The Handsome Burglar

Breaking the law can be a fun way of earning a living, until your luck runs out.

THE HANDSOME BURGLAR

 

  Barry Brook was tall, slim, with extra long legs that were encased in tight fitting trousers. He always wore brown suede shoes, that added to his air of well-being and comfort in his own skin. Barry’s eyes were of the softest blue, but what got women dazzled, was his rich brown curly hair. Many women were in love with Barry, but there was only one woman in his life, and that was his mother, Clare. Barry provided her with a wonderful life style, that not many people can even dream about, let alone experience. Clare had all the latest gadgets and beauty products that any woman would love to possess. Barry told his mother that he had shift work, and that meant he was out of the house at night sometimes. Clare accepted Barry’s word, and sat back and enjoyed the benefits she got from her adoring son. Clare would dearly love grandchildren, but Barry was difficult to convince, or at least, that is what he told his mother, whenever she got into one of her moods of trying to make Barry realize that he wouldn’t be young forever. Clare had noticed the first silver hairs making their appearance, one day when they were sitting in the sunlight near his car, before he got into it and drove off to work.

Clare stood and watched till his car was out of sight, she went back indoors, and started her daily routine of getting herself ready for a meeting with some of her friends at the gym, and then go for lunch with other friends. Clare had a very full life, but even so, she would have liked Barry to have a family to keep him company when she was no longer around. Clare had a couple of gentlemen friends, who took her out for drives and to late night dinners. She had been on holiday with them, and with other lady friends on cruises and package tours. The small groups they made up when they were travelling, gave them a sense of security they wouldn’t have otherwise had. Clare couldn’t envisage herself chatting up a strange man on a holiday, however nice he might seem at the time.

 

Barry looked in the side mirror of his car, and when he saw his mother go back indoors, he turned his car in the opposite direction and drove off, towards where he would be working that day.

 

 One day, Clare said to Barry, “Barry, a friend of mine, Maggie, has just got back from a lovely holiday in Madeira. The hotel was really luxurious, and the views of the island are said to be stunning. Well, what do you think about us taking a little vacation?”

Barry had been thinking along the same lines, and thought it might not be such a bad idea, although the holiday season hadn’t really started yet. Barry had his own reasons for taking his mother away for a holiday, his recent work activities hadn’t been as lucrative as he would have wished. Barry hoped the holiday would help him get over the bad patch he had been going through. Clare was delighted when Barry said he’d love to go to Madeira. Clare made all the travel arrangements, and went around the town with a huge smile on her face.

“You look like the cat that got all the cream. Why do you smile all the time?” Barry asked his mother.

Clare didn’t mention the fact that one of her gentlemen friends was going to the same hotel. It wasn’t as if Barry would have been annoyed, but he never liked meeting his mother’s friends because, as they were all elderly, they always asked the same questions about his career, and lack of family. Barry did his best to keep his mother and company to one side, to be tolerated when it was necessary. He had no other choice. Clare got herself some new models for the holiday, and had her hair dyed a delicate shade of lilac. “What do you think of the colour? It’ll soon grow out, or I can dye it out in another shade.”

Barry stared at his mother in amazement. “Anyone would think that you were going away with your gentleman friend, and not your hard-working son. What will happen when it starts growing out?”

“No problem. I can have the colour changed or keep it going for a while. It doesn’t matter. I might buy myself a couple of wigs, if and when I get tired of this shade.” Clare said to her open-mouthed son.

Barry went up to his room, and switched on the computer to find out what the pickings in Madeira were, especially at the time of the year when it is neither spring nor summer.

For, above all, Barry was a dedicated man of action. He was a burglar and a good one, too.

 

Clare and Barry left home on a sad and rainy morning. They were both unsuitably dressed for the weather, but they weren’t concerned about the English weather forecast - they were off to Madeira. The mother and son made it their business to look as well as they could, and more, when travelling. No one ever suspected that the charming gentleman and his glamorous mother were anything other than they appeared to be - an old lady with her handsome son.

 

The plane was pretty full, and everyone was in a happy mood, thinking of the warm weather they were going to experience on the Portuguese island. Some of the passengers were already imbibing the famous Madeira wine, and it wasn’t even twelve o’clock yet.  Barry kept himself alert and drank coffee and water. He wasn’t into heavy drinking so early in the morning, and shook his head at the antics of his fellow holiday-makers, who were already on holiday as soon as they had got to the airport.

Before landing, at Madeira International Airport, the plane and its passengers experienced a rather rocky landing. The plane, like most others that arrive in Madeira, was susceptible to the strong winds and turbulence. Some of the passengers were complaining and saying they felt sick. Fortunately, the unpleasant landing didn’t last long, and everyone was glad to be off the aircraft and with their feet on terra-firma once more.

There were special buses to take the passengers to the different hotels. Barry had fancied the hotel from the photo he had seen in a travel bureaux, before he had made up his mind where to take his mother, and himself for a less strained life than he had been having recently.

 

Clare said to her son, “Barry, I think I’ll have a little lie down before lunch, if that’s OK with you?”

Barry was occupied in how he was going to make a killing money-wise, on an unknown island. He turned to Clare, and said, “Mum, I’m going for a walk, if you don’t mind me leaving you here alone?”

Clare was pleased that she would be alone in her gorgeous room overlooking the beach. “That’s good for you to get out and about, and see if there’s anyone you like especially.”

Barry shook at his mother’s never ending attempts at trying to find a woman for him. He shut the door to the suite of rooms he and his mother were sharing, and took the lift down to the hall.

The hall radiated movement of people: guests, and hotel workers who were transporting luggage to and from lifts, and women walking around as if they were on a cat-walk showing off their clothes and jewellery. Barry was one of those men who knew the difference between real and fake. His career had provided him with almost infallible knowledge of who was wearing what, and how much they were worth. Of course, there were those who were as rich as Croesus, but others as mean as Scrooge. Nevertheless he was sure that his opinions wouldn’t let him down. He strolled outside into the gardens, and saw a small group sitting at a pool-side table. An elderly man stood up and introduced himself, “Hello, how do you do? My name’s Russell, and the young lady with the dark red hair, which is natural by the way, is my daughter, Daisy.”

Barry shook hands with Russell and appraised Daisy, and thought she was very attractive but probably had a boyfriend. “My mother is out here with me. We got here just before midday. She said she wanted a nap, so I decided to come down and see what’s going on, if anything, before lunch.”

“Why don’t you join us, Barry? We’re having a before-lunch drink. These other young ladies are here on business, which is related to the fashion industry.”

“Yes, we’re here to appraise the local clothes. My name is Roberta, and my two friends are Leanne and Connie.” The young lady who had spoken was tall and stick-thin, and from the look of the others, they were about the same size. In Barry’s humble opinion, Daisy was a far healthier option than the other three. He said, “I think I’d better be going up to our room, just in case my mother has woken up from her nap.”

 

Barry turned round and went to the suite he and his mother occupied. He looked in on her and saw she was still asleep. Then he served himself an orange juice from the small fridge in the room. Barry sat down and observed the exterior of the hotel from his vantage point. He decided he would give the place a reconnaissance that night. He went to the wardrobe where his suitcase was, and opened it. He then took out his work gear. Barry always wore a wet-suit for work, with a balaclava over his head, and showing only his eyes. The rest of his outfit was made up of special diving shoes and gloves, to protect his hands from any jagged edges. Once dressed in full gear, no one would have been able to recognize him as the affable young man who travelled around with his mother. Barry hung up the clothes inside the wardrobe. He would don them when his mother was either watching television or asleep. Clare knocked on Barry’s door, calling out, “Are we going down for lunch?”

“Yes, Mum. I’ve just popped back from a quick freshen up. How do you feel after your nap?”

“Fine thanks, Son. This is a very nice place. It must be costing you a lot,” Clare said, fishing for information about Barry’s source of wealth. She knew he’d never tell her what he did for a living, but she stayed calm as long as he wasn’t a member of ‘murder incorporated’.

 

Clare and Barry went downstairs to the garden restaurant where Barry recognized Russell and the young ladies who had been with him before. Daisy smiled at him, as he sat down. Russell stood up, and went over to Clare’s table, and said, “This lovely lady must be your mother, Barry. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Clare smiled and shook Russell’s hand, thinking to herself, ‘What a creep!’

“Would you like to join us for a drink this evening after dinner?” Russell offered.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t know what we’ll be doing this evening,” Clare answered. All the while Clare was thinking that she and Barry would be dining anywhere, rather than in the hotel with the possibility of seeing Russell. At that point, Daisy called her father over to their table where their lunch was being served.

Clare said to Barry, “Do you know that man?”

Barry said, “I met him out there, just before going back up to our rooms. That’s his daughter, Daisy. She seems all right, but I can’t tell you about the others. They are said to be in the fashion business.”

“Until we know who they are, it would be better to keep them at bay,” Clare said to her son.

 

That night, after dining in a sea-food restaurant, Barry and his mother made for their suite, and while Clare was watching a film and having a quiet drink, Barry went up to the roof, where he was able to see into quite a lot of hotel windows. He wore his work clothes, in case he was taken by surprise, and didn’t want to be recognized. The sky was dark, and he heard the sound of waves crashing against the rocks. The sound of films and background music were to be heard as he tiptoed across the roof top. He looked down the exterior walls, to see where he could place his feet when going up or down. There wasn’t a thing that Barry’s eyes missed. He had to know all the defects as well as the positive points before venturing forth. Barry had managed to find out which rooms were Russell and Daisy’s, but he was unable to see into them, because the curtains were closed, and were also made of very thick material. So he gave that idea up, and went back down to the suite where Clare was still staring at the television screen.

 

At two thirty in the early hours of the morning, Barry was woken up by a tapping sound on his bedroom window. He knew from personal experience, a burglar was trying to get into his room. He lay in the dark, wondering who the burglar might be. As he arrived at no conclusion, he went into the bathroom and filled a jug with very hot water. Then he made his way slowly back to his room. On the way, he opened the window of the living-room and saw a figure dressed in black, trying to enter his bedroom window. He then threw the hot water at the figure, hurriedly closed the living-room window, and went back to bed.

 

At eight in the following morning, breakfast was served to mother and son in their suite. The aroma of coffee, hot rolls, and fruit, whetted the appetites of both parties. “What are your plans for today, Darling?” Clare asked Barry, as he sat chomping his way through his breakfast.

“I thought we might do several things today. The first thing to do, is to visit the market, and then go for a boat trip around the island this afternoon.”

“That sounds like a lovely way to pass the day,” Clare said happily.

 

Barry went to his room and put his work clothes into a rucksack. Then he’d bin the wet-suit on their way to the market.

 

An hour later, when both were showered and dressed, Clare and Barry took the lift down to the hall. There were very few people present, and none of those they had met the day before.

 

As they were leaving the hotel, a police car arrived. Barry and Clare walked off in the direction of the market. It was a lovely warm day with the sun shining in a bright blue sky. Barry and Clare enjoyed themselves very much with all the sounds of the market sellers, and the variety of perfumes from flowers, and the smells of the vegetables. They purchased souvenirs, and tried out the new food.

The boat trip was programmed for three o’clock, and there was a good queue buying tickets quite a while before. The entire trip was showing the tourists some of the more interesting aspects of the island. It was a rather unusual experience for all those who were visiting, and everyone was thrilled to feel the sea breeze on their faces. Food and drink were available, and they went down easily with the appetites that came from being in the sea air.

As the sun was going down, the boat returned to its point of departure. Everyone was in a good mood, and the men who worked on the boat were happy with the tips they received.

“You gave us a really good time on the sea today,” gushed Clare to one of the boat men.

 

Barry and Clare weren’t keen on going back to the hotel for dinner, and so they opted to go for a stroll around the port in the agreeable evening wind that blew off the sea. Later on, they stopped off at a fish restaurant for a glass of wine and fried fish, “This is the perfect food to partake of here in the port,” Clare said to Barry, who was busy filling his mouth with fried squid, and washing it down with cool white wine.

 

The happy pair got back to the hotel at eleven o’clock that same evening. The hall was very empty, and Barry and Clare were on the point of stepping into the lift, when the manager asked them to see him in his office.

“I’m sorry to detain you from going to your suite, but this morning the body of a young woman was found lying on the ground underneath your rooms. No one is suggesting you had anything to do with it, but we had to find out whether you heard anything strange last night.”

Barry and Clare stared at the manager, disbelieving what he was saying. “Are you suggesting we had something to do with the young woman? By the way, how is she?” Clare asked.

“She isn’t. The young woman in question was dead when her body was found this morning. Her father noticed that her bed hadn’t been slept in and told me, and we got some of the men to go and look for her. When her body was found, we rang the police, and they were here for some time examining the terrain. They came to the conclusion that she was a burglar, otherwise why would she have been wearing a wet-suit, and her face and head covered by a black woollen cap?” the manager finished up.

“Is her father still here in the hotel?” Barry wanted to know.

“No, he isn’t. He changed hotels, and is now making arrangements for her remains to be flown home. We shan’t see him around here again.”

“Is the hotel safe for us to stay in, after such a scandalous affair?” Clare asked.

“Yes, Madam, of course it is. Please, stay till your holiday is over. I’m sure nothing else, not even the slightest bit untoward will happen. We’ll all be doing our very best to make everyone’s stay most pleasant.”

 

Barry and Clare went up to their suite, and sat down in the armchairs in the living-room.

“I don’t feel like sleeping here. Do you Barry?”

Barry was very quiet, and then said to his mother “I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight, if that’s OK with you.”

Whatever was going on inside their heads wasn’t revealed. They sat in their armchairs, until they were so tired they just about managed to go to their bathrooms.

“Goodnight, Mum,” Barry muttered, before kissing his mother’s cheek.

“Goodnight and sleep well,” Clare replied.

The manager had not named the dead young woman. Barry lay back on the sofa trying to visualize the events of the night before. It wasn’t easy. He asked himself questions.

Who was the young woman?

Why would anyone want to break into the suite occupied by him and his mother?

Barry’s thoughts then shifted to the jug of hot water. He switched off the light and went over to the window. He knew it wasn’t safe to pull back the curtain in case a policeman or a CCTV camera caught the movement. Not a sound from outside - a total silence. Barry wasn’t so stupid, he had been a professional and successful burglar too long to be taken in so easily. He padded his way over to the sofa, but not before wedging a chair against the door. He looked in on his mother, who was sleeping deeply. In the morning he’d see how the atmosphere was, before deciding to return to wet and windy England, or just change the hotel.

 

Room service had cleared the breakfast crockery away, when the room phone rang. Barry took the call. It was the manager telling him the police wanted to question him and his mother. Clare said, “What on earth’s going on here? Our holiday has been completely ruined.”

 

Barry, Clare, and the hotel manager, plus two policemen, were seated in the hotel manager’s office.

One of the policemen showed them some photos of Russell and Daisy with Roberta, Leann, and Connie.

“Do you recognize any of the people in the photos?”

“The man’s name is Russell, and that young woman is his daughter, Daisy. I don’t remember the names of the other young women,” Barry offered.

“He was a creep and silly into the bargain. We met them in the garden here. Barry and I kept away from them. They gave me a bad feeling,” Clare said firmly.

“You’re very perceptive, Mrs Brook. The man is not Russell, his real name is Roger Teague, and Daisy is not his daughter but his wife, Michelle. She was the one who was found dead the other night. She was caught in the act of climbing up a wall by a guest who must have frightened her and she fell to her death.”

The policemen stared hard at Barry and Clare, who both maintained a dignified silence. Barry was desperate to know how Daisy had climbed the outside wall, but thought better of it.

One of the policemen said, “Sorry to have spoilt your holiday. However, you’ve still got some time left and there are some good restaurants and beautiful places to visit.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Now may we leave?” Barry asked.

“Yes, thank you for coming and seeing us. Good morning,” the policeman said.

“Good morning,” Barry answered, guiding his mother out of the manager’s office.

 

There was a tour guide standing in the hall, surrounded by quite a large group of tourists. Barry went up to him. “Is it all right for my mother and me to return earlier than planned, we don’t wish to stay where someone has died.”

“You’re not the only ones. No one is keen on staying here any longer. The general feeling is that nobody knows what actually took place, so now everyone wants to get out as soon as possible. There’s a flight back home this afternoon, and I’ll see how many seats are left. Is that all right with you?”

“As soon as possible, even if we have to wait till tomorrow,” Barry said to the busy tour guide.

 

Clare and Barry went up to their suite and packed up. They were annoyed about Daisy’s dying like that.

 

On board the plane, Clare said to Barry, “I don’t think I’ll be going away anywhere for a while. What about you?”

Barry was sitting with his head resting against his seat. He was thinking what a close shave he had had. What would have happened if he and Daisy had met while both were working? e turned to his mother and said, “HHHHH He turned to his mother and said, “I think staying closer to home for the pair of us, wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”