One Of Edward Pierce's Greatest Crimes

The idea of being well-known in historical events is appetizing to many people, Edward Pierce among them. Pierce, however, differed from this common goal alone, for he desired to not only be known for committing a dastardly crime, but for having a hidden motive for his actions. Pierce’s quiet charm (laced with greed) and remarkable wit played a part in achieving what would be known as one of the greatest crimes of all time – robbing a train and having an enigmatic presence following the crime. A charming personality can allow even the worst of people to go great distances in life. The illusion a charming personality acts as causes those around to convince themselves of a decent, respectable person. Although Pierce was not what one would consider a “good guy” after committing his crime, the façade of charm disguised this. As greedy as stealing money is, Pierce was not always a greedy man, as he allowed Clean Willy to spend “several weeks in [Pierce’s home in] seclusion as his wounds healed” (Crichton 76). Not only this, but Pierce managed to charm Mr. Trent’s

Agar told the court that Pierce concealed his true motives to the public, “ask[ing] him the questions, see, but he show[ed] no interest in the matter” (104). Pierce kept his team under strict confidentiality, all required to be observant yet appear aloof. Because of the necessity to be mindful, Richard Burgess was informed no one was to board the incoming train and alerted Pierce, who then had to rearrange his plan of theft. He had the ability to “think of a dozen clever ways” (184) to sneak Agar through, “but nothing that could be quickly arranged” (184), likely because Pierce’s plans always had such an exquisite intricacy to them, including many complicated details to insure refraining from being