Criminal [Book 1]

Chapter One

Beth Carter woke up on a Monday morning unaware of what the day would bring. Sighing at the rainy but usual weather, she pulled the warm duvet off herself and hurried along the cold floor to the bathroom where she quickly turned the shower on and jumped in letting the warm water heat up her cold skin. She looked at how pale her skin was and wished for summer to come quickly. Winter made her depressed. Once she was finished in the shower, she made her way back into her room to get ready for work. She slipped on underwear before getting into her work uniform. She loved her job but hated how she looked in her uniform. She always felt it made her look scrawny as she didn't receive the correct size. However, she knew looking good was not the point of her job.

Beth had just qualified as a nurse. She knew she had wanted to be a nurse since she was a young child and she loved it. The only downer was the fact that she didn't live in the nicest area so the hospital she worked at wasn't the best. It did, however, pay her bills and put food on the table, so she felt she couldn't complain.

Once she was completely ready, she grabbed everything she needed and made her way to the kitchen to get a quick breakfast. She made sure to be extra quiet as it was 8 am and her lazy roommate would be asleep. She knew he would be very annoyed if he was awakened at this time. She had known her roommate, James for a few years. They had met in college and had become good friends. When they graduated, they decided to get an apartment together. Although he was lazy, Beth liked having him there as he helped with the bills and made her feel safe.

Beth had not been quite enough as James appeared in the kitchen and greeted her with a yawn. He didn't seem too annoyed at her.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Beth asked apologetically

"No it's alright Beth, I have been awake for a while, I couldn't sleep," James said opening the fridge

Beth was happy she had not woken him up so went back to making herself a slice of toast as James began making himself a cup of coffee.

"How are you feeling today?" James asked

"Yeah, sure I'm fine," Beth said taking a bite out of her toast

"Just making sure, don't take any crap off of that shit coworker of yours," James said

"It's fine, he's just a stupid guy, I can handle it," Beth said

"I'd fucking kill him if I could" James frowned

"I need to go," Beth said, picking up her car keys and choosing to ignore his comment.

As Beth made her way to Richmond infirmary, where she worked, she heard on the car radio that a bank close by had been robbed. Beth was not surprised at all, she felt there was a new crime every morning she listened to the radio. It shocked her when they announced the amount of money stolen. It was way over half a million dollars. Usually, when she heard about a robbery, it just consisted of a group of silly boys attempting to steal money only to be met by police officers as they tried to run out. This was something else. They made it very clear for the public to be careful as there had been a lot of gang-related issues.

Usually, a robbery around here consisted of silly little boys attempting to steal money only to be met by police officers as they tried to run out but this was something else. They also announced information about being careful on the streets due to a gang.

There was a mention of a man named Jack Verona, who's named Beth had heard too often around here. He was one of the youngest and worst criminals but he had never been caught. Any time the police thought they were close, he would get away as if he had a million tricks up his sleeve. Beth couldn't help but feel the police in this area were useless. They didn't even really have an idea as to what he looked like. He was just a name. A name who had committed countless crimes.