Respectability is beginning to close in around Benni. He is given another task more suited to a much older and experienced specialist in the field of strategic business development. Benni's approach is ad hoc but he does get assistance from a beautiful woman who works for the enemy – the mall. With Benni being Benni the hero is bound to pull this one off, but how?
SEVENTEEN
Benni 'Mr Popularity' James was driving to his workplace from his new apartment three weeks after his promotion, still amazed that life could be so sweet. People actually smiled when they saw him coming toward them and to his mom he was now 'Dear Benni'.
Bess had moved in with him; he really considered himself fortunate and first the first time in his life had moments when he was thinking he was being regarded as a good guy...an amazing turnaround.
Approaching work he could see the flashing lights of police cars and an ambulance.
"Fuck, we've had a break-in and someone's hurt."
"You can't go in there son," said a cop guarding the main door.
"I work here," said Benni, showing his personalized business card with photo.
The gathering was at Barron's office and Benni was allowed in.
"He's been calling for someone called Benni; this guy's Benni James."
"Let him in," said a medic.
Barron was on a stretcher, head bandaged and face bloodied and arm in a splint. He was barely conscious.
"Talk to him Benni, but make it quick; we want him in hospital but as far as we can tell here he should be okay."
"Benni," croaked Barron, spitting out some blood. "The bastard had a knuckleduster."
"Who?"
"Get them away."
Benni asked the medic who'd spoken to him to move the people back a bit. They moved but if anything the cops moved in closer. Benni leaned over Barron.
"Her husband, Benni. Broke through the rear entry – the alarms were switched off of course. Said he'd become suspicious of her and was having her tailed. He'd come to warn me off. The fucking Chief of Police did this to me Benni, I recognized him. I only got a couple of punches in and that was the end of me. Warn her, Benni, but watch yourself."
"Right, I'll get the alarms changed and change the electronic code on the safe as you suggested, Barron," said Benni in a loud voice, giving the impression Barron had been briefing him about security.
Barron was taken away.
A detective wanted to interview Benni but first he phoned Marlene who screamed and said she'd go straight to the hospital.
"Take care driving, urged Benni." Pick us Bess on the way; I'll phone her and she'll be waiting for you outside our new apartment – got the address. Good, that's it. Let her drive. As I said, the medics reckon he's going to be okay."
Benni was questioned by the detective for almost ten minutes.
"I reckon Barron got beaten up like that because he refused to give the code to open the safe," he said. "Then something must have disturbed him or them. Who called you cops?"
"Mr Pfeiffer did when regaining consciousness."
Barron was kept in hospital for forty-eight hours but no concussion or sign of internal bleeding eventuated.
Late at night on the day of the attack, Benni went to see an old school buddy, Hal Beamish, who managed to finish high school despite four suspensions. Hal now had a police record that included on jailing safe-blowing and getting away with $15,000, of which only $1300 was recovered.
"You caught me just as I was going to bed," grinned Hal. The woman scowled at Benni and walked off.
"What brings you here with those beers, my old pal?"
Benni drove back home very pleased with his session with Hal. He now had the technical knowledge to make a gas explosion inside a house look like it was accidental. He now only had to make three decisions: When to do it, how to make sure Bette Lucas and any pets were not inside the house and whether he wanted her police chief husband to be approaching the house when the big bang occurred so that he experienced his vulnerability.
"Yuk, you smell of beer," Bess said, when he climbed into bed. "You'll have to wait till morning for your aerobics. Dad's fine – reckons robbery was the motive. He's pleased as punch because on the TV clip he was described as 'The charismatic Chevy dealer Barron Pfeiffer."
"I'm glad he's fine, I'll visit him in the morning."
Before going to the hospital Benni, driving a gray compact he'd taken from the pre-owned lot, parked across the street from the Police Chief's home and pretended to be reading a newspaper. A couple of minutes later he drove off cursing, because of a double whammy.
The first was there were TV monitors on very high poles at both the front and back of the house and no doubt there were exterior infrared scanners. He'd not been prepared for this although Hal had briefed him about ordinary house alarms; obviously the police valued their chief and had him well protected.
The second thing was there was no gas box near the front of the property – he'd stupidly had assumed the Lucas' would have had gas for heating and stove top cooking like most other people. What a fuckup!
That night, after Bess's aerobics workout stretched him to near limits, he left the bed when she fell asleep and took a mug of coffee on to the deck.
You stupid sod, he thought. You went in to dent Lucas's rump like a brainless amateur – you're getting soft, losing your natural cunning at counter-attack.
He'd enrolled at university on-line to finish his bachelor's degree in sales and marketing and reading the onsite information for part-time students with a busy work and home life, a particular message came through very strongly – plan, plan, plan.
That's it; he needed to hatch a plan about how to get Lucas. He'd not done that, yet he'd planned how to warn Bette Lucas that she was under surveillance and executed that plan which went very smoothly. He simply went to the department store and paid a clerk twenty bucks to phone Bette. That caller then said she was handing the phone over to her department manager.
"No names," said Benny as Bette picked up the phone. "Wrong bra type, remember?"
"I do," she said calmly.
"Himself has you under surveillance."
Benni heard Bette's sharp intake of breath as he put the receiver down. It was very unlikely her calls were being monitored 24/7 by eavesdroppers, and when Scumbag Lucas checked incoming calls for his wife he'd see this one as coming from the department store where he wife spent a fortune; he'd think nothing of it.
Now, sitting on the deck watching the moon rise, Benni knew he needed a plan that would not lead any police investigation to him or Barron or bring Nancy Lucas under suspicion.
