“Oh, My God! These guys keep raising the price of everything on a daily basis!” Mary complained as she stepped out of Looty Mart with her husband Chackochen.

“No matter how high the prices go, people will still buy. These guys know that,” justified Chackochen, the #1 practical guy in town. He pushed the shopping cart close to the car’s trunk and loaded it with a sack of Palakkadan Matta rice and a bag of red onions, straightened up, and glanced around. The parking lot was crowded—some familiar faces here and there—but no one was paying attention to anyone in the rush.

Just then, an old Nissan Sentra pulled up nearby. Inside were a woman and a child in the back seat dressed in salwar kameez. The man in the front, maybe the husband, sat still, surveying the area like a hawk searching for prey.

“Excuse me, sir,” the young woman in the back seat leaned out and asked, “Where is temple here?”

The man in the front seat remained silent, glanced at Chackochen and Mary occasionally but said nothing.

“I don’t know. I don’t go to temples,” Chackochen tried to step aside. But the young woman wouldn’t give up so easily. She suddenly started sobbing.

This is getting messy! Mary stepped in.

“Chackochen, let me talk to her.”

“Hmm… What is it?” Mary inquired seriously.

The young woman struggled to speak. Finally, she blurted out, “You look like… my sister… she dying… very sick…!”

The man in the front seat finally broke his silence. “You Kerala? I from Bangladesh.
I know little bit Malayalam.”

“Alright,” Mary smiled. “What’s your problem?”

“She is Palestinian… sister… cancer,” the Bengali man got to the point. “She wants to pray… needs to go to a temple.”

“Let me check Google and see if there’s a temple nearby,” Mary offered help.

“There’s a problem, sister,” the Bengali man’s face fell. “We are Muslim… we cannot enter temple.”

The young woman started crying again. The Bengali man looked around as if he was searching for someone.

“Sister, can you ask her to lower her voice? This could cause trouble.”

Mary stood still, unsure of what to say. Before Chackochen could tell her that they had gotten themselves into a mess, the young woman suddenly placed a heavy gold necklace around Mary’s neck.

Mary’s eyes widened as she turned to Chackochen. He instinctively stepped back.

“Oh no, what is this? I don’t want this necklace!” Mary tried to take it off, but the woman didn’t relent.

“Sister, please take it,” the Bengali man pleaded, hands folded. “Why don’t you help her? You do the prayers for her… please help us.”

As Mary stood frozen , unsure of what to do, the Bengali man’s car slowly started moving away. The young woman disappeared into the car.

The necklace was thick and heavy. If it was a traditional thali mala, it had to be at least three sovereigns of gold.

Thali mala! Where did it go?

“Chackocha! My necklace… it’s gone!”

Before she would faint, Chackochen caught her in his arms.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a police car blocked the Bengali man’s vehicle. Another police car appeared from behind!

Mary clutched the necklace tightly, frozen like a hen lost under the moonlight.

And then, the TV reporters showed up!

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LATER THAT NIGHT ON FOX TV: 10 PM NEWS

TV ANCHOR: TWO PEOPLE, A MAN AND A WOMAN ALONG WITH A CHILD ARE IN POLICE CUSTODY FOR THEFT AND IMPERSONATION. THEY ARE PART OF A GANG OF THIEVES WHO ARE FROM COUNTRIES IN ASIA AND EAST EUROPE. NOW LET US SEE HOW THESE CROOKS ARE CAUGHT BY THE POLICE WITH HELP FROM AN INDIAN COUPLE FROM BELAIR. WE HAVE MR. CHAKO CHAN AND MARYKUTTY TO TELL US HOW IT ALL HAPPENED.

TV ANCHOR: MR. CHAKO CHAN, TELL US HOW DID YOU PULL IT OFF?

CHACKOCHAN: WELL, I DID NOT THINK IT WAS A CON GAME UNTIL THE WOMAN SAID MY WIFE LOOKED LIKE HER SICK SISTER. MY WIFE WANTED ME OUT OF THE WAY AND I PRETENDED TO BE PLAYING TO THEIR GAME AND WAITED FOR A CHANCE TO GET BEHIND THEIR CAR.

TV ANCHOR: OK, HOW DID YOU DO THAT AND ALERT THE COPS?

CHACKOCHAN: I TOOK MY PHONE OUT AS IF I WAS ANSWERING A CALL FROM MY DAUGHTER. THAT’S WHEN THE WOMAN PUT THE FAKE GOLD CHAIN ON MY WIFE’S NECK. I MADE A VIDEOCALL TO THE POLICE AND THEY GOT ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEEDED ABOUT ME, THEM AND THE PLACE WHERE WE WERE AT THAT TIME. IT DIDN’T TAKE THE POLICE MUCH TIME TO NAB THE CROOKS.

TV ANCHOR: YOU DID A FANTASTIC JOB CHAKO CHAN! BY THE WAY WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING? WILL YOU ACCEPT A JOB WITH US IF WE OFFER YOU ONE?

CHACKOCHAN: MAYBE NOT.

TV ANCHOR: WHY NOT?

CHACKOCHAN: I RUN MY OWN VIRTUAL SCAM-BUSTING BUSINESS!

© 2020 Mathew K Mathew

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