Free Money Run by Jack Heath Page B

the window. “Do we have enough to go to the police?”
    â€œForget the police,” Ash said. “Unless they have enough for a warrant, he’ll be able to destroy the evidence before they get to it. My stuff . Even if they do get inside, and he doesn’t run, he could claim he purchased it at a pawn shop. And even if that doesn’t hold up in court, he’s still only busted for this burglary. A slap on the wrist, and his other crimes go unpunished.”
    â€œWhat else can we do?”
    â€œBeat him at his own game,” Ash said.
    They found an unlocked window at the back of the house, leading to a study. Ash climbed through, and found both her laptop and her microwave on the floor. Under the desk, there was a garbage bag with all her dad’s DVDs in it.
    A quick search of the house revealed that the burglar wasn’t home. He must have had two cars. Ash and Benjamin found some clothes baskets in the laundry, and put the stuff in them. Then they went to the lounge room to get the TV and the bed.
    It was weird how not weird it was, breaking into a stranger’s house. Ash’s heart was beating faster, but not in a bad way. Her fingers didn’t tremble, her palms weren’t sweaty. But it was like the tension of the situation had fine-tuned her senses, intensifying reality until nothing escaped her attention. She could hear the hum of the burglar’s fridge, feel the minute sweeps of air from the conditioner, and see individual leaves rattle outside the window.
    â€œWhat do you think he’ll do when he gets back?” Benjamin whispered as they carried the mattress through the backyard.
    â€œI kind of doubt he’ll call the cops,” Ash replied. Then she said, “How are we going to get this home? It won’t fit in the car.”
    â€œWell, I’ve been thinking about that. You didn’t get your phone back, did you?”
    â€œIs that worth going back for?”
    â€œNo,” Benjamin said. “So, maybe we trade.”
    A grin spread across Ash’s face. “My phone for his van.”
    â€œSeems only fair,” Benjamin said solemnly.
    She took the van, Benjamin drove her dad’s car. As she watched the other cars trundle by on the highway, headlights shaving away the shadows, she was in the best mood of her life.
    The man, the burglar, was – according to the DMV records – unemployed. So presumably he stole for a living. But she’d been able to take all her stuff back in a matter of minutes. If she’d wanted to, she could have taken all his stuff as well as hers.
    She left the van parked a few streets from her house, unlocked, with the keys in the ignition. It would be on the other side of the city by morning, and never linked to her.
    She was good at this. Really good. Better than the burglar, and he was a professional.
    Ash had finally found her calling.
    As she was searching the north room at HBS, Ash reminded herself that she had Benjamin to thank not just for finding her bed, but also for her career.
    â€œFound anything yet?” Benjamin was saying.
    â€œWhen I find something, I’ll tell you,” Ash said. “Okay?”
    â€œOkay.”
    Ash shoved one of the cabinets aside, looking for a floor safe. Nothing. Solid wood, no seams. She moved all the furniture in the room. The floor was clean.
    â€œIt’s just that the suspense is killing me,” Benjamin said.
    Ash rapped her knuckles on the wall. Solid. Another metre across. Solid. Up high, and down low. She tapped her way across the whole perimeter. All solid.
    She climbed on top of the filing cabinets, and pushed up one of the ceiling panels. There was a hollow space up above the room. She poked her head through.
    Nothing but cobwebs and dust.
    â€œLooks like you can cross this room off the list,” she said.
    Benjamin sighed. “Where next?”
    Ash’s eyes were drawn to a chute hugging the wall. “Where does the