like a thief in the morning

It’s been four days since Lydia died. I allowed myself the last three for mourning, but even though I’m miserable, the family still has to eat. After just three days, I’m back to being the brother Lydia died emulating. The thief. I go to my next job the long way so as to avoid the district square. Nobody has been arrested since, so the dried blood coating the lashing block belongs, belonged to the eight year old who picked the wrong pocket. My baby sister.
Normally I feel bad about stealing. I never like doing it, but today is different. Today I hope I’ll have a chance to use the knife I my belt. It’s funny how Head Peacekeeper Talbot’s blood would look like Lydia’s. A frighteningly large part of me hopes I’ll be granted the pleasure of seeing it today.
The houses are getting bigger. I pass the butcher, the cobbler, the weaver. I’m not near the poor oil workers any more. Any of these houses would normally do. They would have money and food in them. But not today. Today it is personal and I walk on through town. I have a special date with my sister’s killer, or at least his money and I can't wait to rob him blind. His house is huge. He even has a pear tree right outside his window. Perfect. I scurry up it fast enough. I am salivating now; literally hungry for revenge.
The tree is right outside the kitchen window. He can get pears without even stepping outside. The walls are clean and white and there is lush carpet covering the ground. I walk around the mansion for a while, looking for money. I hit the jackpot in his bedroom. It is bigger than our house with dark wooded furniture and a four poster bed. The sheets are silky and I stuff a light blanket into my bag. There is a few hundred dollars beneath the bed which I take before opening Talbot’s jewelry box. I know jewelry isn't practical and pawning is dangerous, but I grab a black ring anyway. The grandfather clock startles me by chiming eleven times. Son, Talbot will be home for lunch.
I slip into the tree and pick a pear as a snack. I think I see someone below, but they are gone before I can confirm tier presence. I shimmy down the tree my feet no more than hit the ground when I realize my fatal mistake. I hear someone behind me. There is no need to turn around to figure out that I am not alone.