Rules

by C. Flynt

About the Author: C. Flynt lives on a dirt road with two cats and a dog. He does not perform capers, but he has lots of experience with plans that don't go according to plan. "Going To The Dogs" appears in the February 2022 Mystery Magazine.

Excerpt

Nothing focuses a guy's attention like the words "We need an engagement ring."

I replied in my usual intelligent manner. "Wha?"

Sizzlin' Suzy sighed theatrically. "We're getting married a month after graduation, right?"

I nodded. She'd set that date when we were five. It never occurred to me that someday I'd have to do something about it. It was her plan, after all.

"So, graduation is in two months. Our moms are making invitation lists and it's time for you to get with the schedule."

"But …" I swallowed. Who pays attention to what the grownups are doing? "Money. I can't afford to buy you a diamond ring."

Suzy did the big, slow blink, like one of us was very stupid and it wasn't her.

"Since when do you pay for things?" she asked.

She had a point. My family's motto was to not buy anything you could steal.

Suzy and I were eighteen years old, ready to graduate from West Side High. We were practically adults. I'd been doing jobs with my folks since I was twelve. It was time to pull my first solo heist.

Nothing big. Just grab a ring, and maybe some extra stuff for spare change.

We decided Jay's Jewels was a primo target. Jay must be a hundred and fifty years old—weak, slow, and—we hoped—stupid.

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