It Was A Case Of All Or Nothing

By Tavinder New

 

Latest Press: Jewels stolen from Bank of Scarlett by notorious thieves Peter and Pritchard. They are dangerous, clever and not to be trusted!

 

The brown leather case was beside my foot and inside the jewels worth tens of millions of pounds lying there beside me, my rendezvous was to meet Pritchard and exchange the case at the train station for a phoney one, which was the same style and shape. The plan was a trade off between cases and then to leg it abroad to Spain.

 

The overhead stopped at Liverpool Street station and there was Pritchard. I was to leave the case near him and take the duplicate then dump it by a ditch near the road. My appointment was to liaise with him at Bethnal Green. The police were onto us, but we were seen as masters of disguise.

 

I took the case beside him and there were no exchanged glances as we had agreed and I dumped the duplicate case by the road side on my way to Bethnal Green. We booked ourselves the nearest hotel, he was wearing the full mustache whilst I had the overcoat on and dark glasses.

 

‘Open it I can’t wait to see the jewel’s!’ He exclaimed.

 

‘Have you drawn the curtains?’ 

 

‘Yes just open it’.

 

It was a case of all of nothing and in our case there was nothing.

 

‘Where are the jewels?’ I barked.

 

‘What do you mean you had them last you swapped the case just like we had agreed! But now you mention it…’

 

He looked at me confusedly as he clasped the case.

 

‘I had a quick you know’… he remarked

 

‘What!?’ I asked.

 

‘I had to go to the men’s room for a visit… I must have left it in there’ he recalled.

 

‘What the **&%% do you mean? You idiot the jewels they could of have been taken by 

someone.

 

‘Lets go’ he started to wail like a baby. The press would have a field day at knowing 

what I thought Pritchard was really like a softie at heart. We made a dash back to Liverpool Street taking a taxi and having to pay 30 pence to get into the loo’s. We searched and searched and found a case near the last urinal. Bingo had got it I thought. 

 

Back at the hotel I held the case and wanted to punch Pritchard out he was an idiot but genius at opening bank safes and therefore kept him by my side.

I opened it slowly up again and unbuckled it as I could not wait to see the jewels.

 

It was a case of all of nothing and in our case there was nothing.

 

‘What the %^$^* I screamed’ as I bashed the case around on the bed. ‘Pritchard what the hell did you do with the jewels?!’ I implored him.

 

Pritchard looked at me blankly ‘Peter mate I am telling you I just went to the loo and

I came straight here’. He replied.

 

I sat by the bedside table recollecting the events in my head I had gone straight to Liverpool station and swapped the bags as agreed. But then doubt grew like a cloud inside had I exchanged the bags. Did I just dump the jewels instead I thought to myself.

 

‘Pritchard lets go. I need to check something out.’

 

I grabbed him as we took a taxi back to the roadside where I had left the case. There was rubbish all round as I rolled down the hill into nappies, dog crap, plastic bags and left over cigarette butts. My suit was ruined as I looked like a tramp and grabbed the case and tried to open it by the roadside. It was just then I heard the police.

 

‘Put your hands up Peter don’t move’. There were a dozen police around me as I stood in the grass smelling of garbage and holding the case. I was nabbed as I thought being taken away.

 

At Waldown Station the suitcase was taken all the hard work and no reward. As I entered the cell the inspector came over to me.

 

‘We opened the case it was a case of all or nothing and it was nothing’ he revealed. 

 

‘Looks like Pritchard got the jewels and got you arrested Peter. When we arrived onto the scene he was nowhere to be found, but we will get him next time!’  He exclaimed but  laughed as he closed the cell onto me. 

 

I had been double crossed by Pritchard who had taken the jewels and left me to rot in jail whilst most likely in Spain.