All That Glitters

All That Glitters

The glass shattered. All the gold in the windows was snatched up and placed in a black bag. Staggering under the weight, the muffled thief ran.

The police swarmed the place in answer to a silent alarm. An impressively dressed woman stood watching the proceedings. A police detective was taking statements.

“Ms. Ummm Sassy?” he said as he stopped beside her.

“Sassafras Glassman,” she corrected.

“This is your shop?”

“Finest of the faux!”

The detective’s brows furrowed.

“Faux?”

“Fake, unreal.”

“What kind of prices do you get for your pieces?”

“About half of what the same design would cost, if real. My custom designs are top of the unreal. Most people get them to save insurance premiums. They can still wear fabulous while the real deal goes into a bank vault.”

“I see.”

Detective Don Bromide busily took notes.

“Do you have insurance on your merchandise?”

“Naturally,” Sassy replied.

“My advise would be to contact your provider as soon as possible.”

“I already have, while I waited. I live above the store.”

“Stay in town. We’ll want a complete inventory of what was taken. Come to the station tomorrow with the inventory and we’ll take a formal statement.”

She nodded and went to sit on a bench beside a garbage can. Bromide studied the oil drum can thoughtfully. He gestured a patrol man over and gave him whispered instructions.

He watched as his subordinate escorted Ms. Glassman through the side door and up to her flat. Casually, he sauntered over to the can. Right on top, he saw a mysterious bag.

He hefted it, then swung it to the ground. When he looked inside, he was not surprised. He sent second patrolman up to the flat.

“Another kind of thievery, it seems. Insurance fraud,” he told himself.

300 WORDS DAILY FLASH 2/7/2025