Chapter 62

 

Gracie turned in a circle, staring at the lavish furnishings in their suite at the Palais de la Mediterranee. “Pen, I can’t thank you enough for sharing this experience with me. With all of us. Sandy and Amber probably wouldn’t ever be able to do this on their own either. This place is exquisite.”

Pen waved off the compliment. “You’ve all pitched in so selflessly to help me with something I could never have managed alone. It’s a fair trade.”

“So, now what? We need to come up with a plan.”

“My first thought is that you and I need disguises. Frank Morrell has seen us and we need to make him believe we lost track of him when he left Zurich.”

“Agreed.”

“I wish I had a better feel for this jewelry show, what types of people will be there, what methods we might use to blend in.”

“I worked a few trade shows before my kids were born,” Gracie said. “I could pretend to be an exhibitor, walk around the show floor with a badge of some sort.”

“It’s a thought. Let’s ask Amber if she can figure out how to make something like that.”

“But it’s not quite enough. He’ll know our faces … we need more.”

They discussed it over a three-course seafood dinner and decided a good night’s sleep would help clarify their thinking. The other team members would arrive in the morning.

 

* * *

 

Amber arrived prepared to work, Pen was pleased to see. The youngest member carried a computer and wireless printer in her luggage and in no time at all had set up a little office on the desk in the suite. While Sandy napped to recover from the long flight, Gracie took a shopping list provided by Amber and headed to an office supply store for specialized paper.

“The problem with posing as exhibitors is that those badges will no doubt contain a magnetic strip, hologram or some other type of encryption,” Amber said. “They’re not going to allow anyone behind the scenes who poses a risk to the whole show. You can bet security will be tight.”

Pen had to admit she was correct.

“What about if we attend as potential buyers, wealthy ladies who are on a huge shopping spree?”

Amber looked up from her screen and nodded. “That could work. Now how do we disguise ourselves?”

She scrolled through a few pages on her browser then her face lit up. “Pen! What about this?”

Pen had just chosen a plum from the complimentary fruit basket and she walked back to the desk to see what Amber was looking at.

“Perfect. Absolutely perfect!”