Martha didn’t wait. She had her phone. She had already dialed 911 when she found the passports.
“I’m in the basement! He’s the Phantom Robber! Help me!” she screamed, hoping the dispatcher could hear.
Greg appeared at the top of the stairs, a silhouette against the light. He wasn’t holding flowers. He was holding a pistol.
“You shouldn’t have moved the rug, Martha,” he said softly.
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Just as he raised the gun, sirens wailed outside. Blue and red lights flashed through the windows. The police, who were already in the neighborhood for an unrelated call, arrived in seconds.
Greg was arrested on the spot. It turned out he was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for 20 years. Martha got the reward money, but she lost the only life she ever knew.
She moved out the next day. She never walked on a rug without checking underneath it again.
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