TILL

DEATH

DO US PART

By Harry Harris

Copyright 2015 Harry Harris

Published by HERCULES-APOLLO MYSTERIES

at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Table of Contents

#prologue

#Chapter1

#Chapter2

#Chapter3

#Chapter4

#Chapter5

#Chapter6

#Chapter7

#Chapter8

#Chapter9

#Chapter10

#AboutAuthor

#otherbooks

Prologue

Tommy Lee Levendis, who was a school teacher by day and a thief by night, finds himself fascinated with Gail Ashley, an unusually attractive twelve year old student of his. Although he is twenty years older than the lovely schoolgirl, they fall madly in love with one another considering themselves soul-mates.

During a robbery Tommy Lee manages to successfully steal a great deal of money from the President of the Southern Bank of Macon, Georgia, only to realize that what he has stolen is legal tender that the bank is ‘laundering’ for the Mexican Drug Cartel and the American Mafia organization. Realizing his mistake and fearing for his life, he reluctantly leaves the City of Macon; however, before he does he gives all the cash he has stolen to his lover, Gail Ashley.

Several months later, Gail and her sister, Louann, learn that Tommy Lee has been captured and is serving a Life Sentence for Murder without parole, which prompts the sisters to leave Macon and go to Hollywood where Gail decides to try her luck in becoming a Movie Star. On their way to Hollywood California, they’re confronted with several horrifying experiences only to come away from them unscathed. During the ten years that follow Gail gives up the idea of becoming a Movie Star and gets married to a dull, albeit famous mystery writer, Bob Rider, which leaves her miserable for she has never stopped pining for Tommy Lee Levendis.

During those years, Tommy Lee manages to escape from prison and goes about the country searching for his great love, Gail Ashley. He ultimately finds her only to come face-to-face with a tragic, Shakespearian ending to the great love that they had for one another.

Chapter One

What the people living in Byron, the village situated a few miles west of Macon, Georgia didn’t know was that the Meyers Land Developing Company was not a legitimate business enterprise but a hangout for bank robbers: A group of thieves would meet at that location every so often not only to rekindle their friendships but to plan future burglaries:

Tommy Lee Levendis, who was the leader of that notorious group and the master mind behind their capers, smiled wryly at the men sitting in front of him and said, It’s good to see you boys again and I think you’ll be pleased to hear why I called for a special meeting with you this evening. Now listen to me carefully…I’ve planned another heist for us…but this one won’t be like any of the others we’ve been on. This time we’re not going to break into a bank to confiscate its money but into a bank president’s home…and if we pull it off successfully, as I’m sure we will, there will be so much money for each of us that we’ll be able to retire. Now here’s…

Wait a minute, Louis Fallaney said interrupting him. Louis Fallaney was one of Tommy Lee’s four henchmen. I know you’ve never given us a bum steer; that we’ve never had a problem following your plans robbing banks; also, that each of us always ended up with a good paycheck at the end of the capers…so I’m wondering why you’d want to change the routine? Am I missing something? I thought the big money was in robbing banks, not in burglarizing their presidents’ homes.

You’re right, Louis, Tommy Lee said. And I would have been the last guy in the world to want to change that routine…but after what I heard from one of the students in my class say about what his father did for a living, I knew we had to forget about robbing banks and start taking possession of what bank presidents have in their vaults at home. When he saw that the other members of his gang were also anxious to ask questions, he said, Hold your questions a moment will you fellows…wait until I finish explaining why we’re going to rob a bank president’s home and not his bank…and then you can ask me all the questions you want. Agreed? When the men nodded, he said. You know what I supposedly do for a living, right? I’m a school teacher. And all of you, on my advice, have gotten legitimate jobs as well. And that’s so we can spend some of the money we get unlawfully without the police, or anyone else, getting wise to what we really do for a living. He smiled wryly at his men again and then he said, One day, as a school experiment at the Elementary School where I teach, I asked the youngsters in my class what their fathers did for a living…and one by one they told me. And I noticed that the students were all proud of what their fathers did no matter what his job was. For example, one boy said that his father was a plumber…but added quickly that he was the best plumber in the whole wide world… and so on. And one of the boys whose father, Charles Miller, I knew was a bank president, -- whose bank, incidentally, we robbed several years ago -- said his father was a bookkeeper. I wondered why the boy didn’t brag about his father being the president of a bank. So when class was over I took the kid aside and spoke to him about it. ‘Son,’ I said, ‘you should be proud that your father is a bank president… so why did you say he was a bookkeeper?’ And his answer was as honest as only a six-year-old boy could come up with. He said that every time his mother took him to the bank with her, which she did from time-to-time, he never saw his father working. All he saw him doing was sitting in his office talking with people…but that the only time his father worked was when he was home. When I asked him what he meant by that, he said that people bring bags of money to the house every so often, which his father counts on a machine and then writes the amounts down in a large book. When I asked him what made him think that there was money in the bags that the men brought to the house, he said because he saw some money fall out of one of them. And that when he spoke to his father about it, his father told him that the bags were filled with some money but that mostly they were filled with receipts from businesses that had accounts at his bank, which he had to register in his large book. Well, I told the kid his father was right, that sometimes that’s what bank presidents have to do, but that his father was, nevertheless, a bank president, and I sent him on his way. But I had a feeling that the kid was being honest about what he saw, so the upshot I came to was that his father, Mr. Charles Miller, the bank president of the Southern Bank of Macon, Georgia, -- where incidentally we all have bank accounts -- was laundering money. So I began to keep an eye on who was going into and who was coming out of that bank president’s home."

And what did you see? Matt Gurney asked. Matt Gurney was another member of Tommy Lee’s gang.

There are only three houses in the cul-de-sac where Charles Miller’s house is located, Tommy Lee said, "but his place is hardly visible because it’s situated at the end of that street behind a cluster of large trees. Being curious, I started watching the house carefully, and on Thursday of that week at approximately two o’clock in the afternoon, I saw a small truck with the words, ‘Flowers by Angelo’ painted on its side, stop at Miller’s home evidently to deliver flowers. I saw the delivery man enter the house carrying two narrow, oblong boxes with the words ‘Flowers’ printed on them and remain in the house for quite some time. His antics made me curious because a man delivering flowers usually gives them to the person who opens the door, has him or her sign for them, and then he leaves…so I thought it was strange that the man entered the house in the first place let alone that he stayed there such a long time. Be that as it may, the following week, again on Thursday and also about two in the afternoon, I saw a small truck with the words, ‘Angelo’s Air Conditioning Service’ painted on its side, stop in front of the Miller home. I saw two men get out of the vehicle and enter the house; one was carrying a large box and the other a step ladder; anyone seeing them would assume they were there to work on the

ir-conditioning system in the place. Nevertheless, I saw them leave the premises a short time later with only the stepladder in their hands. That too looked strange to me. And then on the third week as I took stock of what was going on at the Miller residence, again about two o’clock on Thursday afternoon, I saw two men get out of a small truck that had the words ‘Angelo’s Furniture Company’ painted on its side, haul a huge box out of their truck and into Miller’s house, and then some time later come out of the house and drive off. And I noticed that during the three weeks that I had surveyed the Miller household, that an hour or so after the small trucks left, Charles Miller would come out of his house and go to the bank. I know that’s where he went because I followed him."

Ralph Edwards, another member of Tommy Lee’s gang, said sarcastically, So, a bank president has flowers and furniture delivered to his home and his air-conditioner fixed; so what? What’s that got to do with anything? That doesn’t prove he’s laundering money.

That’s exactly how I felt, Tommy Lee said, But I couldn’t let it go. I kept thinking about what the kid said to me about his father being a bookkeeper, so I decided to see what I could find out about the small trucks that visit the Miller residence. I followed one of them and what do you think I found?

John Shelbert, the fourth member of Tommy Lee’s gang, said in an affected southern accent, which was meant to amuse, I don’t know what you found but I’m sure you’re going to tell us! The comment had every one at the meeting, chuckling loudly.

Yes, I certainly am going to tell you, Tommy Lee said. I noticed that when those trucks left the Miller home they all went to Box Springs, a township about an hour’s drive from Macon, and that when they got there they all went into a large garage that had a sign on its roof with the name, ‘Angelo’s Transportation Company.’ I didn’t think all those trucks delivering things to the Miller house could have been owned by just that one company, so I figured that Angelo’s Transportation Company was a part of the money laundering that Charles Miller was involved in…but I had to make sure…for if he were in that racket I intended to formulate a plan for us to rob him. He smiled wryly at his men and added, And that’s what we’re going to do; but I’m getting ahead of myself.

"Now, because I needed time to keep the Miller house under surveillance, I took a leave of absence from my school; I told them I had a terrible case of the flu and needed a few weeks to recuperate. So, for the next three weeks all I did was keep an eye on what was going on at the Miller household: The first thing I noted was that there were only three people in the Miller family: The banker, his wife, and their son. I saw that the first one to leave the house in the mornings was always Mr. Miller; he would exit the place at seven o’clock every morning,

-- like clockwork – get into his car and drive off to the bank. The next one to leave the house was the kid. It seemed to me that he was always running late; he’d rush out of the house, get on his bicycle and ride off, presumably to school. And then later in the morning, I saw Miller’s wife come out of the house and join a woman friend who picked her up in a late model Cadillac sedan and drive off with her…and that was the family routine on the three consecutive weeks that I watched the place. Nevertheless, when it was apparent that no one was in the house, I broke into it. He smiled crookedly at his men as he added proudly, Although it took me quite some time, I finally found where Mr. Miller was storing his laundered money. And get this, it wasn’t in a pint-sized safe where one keeps a few small valuables, but in an exceptionally large bank vault and it was hidden beautifully behind a fake wall in a walk-in closet in one of the bedrooms. That was all the proof I needed that laundering money was taking place at that house. While there, I also discovered that the Millers have a maid who comes in twice a week; Tuesdays and Fridays. I got that information from notations made on scratch pads that were pinned on a large cork bulletin board that was hanging on the kitchen wall next to the refrigerator. Also, on that board, I saw that Mrs. Miller meets with a friend of hers called Linda every Wednesday morning for Yoga lessons; she was probably the woman I saw that picked her up in the Caddy. And then, so that no one would get suspicious that a stranger had been in their home, I left the place exactly as I found it. And no sooner did I come back to our hangout here, than I began to formulate a plan to relieve the bank president of all his laundered loot."

Have you come up with a reliable plan, Tommy Lee? Louis Fallaney asked.

Smiling lopsidedly, Tommy Lee said, Yes I certainly have. Since I feel that you and John are the best safe crackers in the business, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble opening that vault; however, just so you’ll know what you’ll be facing, it’s an old, solid iron Uppsalla that was made in Sweden at the turn of the century. Are you familiar with it?

Of course, Louis said. But just in case we do have trouble with it, I’ll bring along a Plasma Cutter, an Oxyacetylene torch, and some nitro powder, but one way or the other you can be sure that John and I won’t have any trouble getting that sucker open.

Good, and then looking at Matt and Ralph, Tommy Lee said, While Louis and John are working on the safe, you two and I will be the ones to take care of the family members as they return to the house.

What about the maid? Ralph said.

The maid comes to work Tuesdays and Fridays and Mrs. Miller meets with her friend for Yoga lessons on Wednesday mornings…and since the money deliveries are always made on Thursdays…the only day that we can be reasonably certain that nobody will be in the house during our little caper is on Wednesday after Mrs. Miller leaves for her yoga class. Now, here’s the deal: Come next Wednesday we’ll wait until the entire family has left the house and then I’ll sneak into the place exactly as I did before, and I’ll let you guys in through the front door. Now, I don’t want the four of you all entering the house at the same time; if someone happens to see you it would look suspicious. So come in one at the time about ten minutes apart. And don’t park in the cul-de-sac but on another street and if possible behind some of the trees that are plentiful in that area. And Louis, if the equipment for opening the safe is easily identifiable, make sure you carry it in a box so no one can see what it is. Now, when we’re all in the house, I’ll show Louis and John where the safe is located so they can start working on it right away. As for the rest of us, our job will be to wait patiently for all the family members to return to the house. The first one to enter the place will probably be Mrs. Miller. I’ll be at the door waiting for her and I’ll make sure she doesn’t get the chance to cry out. We’ll take her to the small bedroom on the second floor, and there we’ll tie her up and gag her so she can’t move or call out to anyone. The next person to arrive should be the kid. During the week that I kept an eye on the place I noticed that he never returns to the house for lunch, which I assume he has at school…and that he always came home from school at about four in the afternoon, usually alone.

What if Mrs. Miller and the kid have a friend with them that they invite into the house? Matt said. What then? How do we deal with that?

Easy. Unless Louis and John need another hand to deal with the opening of the safe, then the three of us, you, Matt and I will be at the door to welcome them…and to insure that they don’t get the opportunity to yell out, no matter how many of them there are, we’ll have a little chloroform to help us.

There’s something else that concerns me, Louis said. What if the man in the small truck that usually arrives on Thursdays with the money to be laundered comes on Wednesday, the day we’re pulling the job? What do we do then? Do we have him suffer the same fate as the others or do we just ignore him and wait for him to leave?

I’ve given that a lot of thought so I decided we should all be in accord about what we should do in that case. If we’ve got the safe opened before he gets to the house and we’ve absconded with the loot, all well and good. But if we haven’t gotten the safe opened by then, we’ve got two choices: One, we tie and gag the driver as we will have done with the others that have entered the house…and then continue trying to get the safe open…or, two, we quit operations and split. I leave it up to you guys.

You’re the boss, John said, What do you think we should do?

There’s no doubt that after the money is delivered to Mr. Miller, the driver of the small truck has to return to the Transportation Company in Box Springs to report that all went well and that there weren’t any complications with the delivery. And I’ve timed it. It takes the guy in the small truck an hour to drive back to Box Springs from here. So, if it happens that the driver arrives on a Wednesday instead of his regular visit on Thursday, I say we chloroform him and tie him up with the other people and then continue trying to open the safe. But, and this is very important: We’ll have less than two hours to continue working on it. If we can’t get the safe open within that time period we’ll have to split because if the driver we’ve subdued isn’t back in Box Springs an hour later to report that all went well with the delivery, the gang behind the money laundering will get suspicious that something went wrong and will come here after us. That means that from the time we subdue the guy who delivers the money to be laundered, we have only two hours to get the vault open. But, men, let me put your minds at ease…when I found where the bank vault was located, I checked it over very carefully and I’m convinced that Louis and John won’t have any trouble opening it. And one more thing, although the only time we’ll need to have our masks on is when we greet the people returning to the house, it’s important that we have them with us at all times. Beaming, he looked at his men and said, Well guys, are we all in accord about this caper?

When his men agreed that they were, he said, Great; I knew you’d see things my way. So on Wednesday we put the show on the road. He took two bottles of chilled champagne that he had purposely stashed in the refrigerator for the occasion, filled five glasses with the bubbly, handed each of his men a glass, and then raising the one in his hand high in the air, he said, Here’s to the Miller caper and his filthy laundered lucre. May it be our biggest score to date. So drink up, my friends.

Chapter Two

Tommy Lee looked askance at the members of his gang that were sitting quietly in their hangout in Byron and said. I trust you boys slept well and that you’re ready for the job that’s ahead of us today. When his men mumbled that they were ready to go to work, he looked sternly at Louis and said, You’ve got the tools you’ll need to open the safe if it gives you trouble, right? When Louis nodded, he said, Okay, it’s now six o’clock; time for me to make my move. I’ve got to get in position early so I can see the Millers as they leave the house. And then after the last one is out of there, which should be Mrs. Miller, I’ll break into the house and if I feel that everything is as it should be, I’ll call you, Louis, to let you know that the house is empty and that it’s time for you guys to make your move, so keep your cell phone handy. Smiling wryly at his men, he added, Don’t sweat it, fellows; as you’ll see this caper is a cinch. With that, he turned quickly on his heels and left the hangout.

He drove to the edge of the cul-de-sac and parked behind a few large trees whose leaves and branches covered his car but from where he could easily see the Miller residence. He then waited patiently there and at exactly seven o’clock, Mr. Miller came out of his house, opened the garage door, got into his car and drove out of the cul-de-sac and off down the street. Twenty minutes later, his son came rushing out of the house, picked up his bicycle, which was leaning against one of the trees nearby, and raced out of the cul-de-sac and disappeared. ‘Two out of three,’ Tommy Lee mumbled to himself, and then he added, ‘I wonder how long it will be before Mrs. Miller makes her move?’ He then made himself as comfortable as he could in the car and waited. Two hours later, at exactly nine o’clock, he saw a Cadillac drive down into the cul-de-sac and stop in front of the Miller residence, but instead of Mrs. Miller running out to greet it, he saw a woman get out of the Cadillac and enter the Miller home. ‘I hope the ladies haven’t changed their mind about going to their Yoga lesson today,’ he said anxiously to himself. And then frowning, he added, I hope it’s not a bad omen.’ An hour later, at ten o’clock, when neither of the ladies came out of the house he called Louis: I’m still waiting for Mrs. Miller to come out of the house, he said to him, and I’m only calling to tell you about it so you won’t panic and think the caper’s off; so don’t let the boys get nervous." And with that he folded his cell