Sleuth Plays Football in the Ritz Carlton, Part I

The Sleuth once told me that he couldn't begin to count the number of times he'd heard or used the phrase "right place at the right time."

He CAN count the number of times that he has been in the right place at the right time. Once. More particularly, August 2, 2007.

It was a night like any other night (at least, any other night that you're spending in the Ritz Carlton in Phoenix). The Ritz staff were just finishing cleaning up the main conference room where the Blackstone Legal Fellowship had held its closing banquet for the 2007 summer internship. It was the last night of Blackstone '07 and everyone, and I do mean everyone, was headed to Nixon's (a local bar just around the corner) to top of the evening, and the summer, with some good ol' fellowshipping (and perhaps a brewski or two).

The hotel was empty. 10:30 is usually a dead time around the Ritz - too late for the average business traveler to be up and wandering around the facilities; too early for the rabble rousing crowd to be back from their night of frolicking and merriment.

Everyone from Blackstone was already at Nixon's, with the exception of a few stragglers. The Sleuth, Chris, and Daniel had finally made their way downstairs and were ready to enjoy one last night with friends. Jonathan hurriedly got cash from the ATM, so as not to keep the other three waiting. [See photo. Pictured left to right: Jonathan, Chris, Daniel, Sleuth].

Jonathan stuffed the Hamiltons into his wallet and started to walk down the hallway toward the side exit where Sleuth, Chris and Daniel were waiting impatiently. As he passed the main hallway that led past the elevators and the gift shop to the front lobby, check-in desk, and main entrance to the Ritz, he cast a glance to his left down the hall in hopes of seeing some celebrity milling about the lobby before heading out on the town. After all, the Braves, Giants, and Red Sox had all stayed in the Ritz since Blackstone had been there, and rumor had it that some of the Blackstone girls have even chatted it up with the Goo Goo Dolls one night in the hotel bar adjacent to the lobby. Seeing nothing, he kept walking.

Then he stopped. Like one of those games you see in the Sunday comics, something was not quite right in the mental picture of the main hallway that his mind had just taken. Confused, he took a few steps backward and looked down the hallway again. What was wrong with this picture? Mezmerized, he stared for over 30 seconds before suddenly processing what his eyes were witnessing.

Meanwhile, the fellas down the hall were getting antsy. One was ready to mingle, one was ready to play, and one was already tired and ready for bed. They urged Jonathan to pick up the pace, but he stood motionless and did not acknowledge their calls, instead staring down the hallway toward the front of the building. The seconds drug on, until finally he took a few steps toward them and nonchalantly said:

"Yall, I think these guys are robbing the Ritz."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than two men came tearing around the corner, knocked Jonathan out of the way, and headed down the hall toward Sleuth and Co. As he fell backwards, he managed to yell out, "Hey, stop those guys!"

Let us give you a verbal blueprint for the lay out of what happened next. The first floor of the Ritz contains numerous paintings and various decorative objects. The main hallway along the back of the hotel, off of which the various conference rooms open up, was lined with several display cabinets. The cabinets held expensive China, artifacts, jewelry, etc. There were several more similar hutches in the hallway that led to the front of the Ritz. As Jonathan had walked by the front hall, he had noticed two men standing next to an open hutch with a black suitcase in hand, unloading jewels from the display case and into the open suitcase. At first his mind had assumed they were Ritz employees. Then he backed up and looked again. After watching their behavior and the manner in which they were removing the jewelry, he quickly was convinced that they were not employees, but were in fact dubious hooligans of the thieving variety. The jewels they were taking did not belong to them, and as we all know, that's called stealing.

Jonathan realized what he was witnessing at just about the same time that the two thieves realized they were spotted. When he stepped past the hall intersection to alert us to the fact that the Ritz was being robbed, the robbers split. Knowing they'd never make it past the bellhops and security at the main entrance, their plan of escape was the side entrance, where 3 double doors and no bodies stood between them and freedom.

No bodies, that is, except Sleuth, Daniel, and Chris.

There are certain situations in life when your mind and body begin acting, usually react, long before you've actually thought about what was actually happening. Like an animal, a person's instincts kick in, and you act not as a result of contemplated conduct, but merely as a reaction to the situation presented. This was one of those times.

In under 1.5 seconds the two robbers covered the 75+ feet between the intersection of the halls and where Sleuth, Chris, and Daniel stood surprised. Seeing only 3 average law students standing in confusion between them and freedom, the two robbers figured they could blow past these unknowing bystanders and be out the door in no time.

They couldn't have been more wrong...

(To be continued...)