“For the record, you got an anonymous tip. I don’t want Charlie put in danger for being called a snitch,” Dan added.
“Understood,” Lon said, and disconnected, then headed up the hall.
Larry Bemis, the night dispatcher, was already on duty.
“Hey, Chief, are you heading home for the night?” Larry asked.
“Not yet,” Lon said. “We just got a tip on a possible robbery. I don’t want anything going out over the radio. Radio the two officers on duty, and tell them to meet me ASAP in the parking lot here at headquarters.”
“Yes, sir,” Larry said, and began dispatching the call as Lon went out through the back of the building.
As soon as Lon got in his cruiser, he called the pharmacy, and the owner, Phil Phillips, just happened to be the one who answered.
“Phillips Pharmacy.”
“Phil, this is Chief Pittman. I need you to listen carefully,” he said, and then related the story he’d been told.
Phil was horrified. “What should I do?”
“I’ll be there shortly, so proceed as usual. One of my officers will drop me off so there’s no visible police car. I’ll be inside with you the whole time.”
“Okay. I need to put the Closed sign up and get LilyAnn and the last customers out of here. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“Don’t do it early. Keep your normal routine, but say nothing to them. I’m just coming in as a customer.”
“Will do,” Phil said.
When both patrol cars pulled up behind the station, Lon got out to meet them.
“What’s happening, Chief?” Ralph Herman asked as he got out.
“We got a tip on a possible robbery at the pharmacy this evening. Some teenagers plan to rob Phil and steal his car as he is locking up. Do you know the Hollis brothers?”
“Tall, skinny kids with blond hair?” Ralph asked.
“Yes,” Lon said. “Those are the ones we’ll be looking for.”
“We know them on sight,” they both said.
“Good,” Lon said. “Ralph, I want you to drop me off at the pharmacy now. I’m going inside, and you just drive away. Both of you keep an eye on the alley, because they plan to take him down when he leaves to get in his car. Only it won’t be Phil coming out. It’s going to be me. So if you see them slip into the alley, let them be. Just back me up.”
“Yes, sir,” they said.
Lon got into the cruiser, and Ralph drove straight to the pharmacy and dropped him off.
Lon went inside, waving at LilyAnn as he passed. “I’m going back to talk to Phil,” he said.
LilyAnn nodded and kept checking customers out.
Phil glanced up and then continued filling a prescription for a customer, but his gray hair was disheveled as if he’d been running his hands through it, and his expression was a little shell-shocked. As soon as the customer moved up front, Phil came out of the pharmacy area.
“I’ve never had anything like this ever happen before,” he muttered.
Lon gave him a quick pat on the back. “Don’t worry. We’ve got this. It’s almost six now. You usually close at six thirty, right?”
Phil nodded.
“Then don’t change your routine. I need to stay out of sight for a bit and let people forget they saw me come in. Okay if I go into your office?”
“Yes, yes, just down that hall,” Phil said.
“When it’s closing time, get everyone out as fast as possible. Tell LilyAnn you’ll count out the till and send her home. Walk her to the door, lock it behind her, then start turning off lights like you always do. Don’t do anything different.”
“Yes, yes, okay,” Phil said.
Lon went to Phil’s office, checked in with his officers, and told them to let him know if they spotted the Hollis boys on the move, then sent Mercy a text and told her he was going to be late getting home.
About twenty minutes after six, Lon’s cell signaled a text from Deputy Ralph.
Hollis brothers about a block away from the pharmacy. Moving up the alley. One has a baseball bat.
Lon responded.
Will be closing up soon. Don’t let them see you.
Lon could hear Phil talking to LilyAnn, then heard their footsteps as Phil walked her to the door.
As soon as she was gone, Phil locked the door and then began walking through the store, turning off lights.
Lon was in the hall now, still staying out of sight.
“Now go get your hat and coat and bring them to me,” Lon said.
Phil got his things out of the employee break room and came out carrying his brown fedora and a brown leather jacket.
Lon put them on. “I need a bank deposit bag and your car keys. Then you go in your office and stay there. If you hear gunfire, lie flat on the floor behind your desk.”
Phil’s hands were shaking as he handed Lon the empty bag and his keys.
“Lordy be,” he muttered, and slipped into his office. For something to do, he began counting out the night deposit, but his heart was pounding and he was sick to his stomach with fear.
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.