“Yep. ‘Bout ten hours worth, he said.”
Since he’s a relative, how about we review the film for free and only charge for the class?”
He brightened. “Good idea. That’ll help on gettin’ repeat business from his company, too.” He made a sweeping gesture. “My only question is if it’ll be too risky for us, in our present situation.”
I shook my head. “Don’t think so, long as we keep our activities restricted. And I think doing classes for private organizations fits that criteria. Just don’t want to do too much in a public setting that’d draw attention.”
“And rememberin’ to at least have one other person with you when you leave here,” he said. “We’re probably gonna get bored pretty quick, unless we can do these kinda things.”
I stood, moving towards my own cubicle. “Yeah. At least Nate and Tony can keep busy with auditing contracts and repos. Dave and Wilbur are the ones who might go stir crazy first, if we have to keep waiting for the feds to find Crosby.”
“No problem there,” he said. “Wilbur’s been continuing his search. If he finds something interesting, he and Dave chase it down. Usually by computer, but sometimes they have to hit the pavement.”
I stopped and turned back. “They’re not…”
Marty made a calming motion with his hand. “Naw, they usually gather information from records that haven’t been digitized. Only been visitin’ government buildings. An’ everyone’s takin’ your advice about changing their appearance at least a little.”
I shrugged. “Sorry to seem like a daddy. Just don’t want us to take any chances. Until we need to, anyway.”
“No problem, someone’s gotta do it,” Marty said with a smile. “I’ll send the video file to your computer, and set up the class for three days from now. That enough time?”
“Should be.” I sauntered to my cubicle. It felt good to have something to do other than stew about matters over which we had no control. I clicked on my computer and sat.
* * *
I scanned the seated members of the class, satisfied at their attentiveness. Good. So far my spiel was getting their interest. “…So even though the crowds aren’t always thick, it doesn’t mean a good pickpocket can’t set up a boost.” I hit the go button on the video. “Watch the man in the brown coat. Looks like a normal person, doesn’t he? Well, he’s about to do what’s called an easy dip.” The film showed me closing in on Tony. “Note how he doesn’t stare directly at the person he’s going to pick. Very important, as the victim can sometimes feel it when you concentrate on them.”
Within moments, I’d boosted Tony’s wallet. “Did you see how the suspect waited until the victim was brushed by someone before dipping his fingers into the pocket at the same time he was touched? Also, ideally, the victim’s weight should be on the leg opposite from the pocket. Tends to make the wallet easier to lift.”
A hand went up. “Mister Baker, is it true we have to catch them with the wallet in their possession?”
I nodded. “Good question. And yes, that’s best. Or at least witness the handoff, and nab both of them. That’s why it’s good to know ahead of time who you’re watching, and identify their handoff person. Watching your taped videos for the time frame when the pick was done is also a way to make an arrest. Much better to catch them with their hand in the cookie jar, though.” I shut off the video. “Now let’s go over shoplifters, and how to detect them.”
By the end of the day, I felt confident the class had absorbed enough to help trim back the ears of the ring of pickpockets and shoplifters. Next day was spent with Jake, their supervisor and Marty’s cousin. He was definitely interested in the five people we’d identified as their security problem.
He pointed at one of the pictures I‘d placed on his desk. “A girl? She doesn’t even look old enough to be in high school. The others, maybe. But Jeez, what kinda gang is this?” Being thin and several inches shorter than Marty, there wasn’t much family resemblance.
I leaned forward and tapped the picture of the girl. “This one is twenty, and you’re right. The others are probably all in high school. You might need to get the local or state police involved to find out if they have a handler. Usually following a day at the mall or wherever, they turn over all their stuff to a middleman, after taking their cut. That way they gain a level of protection from other gangs, among other benefits.”
Jake leaned forward, staring at the pictures while he scratched his inch-long beard. “So what can we do besides getting the cops involved? They can’t be around all the time.”
“No, but you can.” I picked up the picture of the 20-year-old. “If the cops can’t stop them, visiting the home of the person they drop their stuff off to might help. Put a fear of mall cop into them.”
His eyes widened. “Y’mean beat ‘em up?”
I grinned while setting the picture down. “No, probably a good scare and maybe a little bit of property damage would do the job. They prefer working places that don’t constitute a personal threat.” I passed over the video files we’d gotten from them earlier. “Here are your videos back. Now that your crew knows what to look for, you should be able to put a stop to this in short order.”
Marty walked in, finally having broken free from the questions the last class had been bouncing off him. “Don’t be afraid to gimme a call if you have any problems. ‘Specially if the cops give you any grief. We have contacts at the local and state level that’ll put a stop to any foot-draggin’ that might happen.”
After our final goodbyes, we piled into my SUV. “You didn’t let them know about the drug deals going on, did you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Naw, I think you’re right.
