The Second Doublewide on the Right, part 43

I’m Fixin’ To Present Part 43 of The Second Doublewide on the Right:

Jimmy Ray Hurd made sure there were no late-night drunks exiting or entering their vehicle in the Waffle House parking lot before he slid out of his truck, dragging his laundry bag of thievery tools behind him. After casting his eyes in all directions, he darted away from the restaurant and quickly crossed the deserted side street adjacent to the parking lot before he entered the darkness of the alley behind the strip mall, where his intended target was located.

Once he was safely in the alley, without having seen a vehicle or a person since exiting his truck, he froze for a few moments and allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and at the same time intensifying his sense of hearing by deep concentration.

It was dark, gloomy and almost spooky back there with the dumpsters lined up like dark sentinels before him. The only sounds were the faint sounds of traffic out on Interstate 20.

He started moving, counting the dumpsters and the back doors as he went. When he arrived at his destination he confirmed it by standing real close to the back door so he could read the stenciled letters on it.

This was the place. He counted off five steps to the right of the door and picked out his spot of entrance. He had walked it off on the inside of the pawn shop and knew if he broke through the wall just above the floor at this point, it would bring him out behind the main counter and wouldn’t set of the alarms, which were all set to detect motion four feet above the floor.

The wall was constructed of cement blocks and mortar. Jimmy Ray knew the blocks were hollow and could be broken. But before he began he sat his laundry bag down and extracted the can of red spray paint he had purchased several days ago at the nearby parts store. Then he stepped back to the dumpster he had selected to stash the loot in and sprayed big red X’s on two sides of it.

Afterwards he returned to the laundry bag and took out the short handled sledge hammer and the duffle bag.

Next he folded and spread the heavy duffle bag against the cement block wall on the second row from the bottom, where he held it with his left hand in order to muffle the sound of the blows. Then he lay down on his left side, grasped the sledge hammer firmly in his right hand and struck the first blow.

It took 12 strokes, and perspiration was beginning to pop up on his forehead, before he heard the first crack as the concrete block gave way. He rested for a while after that and let the ache fade from his right shoulder. The he struck another blow and felt the concrete give way against the sledge hammer.

After seven more blows Jimmy Ray lay down his hammer along with he duffle bag and used his gloved hands to dig out the loose hunks of broken concrete. Then, taking up the bag and the hammer again, he continued his attack upon the wall.

Soon there was a jagged hole in the wall and he hammered at the edges of it until his hammer crashed through and found the sheet rock of the inside wall. He dug out more hunks of crushed concrete and shattered sheet rock, and then hammered some more until the hole was large enough for him to squeeze through to the inside.

Before he entered he used his feet to push the rubble out of his way. Then he stuffed the duffle bag through the hole before he worked himself through it, dragging his big hammer behind him.

It was cool inside and it felt good to his sweat soaked body. It was also dimly lit with enough light drifting in from the front windows so that he could see well enough to take care of his business.

He was lying on the floor, but he knew exactly where he was. The showcase directly above his head was chocked full of handguns, and that was his first target. He had stared at that same case from the other side when he had cased the shop.

But before he went into action, like a gopher, he poked his head back out of the hole he had hammered. The cold night air felt good on his sweaty face as he carefully looked up and down the long alley to make sure he wasn’t fixing to have any company.