I stopped at a fast food restaurant to kill some time. The coffee I ordered turned out to be little more than colored water. It didn’t matter—my stomach wouldn’t stop churning and I don’t think I could have managed much more than a few sips, even if it was a gourmet blend. I kept checking my watch. When enough time passed for them to take the airport shuttle to the Holiday Inn outside the terminal, I dumped the almost-full cup in the trash. Sure enough, when I pulled up in front of the hotel they were there waiting.
On the way back to my condo, I filled them in about what I’d learned. When I told them the maid would be the only one at the mansion the next day, maybe it was nerves, but all of us laughed to a point of hysteria. Finally Kate said, “What a hoot. To leave a loose end like that. Obviously she expected Matt to be there with the maid, and he’s pulling a vanishing act. All we have to do now is figure out how to get in without arousing suspicion.”
“I think Matt might be running his own game. Remember I spotted him out in the tented yard with those guys from the supply depots last night. When I asked him about it today, Matt, who is usually Mr. Cool, seemed very nervous. In fact he couldn’t look me in the face when he answered. He said something like, ‘Guys? Oh yeah, those guys. We were just discussing sports. You know. Guy talk.’”
Kate snorted, “Yeah, right. Guy talk, my ass.”
“See, that’s what I mean. It does seems strange, doesn’t it, that those fellows work for a few of the supply depots that placed some of the large orders Alaric Fabricators supposedly shipped direct? What if they’re on the take, too?”
As always, Cami had grabbed the front passenger seat because she got carsick riding in the back. “You bet it sounds strange. Maybe it’s all part of the big picture. So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
Kate put her hand on my shoulder from the back seat. “Whatever we come up with, it better be good.”
Trying to sound confident, I said, “Oh, it will be good alright,” secretly worrying we had gotten into far more than we could handle.
We rode the rest of the way in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Kate was right. It better be good because technically we would be breaking and entering. Kimberly Martin. Criminal mastermind.
We tossed ideas back and forth into the wee hours, and somewhere around 2:00 we had come up with a plan that would work unless something unexpected happened. It was almost 2:30 when we finally settled down.
• • • • •
By the time my guests made it into the kitchen the next morning, I had prepared coffee and omelets. After we put the cups and dishes in the dishwasher, I picked up a couple of wigs I’d dug out of the depths of my closet and presented one to Kate and the other to Cami.
“Here you go, ladies. These date back to when I was tempted to dye my hair black. I tried long hair and short hair, but after wearing them a few weeks, I decided I wasn’t cut out to be a raven-haired beauty. With white blouses and black slacks you’ll look just right. Try them on.”
A short time later Kate sported the short black wig and Cami wore a number with flowing raven locks. Heavily made up faces completed the look. The devious duo was ready for action, but as for me, my heart seriously tried to jump out of my chest. I swear I could feel it looking for the escape route.
We went through the checklist one more time, then piled into my Mercedes feeling like secret agents. Our plan had to work. Actually, it was pretty simple. Once we saw the catering vans pull into the estate’s drive, I would go to the front door to distract Bernice, the housekeeper, claiming I’d lost my scarf the day before. Meanwhile Kate and Cameron, disguised as members of the catering company crew, would have already slipped into the house along with the real crew, and then up the stairs into Julia’s office.
During the time I kept Bernice occupied, the stealth team armed with flash drives and Kate’s camera, could invade the computer and file cabinet. While Kate, our computer whiz, searched files and downloaded them to the flash drive, Cami’s job would be to raid the file cabinet and copy anything that looked promising. I would have preferred to be the one at the computer, but Bernice knew who I was from all the time I’d spent at the mansion before the party. I did remember Julia once said she hated passwords, kept them simple and usually used the same one. I gave Kate a list of possibilities, hoping one would work if her computer was protected.
We drove along Cress Drive trying to calm jittery nerves. I admired the lush estates that border the eastern shoreline of Lake Washington. “Isn’t this beautiful? I’ll bet those elm trees are a couple of hundred years old.”
Cami’s voice sounded angry. “They look pretty old, alright. You know, being back in this beautiful neighborhood really raises my irritability factor to the danger level. The thought of Julia living here while we work our butts off and she cheats us out of our money makes me more determined than ever to bring her down.” Her voice got louder as she became more excited. “You’re goin’ down, Julia. Way down. Bruce and Matt, you’re going down, too.”
Her attitude got to all of us. Whooping and hollering, we were as wound up as warriors storming the enemy’s bastion.
As we drew closer to Julia’s house, Murphy’s Law kicked in. I spotted the security patrol car turning into her street. If it was the same obnoxious guy from before, I was sure he would recognize me, so I drove past instead of turning.
I cruised up the street, until I pulled to a stop near a pristine brick building that turned out to be a small post office. The white trim looked freshly painted and the building appeared to have been sandblasted. An American flag waved in the slight breeze, making little snapping noises. I angled into a space between two cars, hoping my car would be less obvious that way. That is, unless they both pulled out. Still it would be better not to be parked near our target.
“Look, it’s only a few blocks to Julia’s place from here. If we park on her street, that stupid security guard could spot the car. Even if he isn’t on duty, I wouldn’t put it past him to have circulated my license number to the others. I get the feeling he thinks of himself as a real cop.”
“That works for me, but we’d better get back there quick. The caterers should be arriving any time now.”
We left the little post office and headed in the direction of Julia’s house.
• • • • •
I scanned the street for the rent-a-cop, praying my sunglasses and wide-brimmed hat and Kate and Cami’s wigs would pass as credible disguises. They walked slightly ahead of me so it didn’t look like we were all together. After all, they were supposed to be catering staff, and you never knew who might report seeing us together if anything went wrong.
Fortunately, there was no sign of the security cop. Things were moving along as I’d hoped they would. By the time we reached Julia’s house, four catering vans had just pulled up to the gate. The driver of the first van reached out and pushed the button, then leaned out of the window toward the speaker to identify himself. A moment later the gates swung open and all of the vans drove in. Kate and Cameron crouched down as they slipped in alongside one of the trucks. I waited until the gates closed and there was enough confusion with everyone going in and out of the house before I strolled up to the gates and pushed the speaker button.
“Yes? Who is it?”
“Hi, is that you, Bernice? It’s Kimberly Martin, from the other night. You know, from the party and meeting. I was wondering if I might come in. Yeah, I’m the one who lives here in Seattle. I think I might have left my scarf here yesterday. It’s one of my favorites, and if I could just look for it…”
The unsuspecting maid buzzed me in. By then I had taken off my glasses and was holding the hat in my hand. “Thanks, so much, Bernice. I really love that scarf.”
I kept saying her name because people like it when you remember their name. It makes them feel important.
She smiled. “I’m surprised you remembered me.”
I kept a watch on the catering people as they dis-assembled everything and carried tables and chairs out to the vans. As we had hoped, they were so busy, I was almost positive they hadn’t noticed my partners in crime come in or slip upstairs. Good. Just then my cell phone vibrated.
I reached into my pocket and said, “I’m sorry, Bernice. This will just take a moment.” The text message on the screen from Cami said: we are in.
Now all I had to do was keep Bernice busy.
She looked at me, all smiles. “Of course I remembered you. You’re one of the nice ones.”
My hand swept the messy aftermath of the party. “So, I guess once they clear everything out you have lots of work to do before the owners get back. How many people are they sending to help you clean up?”
She grumbled. “Owners? It’s just that Miss Harris who lives here, and she’s off on a business trip. That woman is a real task master, she is. It’ll just be me doin’ all the work. She’s too cheap to pay any helpers.”
I decided to take a chance. “Miss Harris? You mean my boss owns this place.” I played dumb. “I thought she rented it for the weekend. Shows how much I know.”
Bernice snorted. “Yep. She owns it, alright. Guess she didn’t want anyone to know she’d come into money. I can understand not wanting all those out-of-towners to know, but I’m surprised you didn’t know, working here in her office here and all.”
Her tone made it very clear Bernice didn’t like Julia which made it easier to keep her occupied. If I stoked her resentment, maybe I’d learn something more in the bargain. I patted the areas around sofa cushions to make it look like I was searching for my scarf and even got down on my hands and knees to look under furniture. Of course, she followed behind me as I kept talking. That kept her attention away from the stairs.
I lifted a chair cushion and pretended to see if the scarf was there. “Actually she doesn’t tell me much. If you ask me, Bernice, I think she’s a pretty cold fish.” I slapped my forehead. “Omigod. Please forget I said that. It could get me fired.”
Bernice reacted exactly as I hoped she would. “Cold ain’t the half of it! That woman’s an iceberg. Not at all like those nice Pattersons who owned this house before. They treated me real good. Then they lost all their money in some dot com crashes and had to sell the place. But even then they was lookin’ out for me. They convinced Miss Harris to keep me on.” She lowered her voice. “Quite frankly, I’m looking for another job, though.” She wrinkled her nose. “Can’t stand her.”
Whew. Sharing our dislike of the boss sort of made us comrades.
Time passed with Bernice helping me look for the phantom scarf, sometimes doing more chattering than looking, until finally the crew was almost finished. I knew we had to get out soon, so I reached into my pocket and acted like I had to answer a call on my cell phone. Instead of answering a call or text, I pressed the programmed key to alert Cami that everyone was leaving. A few minutes later, she and Kate had almost reached the bottom of the circular staircase, when the catering crew’s boss spotted them and called out, “Who the hell are you two?”