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. 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' prison cell in a small idyllic college town. The only way Squeezebox will ever leave prison is in a pine box.

Time passes, and serendipity plays her hand. Pete (formerly Stellan) takes college courses. One day he sees a bulletin board notice. The nearby prison is seeking volunteers to teach English and math classes. He mulls it over. Why not? He can spare the few hours.

Two men, both decidedly flawed, face each other across a small table in the prison waiting room. A deep caginess hangs over both, yet the chance meeting transforms both in ways neither could have imagined.