When bad news Charlie sees an oblong craft zigzag across the sky and cartwheel over the flatlands of Bakersfield, he runs to the crash and discovers he’s hit the jackpot.

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…didn’t have the guts to rob the drugstore in Visalia. The woman behind the coun-ter reminded him of his mother—what a chump. His truck needed gas, oil, a new carbu-retor. No sweat. Now he could buy…

By DC Dismondopolous