Why does Jimmy come to Elmore?

Jimmy says to the clerk at the Planter’s Hotel, where he is lodged, that he has moved to Elmore with the intention of finding a good location for his business. He is interested in going into the shoe business and wonders whether he can tap into the Elmore market. The clerk is happy to offer information on the prospects of a shoe business in Elmore. He says that “there wasn’t an exclusive shoe store in the town.” He advises Jimmy that all lines of business were quite profitable in the town. Jimmy then chooses to stay at Elmore for a while to check out the prevailing situation in the town. He starts a shoe business that becomes highly profitable in the long run. He is also able to make many friends and even captures the heart of the beautiful Annabel Adams.
However, the main reason why Jimmy visits Elmore is to carry out another safecracking job, possibly at the Elmore bank. Note that, only a week after Jimmy’s release from prison, a number of safe thefts had been committed in different places: Richmond in Indiana, Logansport, and Jefferson City. It appears that Jimmy moves from one town to another for the purpose of breaking into safes whose contents he then steals. He is able to evade the police in this manner. At Elmore, he initially intends to use the shoe shop as a front from which to organize his safecracking activities. This is why he takes up the new name, Ralph Spencer, while in Elmore. However, his plans are foiled when he falls in love with Annabel Adams. His love for her makes him want to reform for the better.