Lon slipped his handgun out of the holster, hid it behind the empty bank bag, and started walking slowly up the aisles toward the front of the store, as if he was making sure everything was locked up. He rattled the front door to make sure it was locked before turning around and heading toward the back of the store.

* * *

Teddy and Brian Hollis were twins and seniors at Blessings High School. Technically, they should have graduated last year, but between absences and bad grades, they didn’t graduate and were still trying to pass the two classes they’d failed.

They turned nineteen just after Thanksgiving and considered themselves adults, even though they still lived at home with their parents. They needed jobs and diplomas to move on with their lives, but had neither.

It was during Christmas vacation that Teddy came up with the idea of just leaving home anyway. He already knew he was going to fail again, and school wouldn’t let them in at this age for a third try. They would have to take GED classes with adults now to ever get a diploma.

It was also Teddy who thought of robbing the pharmacist, because his routine was so well known.

Every evening, Mr. Phillips came out of the back of the pharmacy with a bank deposit bag under his arm, then got in his car and drove away. His unwavering routine was the cherry on their plan.

They planned to disguise themselves so he couldn’t identify them, and by the time anyone found Phillips, they’d be long gone. They just needed the car to get out of town and planned to ditch it after they hit Savannah. And the money they got from the night deposit would be their seed money to get them started somewhere else.

They didn’t have access to any guns, which was fortunate for all concerned. All they had was Brian’s baseball bat from Little League. Their plan was to leave after supper. Their dad would fall asleep watching the evening news, and their mom would be cleaning up the kitchen. As soon as that scenario began playing out, they headed for their room.

They’d already packed, so they tossed their bags and Brian’s bat out of their bedroom window, then climbed out. They quickly shouldered their gear, slipped out of the backyard into the alley, and headed for town.

They’d cut up their sock caps to make ski masks, and when the time was right, they would just pull them down over their faces and strike. They talked as they went, their enthusiasm for running away from Blessings overshadowing the deed they had to do to get away. They seemed oblivious to the harm and the crime they were planning to commit.

“It’s already after six. We need to hurry,” Teddy said, and shifted his bag to his other shoulder.