The Mysterious Paper Bag

Threat or Opportunity?

The woman handed me a bag, said, “Here you go,” and walked away before I had the chance to stop her.

I had come upstairs from the subway stop at West 72nd Street and was feeling disoriented after pushing and shoving my way through the crowd. This new surprise was quite startling.

I tried to look through the crowd for the woman, but she was gone.

I was afraid to open the bag then and there, so I clutched it tightly in my left hand as I walked up Broadway. I stopped at Harry’s Newsstand to buy a copy of the New York Times.

“Watcha got in the bag, Robin?” asked Harry.

“Oh, just a little something,” I replied.

Just a little something? I was dying to get into my apartment so I could open the bag.

After arriving at my apartment building, I discovered that the elevator was broken. Not too promising, considering that I live on the 11th floor! Undaunted, I raced up the stairs, gasping for breath outside of my apartment door.

I let myself in and slammed the door shut. I dropped the newspaper on my coffee table in the living room and sat on the couch.

I unrolled the top of the paper bag and peered inside.

There were stacks of $20.00 bills, held together with rubber bands. I quickly unwrapped and counted one stack, and it was 100 $20.00 bills! There were 10 stacks, total. $20,000.00!

At the bottom of the bag was a note.

“This is blood money. My son Jake has been selling drugs on the street. Give this money to people who need it. Keep some for yourself, if you wish.”

I was totally amazed and dumbfounded.

All of a sudden, I heard voices in the hallway.

“That old crab! Why did she give that strange girl the money?”

“Jake’s mama, you know how she is. She wants him out of the business. But Jake will give us the business if we don’t get that money back. He’s using part of it for the shipment that’s coming in tonight.”

“Oh crap!” I thought to myself.

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