The Misguided Thief

Well, it isn't theft, Stellan Nieves tells himself, not when you're stealing from a crook.Stellan, a married mid-twenties Chicago accountant, dreams of a new life free from a spiteful wife and two unruly young daughters. His salvation comes by way of mobster Dusan "Squeezebox" Kovačevic. Stellan stumbles onto a cache of $2.1 million hidden beneath loose floorboards at Squeezebox's warehouse. He at first resists the temptation, but it proves too tempting. He plots out his theft, and, under the cover of darkness, bolts with the money in his trunk. Ditching his sensible Brooks Brothers suits and wingtip Oxfords, Stellan resurfaces in a small college town in Vermont. Certain no one would ever look for him there, he reinvents himself as Pete Harris, with a beard, wire frame eyeglasses, jeans, plaid shirts, hiking boots, and a pickup truck.A vengeful Squeezebox becomes apoplectic at the theft. He hunts manically for Stellan but Federal indictments put an end to his search. Charged under the RICO Act, he receives a 60-year sentence. His forever home will be a 6' x 8' cell in a small federal prison. The only way Squeezebox will ever leave prison is in a pine box. Time passes, and serendipity plays her hand. While taking courses at the local college, a bulletin board notice seeking volunteers to teach English and math classes at the nearby prison catches Pete's attention. He mulls it over. Why not? He can spare the few hours. The tension is palpable as the two men unexpectedly face each other across a small table in the prison waiting room. Will this chance meeting lead to their complete undoing, transformational redemption, or none of the above?