beth's dilemma - the wallet (part one)

7/29/2019 Beth's Dilemma - The Wallet (Part one)

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Beths Dilemma The Wallet (Part 1 of 2)By: Leo N. Ardo

Charlie Mead has worked at Claremont's Wholesale Warehouse for four months. Giveor take a few work-related conversations about the special orders he ships each day, no

one has uncovered any personal details from Charlie. He says hello, good morning,going to lunch, and see you tomorrow. Associates are beginning to wonder. He

arrives at 7:59 a.m. and departs at 5:01 p.m. At noon:01, he drives off in his vintagedark green pickup and returns at 12:59. At his workstation, he throws lunch trash in the

waste can.

Its Friday, which means the only break in Charlie's routine. At the same mall where thecustomer service team has its Finally Friday Fillies luncheon, he buys two General

Boelingers burgers with fries, to go.

Beth Wilton, a founding member of the Fillies, decides to have a General BoelingersChicken Burger to celebrate another week losing three pounds. She is dieting to get

back to a comfortable dating weight. After two years of dating, the loser decides heneeds someone younger.

While waiting to order, she starts collecting the money to pay for lunch: two dollars from

her purse, two dollars from her back pocket, and $2.87 in change from her front pocket.Two quarters fall on the floor and begin rolling away at high speed. One runs into a

customer's boot and the other bounces back from something it struck under the counter.She picks up the quarter and a bi-fold wallet. She asks if it belongs to anyone. No one

claims it. She opens it and finds the driver's license of Charles P. Mead. Beth's interestshifts to learning about Charlie.

When all the Fillies return to the table, Beth gushes with excitement as she shows off

her trophy. Several Fillies encourage her to open it. Carefully unfolding it like an ancientfragile book, she removes a piece of paper with the address and phone number of

Claremonts Wholesale Warehouse. There is a collective sigh. Beth notices the wallethas a divided bill pocket. The regular pocket has sixty-eight dollars. There is no reaction

from her lunch mates. Moving the cover flap from the secret bill pocket reveals thirty-three $100 bills. There is a collective gasp. Along with the cache of bills is a photograph

of a girl, and a folded newspaper article. Beth looks at the tattered picture with thesmudge in the lower left corner. A three-year-old girl is on the edge of a pool and is

posing for the picture. There is a phone number written on the back. Beth notices thelook of confusion as each Filly handles the picture. Beth unfolds the newspaper clipping

carefully and begins reading out loud.


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Local bank robbed by man, child

(Bowling Green, KY. 07Sep12) The local branch of the First National Bank, at

1457 17th Avenue South, was robbed yesterday by a man with a gun,wearing a ski mask, blue jeans, green tee-shirt, Tractor Sales blue baseballcap, oversized sunglasses, and work boots. From the security video, policeestimate the robber is six feet tall and 180 pounds. He walked into the bankat 10:10 a.m. and stole $4,136 from the teller drawers, according to BillThompson, the branch manager. This is the first robbery at this branch inover eleven years. Thompson managed to get the first three numbers fromthe pickup as it raced away: 752. The getaway vehicle is a restored black ordark blue early 1960s Chevy pickup. Thompson said there was a childstanding in the passenger seat. Bowling Green Police are asking for yourhelp in locating the suspect and getaway vehicle.

The newspaper photo with the clipping shows two paramedics lifting a gurney into the

back of the ambulance. In the background are two gas pumps and a six-shop strip mall.Three shops are visible: Mary's Maternal Wear with the trademark mother-and-triplets

painted above the marquee; BG Clock Werks whose digital clock displays 10:22,09.06.12; Hamilton's Hunting Accessories with someone watching the scene throughbinoculars.

Doris, Charlie's supervisor and the team's manager, informs the group, Thats myhubby, Jack, the paramedic with his back to the camera.

Beth's thoughts start to organize while thinking about the bank robbery, the child in thepassenger seat, the dark early sixties pickup, the cache of $100 bills, and the fact thatCharlie's first day on-the-job was early September. Her thoughts logically sequence,

and Beth blurts out, Oh my God, Charlie is the bank robber. He has that little girlstashed away somewhere. That's why he leaves work so promptly; he has to take care

of the little girl. This is bank money, she says pointing at the secret bill pocket.

The rest of their luncheon is filled with robbery talk: Charlie hiding-out at work, poor littlegirl, another Dillinger in the making, wonder where she is, and does he still have that

gun? Several associates ask Beth what she is going to doafter all, she is the one that

found the wallet.

Beth returns late from lunch to check the license plate of Charlie's dark vintage pickup.

From a distance the first three characters look like 752, but as she approaches thepickup, the rear plate actually reads 1SZ. The bank manager must have misread the

plates too.


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Beth is certain Charlie is the bank robber, and she is in a dangerous predicament.

If she returns the wallet to Charlie, he will know she is familiar with its contents. His

reaction is unpredictable because no one knows him. Will my personal safety be in

danger?She wonders.

Will anonymously leaving the wallet on his workstation force him to disappear with the

little girl?The girl needs a better guardian. The police investigation will eventually arrive

at the warehouse. She will be interrogated and then charged with aiding a criminal, orwithholding evidence.

Mailing the wallet to work will take several days. Will Charlie have to rob again for

money?

If she returns it to the malls lost-and-found, how does she explain, without lying, why

she kept it for five hours? Could Charlie discover she had the wallet before it arrived atlost-and-found? She begins to worry they might pass each other going to or leaving the

mall. Will the $100 bills be safe at lost-and-found?

If only she had taken the wallet to lost-and-found. Now, too many people know. What

will Charlie do when he finds out she knows? Is there really safety in numbers? Are the

others in danger also?What am I going to do?

_____________________________________________________________________

Continued in Beths Dilemma The Message. Click Here for Part 2 of 2

If you enjoyed this short story, please take a moment to Add Note

Leo N. Ardo: - I am a thirty-five year veteran of small business, andauthor of theJon Hersey Industrial Spyseries. I enjoy photography,fly fishing, biking, and embellishing our travel experiences in journalstitledExaggerated Tales of an Ordinary Man.

We call Utah and Wyoming home.

Visit our websitewww.LeonardoStories.comLike us at Facebook.com/LeonardoStoriesFollow us on Twitter @LeonardoStories

Hoping life blesses you with good stories!
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beth's dilemma - the wallet (part one)

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