A Simple Plan Read Online Free PDF Page A

asked.
    “Of course it’s real,” Lou said. “Don’t be stupid.”
    Jacob ignored him. “You think it’s drug money?” he asked me.
    I shrugged. “It’s from a bank.” I gestured toward the bag. “That’s how they sort money. A hundred bills to a packet.”
    Mary Beth appeared suddenly on the opposite rim of the orchard, working his way down through the snow toward the plane. He looked dejected, as if we’d let him down by not joining in on his pursuit of the fox. We all watched him approach, but no one commented on his return. One of the crows cawed at him, a warning cry, and it hung for a second, sharp and clear in the crisp air, like a note from a bugle.
    “This is crazy,” I said. “That guy must’ve robbed a bank.”
    Jacob shook his head in disbelief. “Three million dollars.”
    Mary Beth came around the front of the plane, wagging his tail. He gave us a sad, tired look. Jacob crouched down and patted absentmindedly at the dog’s head.
    “I suppose you’re going to want to turn it in,” Lou said.
    I looked at him, shocked. Up till that point I hadn’t even considered that we had an option. “You want to keep it?”
    He glanced toward Jacob for support, then back at me. “Why not each keep a packet? Ten thousand dollars apiece, and turn the rest in?”
    “For starters, it’s stealing.”
    Lou gave a quick snort of disgust. “Stealing from who? From him?” He waved toward the plane. “He won’t mind.”
    “It’s a lot of money,” I said. “Somebody knows it’s missing, and they’re looking for it. I guarantee that.”
    “You’re saying you’d turn me in, if I took a packet?” He picked one of the packets out of the bag, held it out toward me.
    “I wouldn’t have to. Whoever’s looking for it knows how much is missing. If we hand it in a little short and you start spending hundred-dollar bills around town, it won’t take them long to figure out what happened.”
    Lou waved this aside. “I’m willing to take the risk,” he said, flashing a smile from me to Jacob. Jacob smiled back.
    I frowned at them both. “Don’t be stupid, Lou.”
    Lou continued to grin. He slipped the packet into his coat, then picked a second one out of the bag and handed it to Jacob. Jacob took it but couldn’t seem to decide what to do with it. He crouched there, his rifle in one gloved hand, the money in the other, looking expectantly at me. Mary Beth rolled in the snow at his feet.
    “I don’t think you’d turn me in,” Lou said. “And I know you wouldn’t turn your brother in.”
    “Get me near a phone, Lou, and you’ll see.”
    “You’d turn me in?” he asked.
    I tried to snap my fingers, but with gloves on they didn’t make any sound. “Like that.”
    “But why? It’s not like it’d harm anyone.”
    Jacob was still crouched there, the money in his hand. “Put it back, Jacob,” I said. He didn’t move.
    “It’s different for you,” Lou said. “You’ve got your job at the feedstore. Jacob and I don’t have that. This money’d matter to us.”
    His voice had edged itself toward a whine, and, hearing it, I felt a revelatory flash of power. The dynamic of our relationship had shifted, I realized. I was in control now; I was the spoiler, the one who would decide what happened to the money. I smiled at Lou.
    “I’d still get in trouble if you took it. You’d fuck up, and I’d be considered an accomplice.”
    Jacob started to stand up, then crouched back down again. “Why not take all of it?” he asked, looking from Lou to me.
    “All of it?” I said. The idea seemed preposterous, and I started to laugh, but it made my forehead ache. I winced, probing at the bump with my fingers. It was still bleeding a little.
    “Just take the bag,” he said, “leave the dead guy in there, pretend we were never here.”
    Lou nodded eagerly, pouncing on the idea. “Split it three ways.”
    “We’d get caught as soon as we started spending it,” I said. “Imagine the three of us