Busted

         Dave had never broken the law before, but this time he just let temptation get the better of him. He did it thinking, what could go wrong? Those are the opening words to many a sad story

         Now everything had gone wrong. The cop got out of his car came to stand outside his window. It certainly looked bad. The evidence was all there. The shovel was on the floor in the back with his muddy shoes. There was blood on his t-shirt because he had cut his hand on a piece of glass hit by his shovel when he was digging.

         He handed over his license and registration. But what the cop wanted to know was what he was doing on the property where that old house had burned down. “What part of ‘No trespassing’ do you not understand?”

         Nobody had lived in that place for years. The property was overgrown with sumac and rag weed and other opportunistic plants. Day after day, driving past the place Dave had thought about it. He could get in, do the deed, and get out with nobody the wiser. He dismissed the idea at first but it grew on him. He devised a plan. He could pull in there, get it done and get out.

         And the first part of the plan had worked very well. The hitch was that the police car was there as he was coming out. And the evidence was clear. The stolen rhododendron was in the back seat, its roots carefully wrapped in burlap.

259 words