Beth sighed as she looked out the window at the movers next door. She was eighteen, on summer break before doing her first year at the community college, and already bored. The house next door was put up for sale when the elderly wife passed away and the elderly widower was deemed to be unable to care for himself. Now it appeared whoever bought it had good taste, as the furniture looked quite expensive to her eyes.
Beth felt her desire to steal come alive when she saw boxes and boxes of items being brought into the house. She considered herself quite the thief, doing so for years and not once getting caught either by a store employee or a fellow student. Half the clothes she had in her closet came from five finger discounts at several retailers, most of the cosmetics and jewelry came from the neighbors when she either babysat or did a house sit for them. It was simple to make a copy of the house key and she had a cigar box half full of various house keys around the neighborhood, each clearly marked so she'd be able to enter when no one was around.
The laptop on the desk came from the school, Beth simply going into the supply room to take two before any school programs could be entered on them, slip them into her large baggy purse of that day, and go back to class. Then again, a lot of what she had in the garage came from the school as well, tools she found, office supplies no one was around to claim, or even the PVC pipe she smuggled out during a recess.
Beth saw a woman come out of the garage, her clothes very nice, the ring on her hand she was waving at some mover sparkled in the sunlight. She was tall, reddish hair, and fully in charge if Beth read the body language correctly. The teen smiled, this would be nice, she already had keys to the house, she just needed to wait until no one was around to slip in, look around, take a few things, and get out. Easy.
On Tuesday, the lady next door got into her BMW, backed out of the garage, and drove off. Beth saw it all, and grabbing the key, was in the house in under two minutes. She looked around, the furniture all very nice, almost new, the pictures tasteful as they hung on the walls, the place organized. She expected to find boxes still to be opened, but they were either empty or stored some place. Not bad for moving off the van only three days ago.
The silverware was worth a few bucks, the China in a cupboard was real, the everyday dishes as good as what her parents used for good dishes. Upstairs, she found a jewelry box with all kinds of items, Beth testing a few on a window to find the diamonds were real, if maybe a bit small. Still, worth a few bucks. She glanced at the time, speedily moving items into the fanny pack at her waist. Then she made sure nothing looked like it had been touched and went down the stairs.
As she came around the stairs, she stopped, the lady of the house casually sitting in a chair, a gun in one hand. Beth felt her throat go dry as the lady simply moved the barrel so she could shoot Beth's shoulder.
"I can take out your rotor cup, making the arm useless, or I can take out a hip socket, making walking difficult and running very painful. You have any preference since you're busy stealing from me?"
"I'm not armed. You can't shoot me in self-defense."
The lady smiled, none of it hitting her eyes, Beth finding swallowing difficult. She did follow the nod of the head to see a taser on a table.
"I found you robbing me, told you to get on the floor, you pulled the taser and came at me. I drew my gun, perfectly legal and licensed, and shot you. You have yet to tell me where you want to be shot so I'm guess you're not a very decisive thief."
Beth tried to take a breath to slow her beating heart. All the woman had to do was to place Beth's fingers all over the taser and call 911. Her word against Beth, and well, it would be hard to claim she was invited.
"I'd rather not be shot at all. We can work out a deal."
"Good idea, thief. Toss the fanny pack to the side, strip your self of all things you weren't born with, and then step once to your left and take the position."
"What?"
"You heard me. I will check to see what you're trying to steal and I'm not about to go through your clothes while you're wearing them. So, strip naked as a newborn, and take a step to the left. When I tell you to take the position, you will kneel with knees wide apart, ankles crossed, and fingers interlaced behind your head."
The gun didn't move as she shrugged.
"Or I shoot you now and go over what you stole while waiting for the ambulance. Or, if I feel like it, add a few really expensive items to the stash so you get a felony instead of a few months in county."
Beth glanced around, she was wide open and if this woman was any kind of a shot, Beth would be in the hospital before she took two steps in any direction.
"I'm getting bored, thief, not a good place for me to be. I will count to three unless you move now. At three, I will shoot, and you can explain the issues to the cops."
Beth's hands shook as she removed her sneakers and socks, the gun never moved as she removed her tee shirt and then slid down her shorts. She looked to see if the woman was interested but all she saw were the dead eyes staring at her. Yeah, she was in deep trouble with this psychopath. The bra and panties went next before she took a step to the left.
"Excuse me? What did I tell you to do?"
"Um, strip and move a step..."
"I said, strip like a newborn." The woman interrupted, "That means anything you weren't born with, such as the rings and barrettes. Now."
Beth took a deep breath, her heart hammering as she removed rings, earrings, and hair barrettes. Shaking her head to show it was no longer clamped down, Beth took the step, kneeling with knees wide, ankles crossed, and fingers interlaced. Good for her that dad watched COPS a lot on TV, so she knew the pose.
"Knees wider than shoulder width."
Beth adjusted her stance as the woman stood up, moving to the pile. She squatted on one knee, the other knee level with the woman holding the pistol so it still aimed at Beth. Beth wanted to be embarrassed at kneeling naked before a stranger but was too scared to worry about how she looked, as the woman checked the fanny pack, tossing it onto a chair. Beth could only watch as the woman felt every inch of every garment Beth discarded, before collecting all the jewelry and hair adornments to toss them onto the chair as well.
The woman moved back to sit in the original chair, gun still aimed at her, eyes still not showing many signs of life, let alone excitement.
"So, what do we do with a thief? Let the cunt go to do this next time she thinks the house is empty? Or shoot her dead? Or, just let her know I'm not happy?"
Beth wanted to offer to let her go and she'd never return, but her mouth was too dry to get any words out.
"I see you don't care, so since I'm the new neighbor and you're the old neighbor, I opt for the option of making you sorry you tried to steal from me. Less bloody, which I like, and less complicated, another thing I like. What about it, cunt? Like that option or just want me to be pissed more?"
"Um, um, uh, that's a good option?"
"Yeah, you are really indecisive. Not even sure if not being shot is a good plan or not. What a stupid cunt you are, or wait, yeah, you knew that when you thought I wasn't home. Now you're just kneeling naked, fully exposed to a neighbor, just waiting to see how you are going to be used. What a cunt." The causal tone scaring Beth.
Beth kept looking between the steady barrel of the gun and the eyes showing no signs of amusement or desire to let her live. Her heart was still hammering away, her body shaking in fear, and she only hoped she wasn't going to pass out. God only knew what this bitch would do to her if that happened.
