The 10:30am
ferry was heading out of Salem Harbor towards Boston. What had been a pleasant, sunny day on land
turned into one filled with chilly fog out on the water.
Jamie sat
outside, fair hair blowing in the breeze, and tried to see the scenery, but all
views were shrouded by the mist. She
finally gave up her seat and went inside, as many of the other passengers had.
She started
people watching instead. There were many
tourists and day trippers going in this time of day. Jamie overheard bits of conversation from
different groups. Some were obviously
local, from the sound of their dropped “r’s.”
She also heard out of state accents.
Everyone was planning their day in Boston. The ferry dock was close to Faneuil Hall and
the North End, both popular destinations.
Jamie sat
behind a group of women who were laughing and enjoying each other’s
company. They had their purses on their
laps, but their jackets were hung over the back of the bench. As she bent down to adjust her sandal,
Jamie’s hand brushed pockets to check what they might contain. One had a folded twenty, which she grabbed as
she bent over. An IPhone slipped into
her hand on the way up. She wore her
jacket, and her pockets were on the inside.
Slowly
getting up, Jamie made her way to the other side of the boat. She sat next to a
bunch of college aged kids with backpacks.
They were heading in early to see the Red Sox’s afternoon game. A heated debate on the merits of Boston Beer
Works versus the Cask and Flagon was going on.
The man at the end had kicked his pack behind him as the talk grew
louder. Jamie again bent down, this time
to adjust her pack. She unzipped both
bags at the same time, and found a stash of credit cards held together by an
elastic band. She quickly transferred
them into her pack and zipped both up.
They were
past the Boston Harbor islands with the city coming into view. Jamie decided it was time to go on deck again
to be among the first off the boat. Everyone was gathering gear and gawking at
the view of the city opening before them as the fog cleared away.
The boat
docked and most of the passengers headed right towards Faneuil Hall
Marketplace. Jamie went up to Legal Sea
Foods and met Jackie out front. They
exchanged jackets and packs, and then Jamie headed for the State Street subway
stop. She hopped on the Blue Line car
and headed back to Revere.
She and
Jackie would meet up at the parking lot behind the old Wonderland Ballroom
where they had parked her car. Sitting
on the train, Jamie unzipped Jackie’s backpack to see what she had stolen. Jackie had worked the crowd at the Aquarium. There were two cell phones and many credit
cards. People just didn’t carry cash
anymore, which caused Jamie to sigh.
They would
still make money. They had someone on
Shirley Avenue that would buy the phones and the cards. Later that night they would drive out to
Route One in Saugus and have a good time.
The train
was nearly empty by the time it reached the Revere Beach stop. A guy sat next to her, too close for
comfort. Jamie swung her leg over and
“accidentally” kicked him. He glared at
her, but moved. Jamie knew the
importance of maintaining personal space.
