The Big Heist

Originally Aired: December 1, 1952 Suspense #489, "The Big Heist," presents the story of a pool hustler who gets drawn into something far more dangerous than his usual small-time cons. Jim Scott has been working the pool hall circuit, making just enough to get by, when he encounters Martin Collins, an easy mark who turns out to be sizing him up for an entirely different game. After a police raid at the pool hall, Collins vouches for Scott and introduces him to the legendary bank robber John Barry, who is planning what he calls a first-class job on the Colfax National Bank. Barry needs a third man for his meticulously planned heist and sees potential in the personable young drifter. Scott finds himself thrust into the big leagues of crime, where the stakes are far higher than his usual fifteen-dollar cons. As Barry lays out the details of the operation, Scott must decide whether the promise of ten thousand dollars or more is worth risking everything. The master criminal has a reputation for running flawless operations, but even the best-planned heists can go wrong when the participants have their own agendas and the law is always watching.