Chapter 35

Trenchard waited patiently for his next assignment. While the Star Candy job had gone off without a hitch, he was not eager for more group outings. Hopefully Vandenburg would have more solo B&E jobs for him.

Arthur entered the room in his usual stately manner and sat down at the desk. Sam accepted the folder and opened it.

“Here is the next assignment. Targets are the residence or the club he operates called Sparkles. As a reminder, we need all contents of safe plus any other electronic media you may find lying about.”

“I remember. Any other special instructions?”

“No. Off you go.”

Back at home, the professional thief began his research. Pace had a more interesting resume than most. He came up the hard way in the Black community, running clubs and making lots of money for someone. Certainly a tempting target that ought to have cash and/or jewels laying around. The previous club had burned down, so the current club, called Sparkles, was across town. This made for a long commute since Leon’s home was still back in the hood.

That might be an opportunity, thought Sam. Usually he broke in at night, but a daytime entry of the residence while Leon was in traffic or at the club made sense. He decided to focus on the house first.

The next day, he drove past the house and parked on a side corner one block down. It was a modest 1500 square foot abode built in the 1950s. Certainly not what Trenchard would expect from a club owner who brought in lots of cash. But Pace was clearly someone who valued his roots in the hood and refused to leave.

After a few minutes, Sam got out of the car and posted signs advertising cheap loans along the street. They were bogus but no one would realize that until he was gone. It was a normal activity that would deflect attention from him while he surveyed the neighborhood. He didn’t need the brothers asking questions or giving him a beating for loitering in the wrong place.

With initial research completed, Trenchard drove home and thought the matter over. There was no use trying to be covert because the hood had eyes all over the place. White people stood out like a sore thumb, regardless of what uniform they wore. Instead he could drive up, smash the door open, grab what he could and jet out of there before anyone could react. If there was a wall safe, he had no time to blow it open. But if by chance Pace had a floor safe, he could wheel it out on a heavy-duty dolly or cart.

The problem was in daylight, there would still be witnesses, no matter how fast he operated. So it would have to be a night approach while Leon was still at the club. With reluctance, Sam realized this was not a one-person job. More people could help him blow the safe, grab stuff quickly, and fend off any neighbors who interfered.

This put the thief in a difficult position. He would have to crawl back to Vandenburg asking for more resources. The old bastard would not be pleased, particularly since Sam had already complained about group jobs and the risk involved. Moreover, his instructions were to drop the goods and run if anyone else showed up.

As he turned over the problem in his mind, Trenchard decided to wait and focus on the club instead. Yes, there would be more security, but all in all, Sparkles was a safer location for him to break into than Leion’s residence. Besides, the club probably had more cash than the house, and Arthur always wanted a bigger score.

With the decision made, Sam traveled across town to scout out Sparkles. The club was in a middle-class area situated on a corner lot. He walked in and ordered a drink at the bar, fending off the immediate female asking if he wanted a private dance.

The two-story club had a standard layout of bar, stages for dancing, and private rooms in the back and upstairs. The valuables would be in the boss’s office or nearby. The club closed at 3 a.m., so he had a tight window of darkness before dawn to make his covert entry.

In theory, the club had 24/7 security, but in reality, there was only one guard present during the dead time of closure. Everyone needed to go home sometime, particularly after hours of the nonstop party atmosphere. He just needed to map out the patrol patterns and routines to find a gap.

While Trenchard gathered data, the Pace brothers were conversing in Leon’s office.

“How are the new employees doing?”

“They’re suitably grateful to have jobs.”

Leon Pace amused himself thinking of Black Lives Matter members hustling drinks. Simply because he was Black didn’t mean he liked them or their cause. He had always been more of a bottom-line guy. Make money or don’t. Have some ambition instead of crying all day about injustice. After all, when had the political grandstanders helped him? He did not remember anyone rushing to his support when he was on trial. Or in prison.

Mrs. Fields was not one of the new hires. Despite Jasmine’s revelation that Tasha was desperate, the Paces decided it was too risky to have contact with Damon’s wife. There was no upside to it, especially since they had plenty of other new recruits to staff the club. Sure, Jasmine would have gotten her revenge by bringing Tasha down a notch, but Leon and Mark kept Jasmine at arm’s length too. They were happy to use Jasmine’s idea but politely brushed off her other requests. Besides, both men knew not to get in the middle of catfights. You might take more damage than either of them.