A Thief Among Friends

By Carol Vallario

The story follows four childhood friends and the downward spiral of the main character. Her life turns to embezzlement, drug use, and abusive relationship. Her three friends try to help, but friendship can’t seem to help her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669877516

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A Thief

Among Friends

Carol Vallario

Copyright © 2023 by Carol Vallario.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/25/2023

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Epilogue

June 1977

May 1982

July 1979

July 1982

September 1982

October 1982

March 1983

July 1983

September 1983

September 1984

October 1984

January 1985

May 1985

June 1986

January 1986

November 1988

October 1989

I would like to dedicate the book to Dan.

I couldn’t have done this without you.

Good writing is clear thinking made visible.

Epilogue

As Carol drove north on the Hutchinson River Parkway, she laughed out loud. She reverted back to her old ways last night. She was at a family gathering at her brother’s house. She couldn’t resist the temptation of her old ways. She cleared out her sister-in-law’s wallet when she went to pee. Seven hundred and fifty dollars! Why the bitch had that much money in her purse, she would never know. Maybe she would even treat the girls to brunch; they still believed her story that she was a successful executive. They believed that for years.

This was their annual brunch, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. They had been doing this for twenty years. The four friends sat and shared stories of what had gone on the past year of their lives. Carol was always successful, happy, and content. Little did they know.

As she pulled her BMW into the entrance, she waited for the valet. The girls always parked their own cars, but they weren’t as successful as her. She got out of the car, leaving her suede jacket on the front seat, or should she take it? Let them see what a good year it has been! She noticed her three friends standing by the window in the lobby of the restaurant. Good, they could see her new car! What Carol didn’t see was the FBI agents approaching her car.

Carol Hunt, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, the agent continued to recite the Miranda Rights to her. The handcuffs were on her wrists in an instant.

What the fuck! Carol shouted. You have the wrong person. I’m an executive with Apex Investments.

Save it, snapped the agent.

As he pushed her into the black SUV, she caught a glimpse of her three friends at the window, a look of shock on their faces. Carol locked eyes with her childhood friend. You ratted me out, you bitch, she said as the door slammed shut on the SUV.

June 1977

The four recent high school graduates walked along the avenue famous for its bars and clubs. Carol was in the lead, as usual. Sue followed behind her, and Gail and Donna walked side by side. The street was crowded with teens looking to celebrate graduation and the upcoming summer.

Gail started to lag behind. She really hated going to bars. Everyone drank but her; half of them smoked pot. She was not going there. They walked into their favorite bar. It was a typical seventies bar with movie posters on the wall, crowded, and smoky. Gail couldn’t wait to leave. The three girls ordered their drinks right away. Donna handed Gail her diet coke.

Here, grandma. Donna chuckled as she handed the glass to Gail.

Sue and Carol were already doing shots. Gail walked away, looking for someone she knew to talk to.

The other three girls found a table and sat. So many people were coming by to congratulate them on their graduation. So, this is it! Donna said. We are big-time college girls now.

Fuck college, laughed Carol. I’m going to find the quickest, easiest way to make money.

Get the hell out of here! Donna yelled. Stop talking stupid.

You want me to prove it to you? I will start right now, Carol jumped up and looked around the bar.

Sit down! Sue yelled. I don’t know what you are planning, but I don’t like this.

Give me ten minutes, Carol said and walked away.

Donna looked at Sue and shrugged her shoulders.

Carol walked around the bar; it was three huge rooms. These people were idiots, leaving their pocketbooks lying on chairs and their money on the bar. She picked up the first bag as if it were hers. She looked through, grabbed a cigarette out of the bag, and lit it. She found forty dollars in the wallet which she quickly shoved into her back pocket. She grabbed a few bills off the bar and shoved those into her pocket also. She then went to the ladies’ room. The stupid bitch left her bag on the sink while she was peeing! That was a big score of fifty dollars.

She made her way back to her friends.

Where were you? Gail asked.

Proving to you, three babies, that college isn’t all it’s played up to be. Follow me outside, snapped Carol.

They followed her halfway down the block. They stopped at a closed coffee shop with tables outside.

Keep your college, Carol laughed as she pulled wads of bills out of her pocket.

What the fuck did you do? shouted Donna. You stole from people?

Carol also pulled a pair of gold hoop earrings from her front pocket. Happy birthday, Gail! She tossed the earrings on the table.

Her three friends had a look of shock on their faces.

What’s wrong? Carol laughed. I proved my point. There must be three hundred dollars here. You, girls, couldn’t make that in a week.

I am so surprised at you. Sue was practically in tears.

Oh, get off your high horse! Carol shouted. I’m tired of struggling. This shit is going to end. What shit? Gail snapped. You were never poor. You didn’t want for anything your whole life.

And I never will! shouted Carol.

Her friends slowly walked away from her without looking back. Who needs you? she shouted. Carol would not see them for another six years.

May 1982

Donna was a nervous wreck; it was her wedding day. Why was she so nervous? Robert was the love of her life. She had no doubts. So why was she shaking? She needed a joint to calm down. She promised Robert no more pot. If she could just get her hands on just one joint, he would never know. She paced the floor in her beautiful gown. She kept thinking of Carol; she didn’t know why. She was on her mind. Donna hadn’t seen her since that night in the bar five years ago. She still couldn’t figure out why Carol had done that, stealing from people! What came over her? She heard from friends that Carol went on to become a big-time executive. Donna didn’t really believe that. She was so sincere that night when she robbed those people and about making easy money. Why the turnaround, and why hadn’t she contacted her or Sue or Gail? She would never know. Donna had other things to worry about right now, and she planned on never seeing that thief again.

Donna, Sue, and Gail had remained friends, at least she still had them. They were there for her when she was in rehab for drug abuse. They were always there for her. Her two friends were her bridesmaids too. She did feel bad Carol wasn’t there with her. Friends since kindergarten, it brought tears to her eyes. At least she had her other two friends.

July 1979

Carol’s plans were moving along. She wasn’t as prosperous as she wanted to be right now but her day would come. She was on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. Not the greatest neighborhood, but she never worked too close to home. She knew too many people. She found a place called Beau’s Basement; it was a real dive. She normally didn’t work a scene like this, too dangerous, but she wanted to score big this time. She made her way to the bar and ordered a beer. She would have to nurse it to keep alert.

A big fat hairy biker nudged his way next to her.

Hey, babe, never saw you here before, he slurred. He was pretty drunk which was good for her. They talked for a while, all suggestive talk about doing it.

How about we go outside to my van? he slurred. I have some pretty good weed.

OK, sounds good to me, Carol said. She made sure she took the bottle of beer and fingered the roofie in her pocket. She had a feeling it would take more than this little pill to knock this fat pig out, but it was all she had.

They walked out of the bar to a side street. He opened the door to a beat-up, disgusting van. As Carol hopped in, he grabbed her ass. Oh god, she had to get him knocked out quickly. He was all over her as soon as the door slammed shut.

Hold on, cowboy, don’t be so quick! she yelled.

You bitch, you ain’t nothing but a tease, he barked.

Let’s get settled first. How about we finish this beer? Carol had already slipped the pill into the bottle and shaken it up a little.

Let’s smoke a joint, he snapped.

Good, she thought, the pot may sedate him.

As he lit the joint, Carol made like she took a swig of beer and handed him the bottle back. He, in turn, handed her the joint. He wasn’t even looking at her so she didn’t have to fake smoking it.

Finish off the beer, Carol said. I don’t want anymore.

He chugged the remainder of what was in the bottle.

What a pig, she thought.

Come here, bitch, he laughed as he grabbed her roughly. He stuck his tongue in her mouth. His hands were grabbing her breasts so hard she pulled away.

Stop for a minute! she shouted.

You fucking bitch, get the fuck over here! I’m gonna fuck you whether you want it or not, he growled. He swung his fist and hit her hard on the side of her head. She literally heard bells ringing. Now she was scared. He got up and came charging at her. She screamed. Just as she did, he fell flat on the floor of the van.

Thank got the roofie kicked in, Carol thought, almost in tears. Her head was pounding but she thought quickly. She didn’t want his biker buddies to come looking for him.

Carol climbed over his fat body. She stuck her hand in his back pocket and pulled out a wad of money! She stuck the bills in her bag and hightailed it out of there. She ran the three blocks to her car. She made sure not to park too close to the dive bar. She reached her car out of breath, unlocked the door, jumped in, and drove out of that neighborhood. Her head was pounding from the blow that motorcycle idiot landed on the side of her head.

She hopped on to 95 north. She was speeding to get away from this nightmare. She got off her exit and pulled over to count the money. She hoped it wasn’t just singles. She turned the overhead light on and counted it three times. Three thousand forty-eight dollars! She couldn’t believe it. Most women would have quit right then and there. Getting hit and almost raped would scare most girls. To Carol, this meant bigger and better fortunes ahead!

She walked into her house a little before 2:00 a.m. Her head was pounding from the blow from the biker. Her mom always left the living room light on.

Where have you been? said her mom in a quiet voice.

Carol jumped. You scared the crap out of me, she snapped.

Answer me. Where the hell have you been? said her mom in a pissed-off voice.

Out with friends like I am every weekend.

When are you going to get a job? her mother asked.

You know what, you are always so worried about goddamn money! Here. Carol pulled a bunch of bills from her bag. She didn’t want to give her too much of her newfound fortune.

Where did you get all this money? her mother shouted. You don’t even have a full-time job. Her mother was starting to cry now.

You got your money, Carol shouted, so shut up!

I want you out of my house! screamed her mother. You are up to no good, and I won’t have this nonsense going on. Her mom was sobbing now.

Carol grabbed the wad of money she had tossed at her mother. You want me out? Carol was screaming now.