Taking a chance

         It is inevitable to try, one might say.  I’ve always wanted to make my mark before, but if I ever were to get caught, the consequences would are staggering.
         Mickey told me yesterday that there would be a ‘disturbance’ at Vernon’s Jewelry and Diamond Works at exactly seventeen minutes after noon.  Enough to make even the lowliest of thieves try for something.  But you had to be at the right place at the right time.  And you had to be prepared.
         My father belonged to the guild, so I was apprenticed early on.  Not everyone can get the quality training I’ve had.  I definitely had the talent, but not the daring.  Holding my hand had saved me from the lockup more than once.  There aren’t many things for which I would risk that.  I do have my reputation to think of.  But if you want to be vetted by the guild, you first have to do something they would notice.  I hadn’t.  Not until now, anyway.
         I went into the shop shortly before eleven to buy Jessica a ring.  It wasn’t expensive, but it cost me about all that I could afford.  I took my time selecting it.  It had to be perfect.  It had to be Jessica.  A small, twisting serpent that would fit around her little finger.  Good workmanship, highly pure silver, but no frills and definitely not something worth stealing.  As I expected, it took me a while, but the saleswoman behind the counter was helpful.
         I was about to pay my bill when it happened.  More than enough rocks came hurtling through the windows, and almost every display case was smashed.  Glass flew everywhere.  Brilliant work, it was.  Maximum damage with minimum effort, and the culprits got away clean.  Whoever accomplished it planned well.  Something that brilliant wouldn’t happen again any time soon.  Then there it was, one of the largest rubies that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen my share.  People everywhere were scrambling, and I would imagine that things were disappearing left and right.  But the ruby was mine, if only for a brief instant.
         I must admit that I’d like to have kept it, but it was too obvious a prize.  Many people had eyed it, and even I would have recognized where it had come from at first glance.  I slipped it into a gentleman’s pocket.  It’s almost easier to put something in than to get something out.  That is, in my line of business, a crying shame.  But I knew we’d all be searched, and it wouldn’t go unnoticed when he tired to leave.  I didn’t know him.  He must have been at least somewhat reputable.  But his kind, who flaunted their wealth over us poor people, well, he did deserve it.  You don’t have to be a member of the guild to be a thief.
         Then I helped clean up.  The box of uncut stones on the counter, newly arrived, had not been opened.  It hadn’t even been signed for.  It had been knocked to the floor right at my feet, and because of it’s weight it had burst open.  I’d timed that well.  So I helped the delivery man collect the scattered stones, most of which went back into the cratI, but a few choice ones found their way into places where even the most diligent cop wouldn’t look.
         By the time they got around to searching me, I was still stuffing stones back into the box.  I hoped it made me look decent.  Even after most of the floor had been cleared, I still searched it for small ones among the broken glass.  The shop keeper was surprised by that, and praised my honesty and thanked me for my help.  It was hard to dissemble, to not let on that they weren’t all there.  When I was searched it was done quickly and less than thoroughly.  Nothing was found.  The saleswoman vouched for me, a valued customer, and recovered my ring from where it had fallen.
         It did help that the gentleman was searched as well, and the ruby was found.  He was not happy, and loudly proclaimed his innocence.  Many others were caught with stolen jewelry as well, but I would have to say that most all of them were little more than opportunists, and being unprepared they did that to themselves.  The police will have a field day sorting everything out.
         Mother is a gem cutter, and she has trained me well.  I’m by no means considered an expert in that field by her or her coworkers, but mother knows nothing of the guild either.  I do work with her in her shop, but when I do there is so much supervision that it would be nigh on impossible to get away with anything.  It’s safer not to try.  The pay isn’t that great, cutting the smaller, cheaper precious stones for someone else.  I’d earn more on my own, but I need to make a reputation as a good artesian before I would be very successful.  I’m working at it.  I’ll get there, someday.  I’m a much better gem cutter than even my mother knows.  When I’m finished with these stones, no one will be able to trace them back to the robbery.
         I did pay for the ring.  Cash money, and probably more than I can afford.  I hope Jessica likes it, because I rather like her.  It’s hard not to like Jessica.  But she’s turned down gifts more serious than my ring.  Not that I’ve tired giving her anything to win her favor before, but she does know how I feel about her.  I’ve made that perfectly clear.  More than once.  And she doesn’t seem to mind too much that I do.  For me, that is a bigger gamble than the rest of what left he shop with me.  If Jessica doesn’t appreciate my gift, most everyone will know about it.  I am not sure how I’d live with that.