out of my small stash of cash, I took enough to pay off Jim for the pricey bourbon, nearly depleting my savings. I then drove down to Martin’s to pay up my tab. I didn’t plan on staying around town much longer and wanted to clear all my debts.

  Jim appreciated the quick payment, especially when I also gave him a significant tip. I knew he was dying to ask me about Kasey but he didn’t broach the subject and I wasn’t going to brag. I just grinned at him and he knew I’d banged her.

  I had a couple shots of Jack, contemplating everything Kasey had told me. Kasey was enticing but I had to play it safe. After the betrayal which led to my prior incarceration, I was much more cautious in trusting anyone. I knew almost nothing about Kasey and with five million in diamonds on the line, the temptation for her to turn on me was high.

  She was unnecessary to my plans as I didn’t need a partner for this heist. I didn’t need to share this haul with anyone else. I would be much safer if I were in complete control. Those diamonds were my own personal ticket to a tropical paradise.

  After the theft, I’d leave the U.S., fly to a non-extradition country, and then contact Kasey. Maybe then she could join me. And if not, with all my money, I’d still have plenty of female options.

  I returned home, solidifying my plans for the heist, including checking available flights. My apartment still reeked of sex so it was hard not to think about Kasey. I wanted to believe her, to think she might want me, but I had to face reality.

  The most likely scenario was that she was trying to use me as I worked at the church. As she knew I was a thief, she probably figured the diamond heist would appeal to me. And as I wasn’t long out of prison, she also probably figured the sex would cloud my judgment. Which wasn’t completely untrue.

  As I ate my dinner, some leftover chili, I watched television, catching up on the day’s news, paying special attention to the weather report for the week. It might rain most of the upcoming week, from Monday to Thursday, with the worst on Tuesday night.

  I disliked conducting a heist on a rainy evening. The rain could minimize potential witnesses but you were more likely to leave footprints and if you had to flee, slippery streets and roads could be a significant obstacle. Cops also hated chasing suspects in the rain so they were more apt to shoot.

  That limited my planning to either Sunday or Friday night, with Sunday potentially the best option.

  One other news item snagged my interest, a murder victim found in an alley beside a Russian bakery. The victim hadn’t been identified yet as all of his fingers were missing, having been amputated by a thick blade, and his face had been burnt, all of the flesh blackened. There was speculation that the body bore additional injuries and had been in the alley for a few days before being found.

  The proximity of the Russian bakery raised my suspicions that maybe the Russian mob was involved. Torture and murder were within their wheelhouse and they could be sending a message to someone. Stealing from them was risky, but a five-million-dollar payoff was worth it. I just needed to ensure my escape plan was solid.

  Chapter Three

  Sunday

  My suitcase was packed and loaded into the trunk of my old Buick. I used to drive a kick-ass 1970 Dodge Challenger but had to sell it before I went to prison. It nearly broke my heart. Once I got out, I bought a cheap-ass Buick as that was all I could afford. It looked like shit but the engine was still reliable.

  Once I had the diamonds, I’d get myself another Challenger. It certainly wouldn’t be practical on a tropical island but I didn’t care. Maybe I could afford to build a race track.

  My passport was in my jacket, the rest of my meager stash money in my pockets, and my car was fully gassed. I’d already checked the flight schedules at Logan Airport and knew my options.

  Tonight, the cash and checks from all the church collection plates that day would be placed into the safe, to be secure until they could be deposited in the bank on Monday. Though there would be plenty of coins, from pennies to quarters, there were usually at least a few hundred dollars in bills.

  Untraceable pocket cash.

  I planned to sneak into the church later that night, open the safe and take the diamonds as well as the deposit. Then I’d drive to Logan and buy an airline ticket to the Maldives, another non-extradition country.

  Goodbye church. Goodbye Ilya. Goodbye Kasey.

  I’d send for Kasey later if she proved to be true. I wanted it to be on my terms, without the chance she’d backstab me.

  I spoke to her on the phone twice, both brief chats with her promising to meet up with me on Monday afternoon. As if she were a Siren, I found myself drawn to her alluring voice and it took all my will to resist telling her my plans. I kept thinking about all of those diamonds, those gleaming rocks, all to myself.

  During the afternoon, I created some false leads for anyone who searched my apartment. The Russians would come after me so I hoped to distract them, to send them in the wrong direction. I wrote a note, indicating my plans, after multiple flights, to eventually end up in Barcelona. Then, I crumpled up the note and placed it into my trash bucket, hidden beneath used napkins, soda cans and an empty box of fish sticks.

  I had several National Geographic magazines atop my kitchen table, one of which had an article on Barcelona. I had folded over the first page of that article and made a few marks in the margins.

  Finally, there was a notepad next to my bed where I had written a rough conversion of three-million dollars into Euros.

  I hoped the clues were sufficient to entice the Russians, or anyone else looking for me, to waste plenty of money trying to find me in Spain.

  I didn’t know much about the Maldives except I’d seen a travel show about it several years ago and it had seemed so beautiful, a natural tropical paradise with over one thousand islands. It would be so easy to vanish there.

  After catching the late evening news, I drove to the church and parked a short distance away, in a shadowy area which helped to conceal my car. As I walked, I kept close to the hedges and shadows and headed to the back of the church.

  Just after midnight, I used my key to unlock the rear door, which I knew wasn’t alarmed. There were enough low lights in the church that I could easily maneuver through the dim rooms and hallways and make it downstairs to the basement room which held the safe.

  Using a small flashlight, I walked through the slightly musty room until I reached the safe. It was an old safe, about five feet high, set against the back wall and with a large combination dial. Heavy, solid and secure. Placing my hand upon the dial, I took my time, carefully spinning each number I recalled, and then heard the satisfactory click when it unlocked. I grinned as I tugged open the heavy door, revealing its contents.

  The collections deposit and nothing else!

  No suitcase, no briefcase, no other bag. Where were the fucking diamonds?

  Had Ilya already come to claim them? If so, why’d he take them so early? Had he learned of Kasey’s treachery? Was she still alive?

  Or had the pedophile priest decided to steal them? If so, he’d probably already fled. He might have feared Ilya and decided running away with the diamonds might be his best option.

  Or was Kasey fucking me over?

  As far as I knew, there wasn’t another safe in the church, but it was possible that the pedophile priest had a private safe hidden in his room. It
would give him a secure place to store his kiddie porn as he certainly wouldn’t use the main church safe. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

  I needed to search his room, which I could do on Tuesday when I was supposed to clean his room. That still gave me time unless Ilya had already picked up the diamonds. Or if I found Chamberlain was no longer around, then I would know he’d taken the diamonds.

  My plan had fallen through but there was still hope. On Tuesday, I’d see whether Chamberlain was still around, and if so, whether he had a safe in his room or not. I wouldn’t say anything to Kasey, letting her still think we would steal the diamonds on Saturday.

  All of the lights in the basement suddenly went on and it took my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the brightness.

  With the safe door still wide open, I whipped around and saw Father Chamberlain, in a t-shirt and sweat pants, and Father Hanlon, in a long, gray robe, standing just inside the doorway.

  Double fuck.

  There was no way I could explain the open safe. I was a convicted felon and if they called the police, I’d end up back in prison on a parole violation at the very least, which meant another five years inside. My plans had gone to shit.

  I didn’t think. I just reacted, grabbing the collections deposit and rushing toward the doorway. Both priests stepped to the side, knowing they couldn’t stop me. Father Hanlon called out to me to stop but I kept running, fleeing out of the church and to my car.

  I sped off and sought out a dark parking lot. Eventually, I found one, parked my car and checked the nearby cars. I removed my license plate and threw it into my trunk, next to a stuffed duffel bag. I then took a plate from another car and affixed it to my vehicle.

  I couldn’t return home as the police would go there first, after they spoke to the priests. Fortunately, I already had my bag in my car, all of my essentials. There wasn’t anything left in my apartment that I needed to retrieve.

  Driving north on Route 1 in Saugus, I stopped at one of the no-tell motels and got a room for the night. I paid in cash and the bored looking cashier didn’t ask for ID. He was more interested in the skin mag he was perusing.