All That Glitters, Chapter (3 - 7)

Chapter 3
The family went inside and sat down at the table. Marcus noticed that his mum couldn’t help smiling at his sister. She was so proud of her daughter and her successful, good-looking boyfriend. Marcus looked across the table at Jonathan. He was smiling at his mum and praising all the lovely food she had prepared.
I must be wrong about him, Marcus thought. I’m not going to think about it again.
After the dessert was served, Mum stood up and said over her shoulder, “The bank in town was robbed this morning. Marcus saw the thief.”

Marcus’s heart started to pound again. He wished Mum hadn’t said anything. He just wanted to forget about the robbery. He could feel Jonathan’s eyes on him. After they had drunk their tea, Marcus stood up. He wanted to be alone.
“I’m just going out to play with my new football.” He felt that if he didn’t get out of the house that he would scream.
Jonathan stood up as well. “I’ll come with you. Gertrude and her mum will have lots to talk about.”
Mum smiled at him. Marcus knew she liked him. Jonathan had good manners and Mum liked that.
They were barely out the door when Jonathan turned to Marcus and said, “Did you get a good look at the bank robber’s face?”
“Nah,” Marcus tried to play it cool. “I wouldn’t be able to recognise him again if I saw him.”
“That’s good,” Jonathan smiled. “I’m going to marry your sister. We are going to be family now so we must be friends.”
“Yes, of course,” Marcus said, tossing his football from one hand to the other. There was just no way he was going to let on to Jonathan how scared he really was.
“I have a good job in the city. I’ll be able to buy you and your mother lots of nice things.”
Marcus nodded his head. He felt sure that Jonathan was threatening him.
“Do you understand what I’m saying, Marcus?”
“Yes,” he said, feeling miserable and terribly afraid.
* * * * *
It was Monday morning. Everybody at school was talking about the robbery. The teenagers asked Marcus lots of questions, but he just wanted to forget about it.
In the afternoon Marcus walked home from school alone. He saw a police car on the road outside his house. He was terrified and his heart began to pound. He wondered if he was too young to have a heart attack. Thoughts raced around his head. The police had found out that he knew the identity of the robber. And now they had come to arrest him for withholding vital information.
What am I going to do? he asked himself. He felt very alone and very afraid.
Maybe I’ll run away until all this business dies down, he thought. Mum will be sad and worried. But surely it’s better than going to jail?
He was just about to turn around and walk quickly away when the door opened and the police officer who had interviewed him on Saturday came out.
“Hello Marcus. We have been waiting for you.”


Chapter 4
“We just want to show you some pictures of local criminals,” the shorter of the two officers said.
Marcus slowly exhaled the huge breath he had been holding in. He told himself to stay cool and everything would be alright. He sat down between the two men. Slowly he examined every photograph they showed him.
“No, he’s not in any of these,” he told them. The detectives looked disappointed.
“We have just heard that the bank in Green-Bushes was robbed this morning. We think it is the same two people who are carrying out all the robberies. We also now know that the driver of the getaway car is a woman.”
Marcus breathed a huge sigh of relief. He wanted to jump up and down, he felt so happy. It couldn’t be Jonathan then. If it was, the woman who was driving the car would have to be Gertrude. And his sister didn’t know how to drive a car.
He felt very bad for not believing in Jonathan. He had just jumped to the conclusion that he was threatening him. Just because he wore the same earring, didn’t make him the robber. It just goes to show you how wrong you can be about somebody, he thought. He hoped Gertrude would be very happy with Jonathan.
The week went by. Marcus was beginning to put the bank robbery behind him. He was feeling happy again. He was working hard at his lessons, and spent all his free time playing soccer. His coach had told him that there was a very good chance of him winning a soccer bursary.
On the following Saturday afternoon Marcus shouted goodbye to his mum and raced out of the house. There was a soccer practice at three and he didn’t want to miss it. Then he noticed a shiny black Mercedes driving up his street. It looked exactly like Jonathan’s car, but they were not coming for a visit today.
Marcus stood and watched as the car stopped right outside their house. The driver’s side of the car opened and Gertrude stepped out. She was alone. Marcus just stood there with his mouth hanging open. His sister could drive after all!
“Surprise, surprise,” she grinned. “I got my driver’s licence this week. I wanted to surprise you and Mum by learning how to drive.”

She looked so happy standing there. Marcus realised how elegant and beautiful his sister really was. She came over and hugged him. Marcus couldn’t move; he couldn’t say a word. He just stood there, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, staring at his sister.
“I can see I’ve surprised you,” Gertrude giggled. “I’ve come to take you and Mum out for a drive. We can stop off somewhere and get something to eat.”
Mum came outside and when she saw her daughter her face broke into a huge smile.
“Come on. Let’s go,” Gertrude tugged her brother’s arm. But Marcus stood rooted to the spot.
“I don’t want to go for a drive,” he said, finally finding his voice. “I’ve got soccer practice.”
He knew he had hurt his Mum and his sister, but for once he didn’t care. When they left he walked slowly into the house. He didn’t want to go to soccer practice now. He looked down at the new ball in his hand and felt the tears well up in his eyes. He opened the cupboard in the hallway and threw the ball inside. Had his sister bought that ball with the money she had robbed from a bank? Stolen money!


Chapter 5
Marcus did not sleep at all that night. Thoughts swirled round and round his head. What must I do? he kept asking himself. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t imagine telling the police about his sister. Despite everything, Marcus adored his sister. She was kind, loving and caring. Marcus could never have wished for a better sibling.
“What’s wrong, Marcus?” Mum asked him the following morning. He was moping around the house. Marcus looked at his Mum and tears gathered in the corner of his eyes. Was he capable of destroying the little bit of happiness she had in her life? But somehow he knew he had to make a decision. It was going to be the hardest one he had ever made in his young life.
“Please tell me,” Mum urged. “A problem shared is a problem halved.”
Slowly Marcus sat down. He beckoned for his Mum to sit down beside him. Before he could change his mind, he told her everything.
“It was Jonathan I saw at the bank that morning. I’ve been trying to tell myself it wasn’t him, Mum.”
Mum looked at him as if she’d seen a ghost.
Then Marcus said, “I’m sorry I have to tell you this Mum, but I think Gertrude is the woman who was driving the getaway car.”
“How dare you say such a thing!?” Mum jumped up so quickly that her chair fell over. “I don’t believe you. You’re just wicked and cruel. I think you’re jealous of your sister’s success.”
“I’m sorry, Mum. But you know that is not true. I love Gertrude very much.”
“Then how can you say such a cruel and dishonest thing about your own sister? Jonathan is a good man. You’re telling lies!” Mum ran out of the kitchen then, sobbing her heart out.
Marcus lay his head down on the table. He sighed loudly and deeply. He did not know what to do. He would destroy his family if he went to the police. Mum and Gertrude would never forgive him.
He must have fallen asleep with his head on the table, because it was afternoon when he was jolted awake by a cry. He got up and looked in on his mum. She was lying curled up on her side, crying out loud in her sleep.
Marcus sneaked quietly into her room and took her cellphone from beside her bed. He knew now what he had to do. He would not phone the police. Instead he’d phone his sister and ask her to come to the house. He’d first listen to what Gertrude had to say. He owed that to his sister.
Two hours later Marcus heard the sound of the car stopping outside. He peeped out of the window and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw that Gertrude was on her own. He had told her that Mum needed her straight away. Like the good daughter she was, she had dropped everything and come rushing home.
Marcus asked himself for the umpteenth time: was such a sister capable of robbing banks?


Chapter 6
Marcus opened the door for Gertrude. She looked very worried.
“Has something happened to Mum?” Gertrude asked quickly. “You didn’t say much on the phone, Marcus. Where is Mum?” Gertrude looked around as she spoke.
“It’s okay, sis,” Marcus said. “Mum is lying down for a bit. We’ll talk first and then go and get Mum.”
“Are you sure she’s not sick or anything?” Gertrude asked as she sat down at the table. Marcus sat down beside her. He looked at his sister for some time before he spoke.
“What is it, Marcus? You’re making me nervous.”
Marcus began to talk. He didn’t stop until he had told his sister everything. Gertrude listened carefully to every word he said. She never interrupted him once.
“Tell him he’s making it all up,” Mum said from behind them. “I don’t believe a word of it.” Neither Marcus nor Gertrude had realised that Mum was awake. She had heard everything Marcus said. She glowered at her son.

Gertrude slowly shook her head. She knew everything that Marcus said was true. She knew that her brother would never try to harm her. She knew it had taken a great deal of courage for him to speak out. She could see that he was hurting very much.
The man she had planned on marrying was a thief and a liar. Gertrude sat quietly for a long time. Then very slowly, and softly, she began to talk.
“Mum,” she said patting her mother’s hand. “I have to tell you that Marcus is not lying. I should have known that something was wrong. But when you’re in love, the way I am, you tend to overlook little discrepancies. Your heart refuses to acknowledge certain things, though your mind is telling you something different.”
Both Marcus and Mum looked at Gertrude but neither said a word. “I should have known something was wrong. Jonathan always has lots of money. I can never find out where he works. He says he works all over the country; he is a consultant for various investment banks. On the morning of the robbery here in town, he disappeared for a few hours. He wouldn’t tell me where he’d been. When I asked him about it he told me to mind my own business.”
Mum put her head in her hands and began to sob loudly. For a long time it was the only sound to be heard in the house.
Marcus got up and made some tea. He felt terrible for making his sister confess to those things. He felt his mother would never forgive him. Gertrude might never forgive him either. In trying to do the right thing he had brought such sadness and despair to his family.
“Just tell me one thing, child,” his mother said. “Did you know anything about the robberies?”


Chapter 7
“How could you even think such a thing?” Gertrude asked. But she was not really cross with Mum. “I know right from wrong. I would never do that to you or Marcus.”
Marcus stood up then and went and wrapped his arms around his sister. Tears were running down his cheeks. “I’m so relieved, Gertrude. I just didn’t know what to do.”
Mum stood up then and encircled both her children in her arms. The three of them hugged each other.
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Marcus. I’ve always taught you right from wrong and then, when you tried to tell me something unpleasant, I refused to believe you.”
Marcus smiled and wiped his eyes. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
“I’ll have to phone the police and tell them everything I know,” Gertrude said sadly. “I can’t allow Jonathan to get away with this.” She took out her cellphone and started dialling.
Later that same night Jonathan was arrested at his home. The driver of the getaway car was also arrested. She was a woman. She had once worked for a bank, but had been fired after a large amount of money had gone missing. She and Jonathan had robbed numerous banks together.
He had also told that woman he was going to marry her, just as he had told Gertrude. Jonathan was a chancer, smooth talking and charming. He had told many lies and fooled lots of people.
After testifying against Jonathan, Gertrude came home for a while. The hotel where she worked had given her a few weeks off. Everybody was very impressed with the way she had handled everything. Mum fussed over her and made her all her favourite foods. Gertrude was quiet though. Sometimes she looked terribly sad.
One evening when she was sitting propped up in bed, reading a novel, Marcus knocked on her door and came inside. Gertrude smiled at him, but Marcus realised the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“I’m sorry, sis,” he said and sat down on the chair beside her bed.
“There is nothing for you to be sorry about, Marcus,” she said sternly to him. “I’m very proud of you. You did the right thing. I’ll be okay.”
Slowly Marcus nodded his head. “Did you love Jonathan very much?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “That is the hardest past. I would have done anything for him. Well – except rob a bank,” she tried to joke. “But life must go on, Marcus. Soon I’ll return to my job in the city.”
Marcus nodded his head. “You’re very brave, Gertrude.”
“Thank you, brother. Now I have a bone to pick with you. When I was helping Mum clean out the hall cupboard I noticed your soccer ball hidden in there. Why haven’t you been using it?”
“I…” Marcus didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to tell Gertrude that he thought the ball had been bought with stolen money.
“I bought that ball with my own hard earned money,” Gertrude said, as if reading his thoughts. “Why don’t you go and fetch it and I’ll come outside and kick the ball around with you. There’s this guy I know at the hotel who’s just as crazy as you are about soccer. When I get back to the city I can show him I can play soccer just as well as any man.”
“You’re on, sis!” Marcus shouted happily, jumping up and running from the room to fetch his soccer ball.
* * * * *

Congratulation you have read the final story. The End