Time problem

We are a loose group of friends who play a friendly game of poker every Wednesday night. We rotate homes, so everyone gets a turn to supply food, drinks, whatever is needed. The betting levels are nothing fancy, just nickel, dime, quarter, no bets over $2.00, three raise limit to a hand. These levels are kept low to discourage egos and keep one from losing large amounts. Me, Frank, Larry, Bill, Enrico, and Elizabeth. Not everyone can make it weekly, but we always have 4, sometimes five. There is always a good bit of friendly trash talk at the table, which keeps things lively yet polite.

Larry was losing big one night, and not in a good mood. It's not like him, and he was hearing about it from around the table, which was adding to his funk. During a break, Larry wandered outside to smoke, and I followed. I asked Larry if everything was all right. At first he said no, but with a little prodding, Larry told me that an ex-girlfriend, Sue, had dumped him when they bumped into each other out on the town. Larry was with another woman, who Sue thought of as a business and social rival, which Larry didn't know beforehand. He described a big, ugly scene, with screaming and things thrown, mostly by Sue, some by Larry's date. Tempers between the two women reached the point of physicality, and he and the rival were escorted out of a restaurant. Larry told me they had agreed to have an open relationship, and that before this incident, he was starting to get real feelings for Sue. The other woman had been only a business proposition, she had wanted arm candy for a corporate party, where she could show off Larry.

At this point, I was glad I had found time to get Larry away from the game. He is disgustingly handsome and fit, proud of it without being obnoxious. If this had come up in front of everyone, he would have taken a friendly beating, but a beating nonetheless. In the mood he was in, I was concerned that too much trash talk would have led him to quit the group. I asked if there was anything I could do to help. Larry surprised me by saying there was. Somehow, Larry knew that I was a second story man. I was somewhat shocked. I thought my source of income was unknown to the group. During one game a while back, we went through the party game of “what do you do”. In those situations, I always say I am a business consultant, and Entrepreneur. I don't know how Larry found out, and was sure I didn't want to ask.

As a way of easing the Larry's mood, I mentioned the adage that “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, and that Larry had turned it upside down. Larry started to laugh, said he felt some response on his part was needed. He asked if I could arrange a visit, and lighten her load, so to speak.. I said that I thought I could. We talked about her house, the layout, including entrances, was there a safe, or cameras. Most important, was there an alarm. Larry filled me in, said he had never seen any alarm or cameras. I asked if he knew of any times she was away for a few hours, and he mentioned that she plays social tennis. He said Sue had plenty of valuables, and left them lying around everywhere in her house. So, Sue’s address in hand, I got to work. Watched the house for several weeks. Went by all times of day, followed Sue while she left the house, to see where she went and for how long. I used one of the times to enter the house, a dry run, if you will, to check the inside against Larry's recollection, and predetermine how valuable everything might be. I had also used a surveillance camera set up on a nearby garage where it wouldn't be noticed, and studied the film, comparing it to my notes on Sue and her house, just as I did on every job. She usually left the house twice to three times a week for country club tennis with friends, and spent time in the club restaurant with them. I even managed to get into the club, saw tennis being played, and watched Sue”s group over lunch.. There was easily a 4-5 hour window, not that I would need much time. I made a plan, picked a day and time to do the job. I let Larry know I was going to act soon, that he might need to have an alibi for any of several days. True to her routine, Sue left her house a bit before 10 am, dressed for tennis. I waited 20 minutes, then let myself inside, using a back door. Just as Larry said, there was plenty of goods, and it was all over her house. Rings, earrings, bracelets, a diamond tiara, brooches, watches and necklaces, all very expensive. I found lots of money, some left in the open on tables, some on a dresser. Quite a bit of it went into my backpack, along with lots of jewelry. I concentrated on the upstairs rooms, simply because there was more up there. There were even a few nice paintings, definitely a Mondrain I was eyeing, when, to my surprise, there was quite a bit of noise downstairs. I listened carefully, trying to figure out what was going on. Got it in one guess- Sue had brought someone home with her. I listened to them getting busy on a couch downstairs, and I decided it was time to leave in case they decided to resume their activities upstairs. I grabbed a few small paintings that fit in a large compartment of my backpack, then exited via a second level entrance that led to a landing with stairs. As I was leaving, I thought “she wasn't gone long, and is back hours earlier that I planned, what time is it”?