Jack had a few years on Tony and wasn’t about to be taken. “Sure I do, which is why I will be far, far away, out of Ohio, with a rock-solid alibi when you guys do this, and if I don’t get my full cut, then I promise you the cops will be tipped off about you three and you’ll be toast.” If Jack had had an ace on him, he would have pulled it out of his sleeve at that instant. Even Bags could figure out that his cut just went way down.

“A deal’s a deal,” Tony assured him, annoyed with himself for thinking he could trust a thief to trust a thief.

Now that they had the address, the key, and the combinations, all they had to do was wait for the owners to pack up and go to Florida. With any luck, they wouldn’t even discover that the money was missing until they returned a few months later.

The house was on Maple Street in Chagrin Falls, one of the most picturesque, quintessentially American towns in the country. Downtown Chagrin during the Christmas season could have been the set for It’s a Wonderful Life. With the enormous white face antique clock smiling down at the end of the square, you half expected to see James Stewart and Donna Reed arm in arm, viewing the spectacular falls where the Chagrin River had a natural drop of fifty feet, and the icy rush of the cascading water created an immediate hypnotic daze. At that time of year, snow usually coated the ground, and the square was ablaze in colorful lights. For families in surrounding towns, it was a tradition to make the annual pilgrimage to Chagrin Falls to get a taste of old-time Christmas. There was no better way to transform a grinch into a good-natured, patient, and generous man or woman.

However, the trio of Tony, Danny, and Bags couldn’t have cared less for the festivities and wholesome feeling of the town. They had a plan, and they were starting to get pretty annoyed with the home owners, Don and Linda Grant, for still being in attendance as late as the fifth of January. Jack said they always closed the shop the first weekend after Christmas, packed up the car, and headed south almost immediately. If they didn’t leave soon, there might have to be a change of plans, Tony thought.