My folks dropped me off just outside the campus main gates.
“Call us and let us know how your mid-terms go?” Dad asked.
I smiled and replied that I would. I gave them both a hug and stepped up onto the sidewalk and waved at them as they merged back into traffic.
That was a great weekend, but it was time to get back to my usual college routine.
As I bent down to pick up my bags, I saw it. A wallet was lodged between the grilles of a sewer grate by my feet.
I pried it out carefully. It was black with a silver zipper along the top. A faded “Hello Kitty” sticker decorated the bottom right corner suggesting that the wallet most likely belonged to a girl. I opened it and my eyes widened.
Hundred dollar bills.
There must have been a dozen of them. I immediately glanced around to make sure no one noticed. I headed as fast as I could back to the safety and privacy of my dorm room.
Once there, I emptied the contents of the wallet.
$4000 total.
No ID.
There was however, a wallet-sized high school graduation picture of a girl. She had shoulder-length golden-brown hair and a cheerleader smile. She was pretty and next thing I knew, I forgot about the cash and found myself staring at the picture. I got knocked out of my fugue when I heard footsteps outside. My roommate was due back any moment and I didn’t want him to catch me with all that cash so I put everything away but I held onto the photo.
I made inquiries about the girl in the photo. It took some time, but I finally found out her name was Rebecca but people called her Becky. Once I got a name, it was only a matter of time in finding her. She was a freshman who worked part-time at nights at the sports complex.
The sports complex was in the process of massive renovations. When I approached it, I swore it looked like a bomb hit. Once inside it didn’t take me long to find her. She was sitting inside the entrance booth. She didn’t look at all like the girl in the photo. Whereas the girl in the photo was bright-eyed and cheery, this girl looked sullen and bored.
“Becky?” I asked.
She looked up at me. I was half-expecting to see her smile but she didn’t. In fact, from the way she looked at me, it made me feel like I was bothering her.
“Yeah?” she answered.
“I…uh…I have something for you.”
I reached into my school bag and pulled out my .22. Becky didn’t have much of a chance to react when I double-tapped her in the head.
I quickly left by the side entrance. On my way back to the dorm I sent out a text on my burner phone.
“Job is done. I expect 2nd half of payment at the same spot.”
