The Innocent Project

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ryan and Juan walked the short distance to Jacob’s trap house and tapped on the front door.

The inside lights of the house were extinguished except for the front door porch light.

Josh looked out the small window in the door and recognized Ryan and Juan and slid the lock, then opened the door, looking around for any possible surveillance.

“You guys need to text when you are coming over, I’ve told you the neighbors watch for traffic coming in and out of this house,” growled Josh.

“Come in you guys,” Jacob said and directed his attention to Ryan.

“Are you here to pay off your $200.00 debt?”Jacob asked.

“Let’s talk about that $200 drug debt I owe from earlier tonight,” Ryan replied, “I want to buy more meth but you have to cut the $200 bill debt back to a hundred.”

“We have a stack of Benjamins and I want to score some decent crap that you haven’t cut,” Ryan said.

“What are you talking?” asked Jacob.

“I want a quarter pound of the uncut stuff and will pay $2,000.00 and that includes the $200.00 drug debt I owe.”

“Man are you f*****g crazy? I can cut that meth down and put it into bindles and make $5 grand,” said Jacob.

“Yeah, but there is a big risk with all the traffic coming to your house to score your stuff,” Ryan continued.

“Just a matter of time till the cops start focusing on you,” said Ryan.

“Tell you what, I’ll throw in a nice gold wedding and engagement ring set with half Carat diamonds in each ring.”

“I even have the receipt from the jewelry store that the rings were wrapped in, where some chump paid $8300.00 dollars for the set.”

“I’ll let you have the rings for $2,000.00 and that will be $4,000.00 I’ll be paying you for the 1/4 lb. of uncut meth,” he offered.

Jacob fingered the rings and scratched the sharp point of the diamond engagement ring against a clear water glass he had retrieved from the kitchen.

A clear scratch was observed on the water glass.

Jacob then pulled a compact microscope out of a nearby dresser drawer and set it up on his table.

“Hold the light from the end table lamp closer,” he said to Josh as he placed the Wedding and Engagement rings separately under the microscope examination plate.

After peering into the microscope and looking at both rings, he turned them at several different angles before he raised his head.

“The larger diamonds in each ring settings both have micro etched serial numbers on them which means they are of high quality, but the bad news is that they will be harder for me to sell,” he said.

Jacob stepped aside and let Ryan look into the microscope and view the etched serial numbers from both rings.

“You’re right,” he said to Jacob and glanced over to Juan who had a clear frown on his face.

This wasn’t Jacob’s first rodeo so next he placed the rings back on the table and returned the microscope back onto the dresser table.

Jacob got a small gold tester kit containing chemical drops from a kitchen drawer and placed the testing kit on the kitchen table.

Jacob tested the gold content with the chemical process which revealed a high percentage of gold, confirming the gold rings were valuable.

Gold price was high per ounce and the gold in the rings was at least worth $3,000.00, so Jacob and Josh would make a good profit when they melted the gold jewelry down.

“Ok, you have a deal,” Jacob said.

“Josh, give the man a 1/4 lb. of Meth,” said Jacob.

“I would like the 1/4 lb. split into two baggies in equal amounts, one for me and one for Juan,” said Ryan.

Ryan looked across the room where Josh was now standing at the table used to cut and process Meth.

Josh had been holding his revolver along his side during the transaction and Ryan hadn’t noticed.

“No need to come any closer to the meth, I’ll give you guys your full amount.”

It took Josh a few minutes to measure the meth and he placed the equal amounts into small plastic baggies and placed them at the corner of his work table.

Ryan quickly counted out ten one hundred dollar bills and Juan did the same and handed the money to Jacob.

Jacob walked across the living room into the kitchen where he picked up the two baggies and walked back to Ryan.

Ryan placed one baggy in his coat pocket and handed the other baggy to Juan.

“Thanks, man,” he smiled at Jacob while patting his coat pocket.

“I might be coming into some more Benjamins next week and maybe I can get another quarter pound from you,” he said.

He thought to himself of how much cash he and Juan could get from a takedown robbery at the Norteno’s drug house.

“We’ll talk a deal when you have the cash,” said Jacob.

Jacob glanced out the small window in the front door and looked at the video screen console hardwired to both of the surveillance cameras mounted facing the street and towards the back alley.

It was only then that Jacob slid the bolt lock back and opened the door.

As soon as Ryan and Juan were out the door, it was immediately shut and the clear sound of the locking bolt was heard.

Ryan and Juan gave a hand slap as they walked down the sidewalk.

“What a great night, we got meth to last us for a spell and can double our money,” said Juan.

“On top of that, we have two hundred bucks apiece in our pockets.”

“Let’s head over to the guy’s place where he keeps guns in his pick-up,” said Ryan.

“The fool’s name is John and he drives the blue Chevy Silverado with the black wheels.”

“I got into his truck last summer to score some change and the truck was unlocked, but I never got anything because the guy came out of his house and yelled at me so I walked away.”

They walked across Division Street on 3rd Avenue, past a Mexican market store on the corner that was closed.

It was nearing 6:00 A.M., but the streets were dark and very few lights were on in the neighborhood houses.

The light snow on the ground made it easy to see their surroundings.

Their target house was about three houses past Ryan’s Mother’s house on the same side of the street and the blue Chevy Pick-up was parked directly in front of John Adams’ house.

There was no outside porch light on at the house but the light snow on the ground created an early dawn light.

They walked on the sidewalk past the pick-up and house and noted the curtains were partially open in front.

A male was observed sitting at a small computer desk with his back to the front window and was intently typing on the computer key board.

“Slip across the lawn around the tree in the front yard and go to the Southwest corner of the house,” Ryan directed Juan.

“Watch the guy through the window and give me a whistle if it looks like he is getting ready to leave,” Ryan told Juan.

Ryan watched as Juan crossed over to his position by the window after crossing a corner of the neighbor’s yard located to the South.

Ryan approached the pick-up truck cautiously and stopped directly in front of the driver’s side door.

He could see a partial section of John’s torso and right arm as he sat at the computer table with his back to the street.

Ryan turned and looked at the house directly across from John’s house.

The living room window curtains at that house were open and he saw a dark haired woman sitting at a table facing the street with an overhead kitchen light on that was very bright.

The woman seemed engrossed in reading a book or newspaper and was not looking up.

He thought the woman would likely not be able to observe many details of the surroundings outside her front window because of the bright kitchen lights reflecting back on the interior glass.

To limit his chances of being seen by the woman, Ryan stayed on the driver’s side of the pick-up.

He crouched down by the door and tried the handle.

He pulled on the handle and there was a low audible click as the latch freed from the locking mechanism, and the door opened.

As he opened the pick-up door, the interior ceiling light came on.

Ryan quickly reached up with his gloved hand and pushed the off switch next to the plastic covered interior light.

Ryan swept his hand under the driver’s seat searching for a gun.

He found nothing there and opened the upper center console cover.

Other than fast food napkins, a measuring tape and numerous pens and pencils, there was a cup of loose change in the console and Ryan placed the change into his coat pocket.

He knew there was another storage compartment below the center console.

He closed the upper console lid and tilted the console backward, which allowed access to the compartment beneath.

Ryan was nervous because it was about 6:30 A.M. and people would be stirring and getting ready or leaving for work.

As Ryan lifted up the lid of the lower storage container, he saw what he was looking for.

A metal colored semi-auto handgun with a laser attachment was lying inside with several spare ammunition magazines.

A box of ammunition was lying next to the handgun.

Ryan picked up the two spare magazines and box of ammunition and placed them in his large coat pocket.

He grabbed the 45 caliber semi-auto pistol in his right hand and was holding it when he was backing out of the pick-up instead of placing it in his other coat pocket.

He heard a short whistle from Juan and snapped his head around toward John’s front door.

The front door of the house was standing wide open and Ryan saw the truck owner standing on the porch with a surprised look on his face.

John immediately recognized Ryan and with a scowl yelled, “You again! What the f**k are you doing in my truck.” He stepped off the porch heading towards Ryan while holding his truck key ring in his right hand.

Ryan was in a blind panic and started to run away from the pick-up.

He didn’t look when he raised the stolen pistol over his left shoulder and fired blindly one time in John’s direction.

Ryan heard a loud gasp and saw John standing but slumped over, holding his stomach coughing and stumbling toward his front porch.

He watched as John disappeared inside the house through the front door.

There was a dark color on the back of John’s light colored jacket.

Feeling like a trapped deer caught in the headlights, Ryan turned and ran in a north direction across the front yard and then turned at the corner of the house and ran through the backyard out to the alley.

Ryan ran south down the alley and kept his feet inside the tire tracks of a vehicle that had travelled down the alley.

Ryan heard a whistle and looked behind to see Juan running behind him.

As they exited from the alley, they noticed a man crossing the street from the neighborhood market, holding a paper coffee cup container in each hand. They turned left and ran towards Carlene’s house.

“Hey Juan, I’ll catch you later, head home and change your clothes.”

“What a damn mess you’ve got me in by your screw-up,” Juan said with a dangerous tone of voice.

Juan hoped the guy wasn’t dead or he would spend a long time in prison for just being with Ryan if they were identified.

Ryan had a panic event when he noticed he had dropped his handcuffs from his backpack and wasn’t sure when they had fallen out.

“Damn good thing I was wearing gloves,” he thought.

“I can walk around later and look, but now the neighborhood will be swarming with cops,” he thought.

Juan reached the apartment complex and saw no one walking on the street or any moving cars, but he could hear a cacophony of sirens in the area.

He went to the slider-door of the apartment and found it unlocked as he had left it.

He entered quietly but was breathing heavily and was out of breath.

As he started to cross the living room towards his bedroom, he heard a noise and Susan rolled over on the couch and glanced at him, then shut her eyes and went back to sleep.

He went into the darkened bedroom and his girlfriend Tiffany Weeks was sleeping on the other side of the mattress with her back to him.

Juan carefully undressed and quietly and smoothly got into bed with her.

She gave a small sigh and nudged her backside into Juan’s groin and belly, gave another contented sigh and continued peacefully sleeping.

Juan’s heart was still racing from the adrenaline surge caused by Ryan’s murder of the guy that morning.

He laid quietly, wondering what the day would bring.

Ryan carefully and quietly opened the front door of Carlene’s house and made his way to the bathroom.

He was startled when Carlene came to the open bathroom door with an angry look on her face.

“Gone all night again,” she said with venom in her voice.

“Which Skank were you with tonight?” she said.

“You are scrubbing your face and hands pretty hard, afraid you caught an STD from your Skank?” she challenged.

“Hey, it’s not like that at all, I was doing some gambling till dawn and drinking skunk beer. The goddamn cigar smoke had my lungs all f****d up and my clothes stink,” said Ryan, defensively.

“Who the hell do you think you're telling your tale?” she rasped back at Ryan.

“I know what another woman smells like,” she told him.

“Look b***h, I don’t have time to argue, I’m jumping in the shower and changing my clothes,” he said.

“I got lots of crap to take care of today,” Ryan blasted back at her.

He stripped off his clothes and threw them on the floor and stepped into a steaming shower.

Carlene picked up his clothes to throw in the laundry and there was an unmistakable odor of another woman on his clothes.

That lying son of a b***h Carlene thought as she started seething again.

Ryan stepped out of the shower and toweled off, then put on a set of fresh clothing, put on his size 12 boots he had been wearing, put on his coat and walked out the front door without saying a word.

Carlene saw that Ryan was holding a piece of dark clothing in his hand and thought it might be his dark t-shirt.

She watched him bend down and reach behind a shrub beside the front door and place an object inside the dark cloth and wrap it up and place the object in his backpack.

“Wonder why he didn’t bring his stash inside the house with him,” she thought.

“It looked like it was more like a metallic object, maybe the shape of a handgun gun,” she mused

“I hate you, Ryan,” she said aloud as she reached for the cigarette roller and placed some quality pot in the roller, and rolled a professional looking joint.

I need to chill out, she thought as she lit the joint up and took a big hit, sucking the smoke deep into her lungs and feeling the expansion of her lungs until she started to cough in spasms.

When the spasms passed she took another deep inhale and the coughing spasms were not as severe.

Another couple of hits and a few minutes later she could care less about Ryan and his w***e from the last night.