The Plimsoll Building
The conservatory was buzzing with florists, maintenance people, bartenders, waitstaff, and caterers. A small jazz trio was setting up in the corner, and a local carpenter was carrying a small doghouse into the room. It was three feet high and five feet deep, with a sign painted over the door: A FOREVER HOME. There was a slot at the peak of the roof for people to make their donations. The little door was locked, just in case anyone would dare put their hand in to swipe any of the donations.
Annie was pacing, waiting for the person who would deliver the replica jewelry she was planning to swap for the real goods. An elegantly dressed man who appeared to be in his late sixties approached her.
“Lincoln! Good to see you. Aren’t you looking like the dog’s dinner!” She meant that in more ways than one. She chuckled. “Dog’s dinner” was a compliment about how one was dressed, and the evening was for the dogs.
Lincoln Gladwell was among the world’s foremost gemologists and jewelry designers. If anyone could replicate a piece, it was Lincoln. She took his arm and escorted him to a small private room off the main area.
He spoke with the most elegant British accent. “My dear Annie. If it were not for you, my life would be a complete bore. You really made me shake a leg this time.”
“It’s all for a good cause, my friend.” Annie pecked him on the cheek. “I hope you can stay for some refreshments and conversation?”
“I would be delighted.” He handed her several bags. Annie was wearing a flowing silk kimono with a wide obi sash, allowing her to stash the velvet bags around her waist. “And I am certainly not going to ask you what in the bloody blazes you are doing.” He tried to stifle a guffaw. He knew Annie could be up to almost anything.
“Excellent idea. The less you know . . . as the saying goes.” She tied the sash in the traditional way, wrapping it from front to back and around the front again, then fastening it securely with a knot. Confident she had the faux jewels well hidden, she and Lincoln returned to the main room. She gave him a pat on the bum and sent him off to the mingling crowd. “We’ll catch up in a bit.”
Annie motioned for Charlotte and Myra to join her across the room. They huddled in a corner, fleshing out their plan. Annie would greet Dr. and Mrs. Marcus, with Myra and Charlotte in tow. After several minutes of idle conversation, Annie would excuse herself, and then Myra and Charlotte would keep the Marcuses distracted by having them introduce their friends. They knew that Norma Marcus would be eager to show off for the countess, but if she were to get antsy and look for Annie, Myra would sidetrack her. Annie had less than ten minutes to complete the exchange of the jewelry before people would be wondering where she was. Lincoln could be a good backup if necessary.
“We can do this. We will do this,” Myra and Annie said in unison, and then Charlotte echoed their determination. They grabbed each other’s hands, said a silent prayer, and finished with a whispered “Amen.”
They expected Julian and Norma Marcus to be the first to arrive. And they were. Norma Marcus was wearing a bright puffy pink thing that served as her dress, with black patent stiletto shoes. But it was the garish red lipstick that made Myra flinch.
Annie did a once-over, checking for which baubles Mrs. Marcus was wearing. She was surprised that there wasn’t much. Large chandelier earrings and her seven-carat diamond engagement ring. Maybe she figured she could not outdo Annie, so she hadn’t bothered to try. Lucky break. But that dress. It was a tutu on steroids.
Annie let Norma prattle on about nothing of interest. She wanted to exhaust her requisite hostess time with the bawdy bimbo and extend as little hospitality as possible. Myra, Annie, and Charlotte tried to avoid making eye contact with each other in fear of bursting out laughing. Women like Norma Marcus gave women a bad name, and that name was bimbo. The only thing that was missing was the bubble gum. That was when Charlotte remembered how Isabelle and Alexis were dressed when they had left for Aspen. Her body started shaking as she ferociously tried to keep from laughing. She cracked. Myra followed. Then Annie. The three of them were howling as their guests stared in shock.
Surprised and perplexed expressions ran across Julian’s and Norma’s faces. Annie was the first to gain her composure.
“I am so sorry. My apologies. It’s a silly private joke we used to share when we were kids.” She took Norma’s hand. “So tell me a little about yourself.” She guided Norma through the growing crowd. “I plan on staying in London for a brief time. I always welcome new donors to my animal charities.” Norma seemed a little unsteady on the spiked heels. Perhaps the word charity was a curse word to Norma.
After a half hour of “How do you dos” with Norma’s friends, Annie politely excused herself. “I must attend to my other guests. We’ll catch up some more later.”
Eyeing Myra and Charlotte, Annie signaled that she was on the move. Charlotte and Myra were to keep their eyes on the Marcuses. Annie slipped through the crowd, kissing cheeks. When it appeared no one was looking in her direction, she slipped out the door to the side stairwell. Debating whether she should slide down the handrails, she realized there wouldn’t be a pile of pillows at the bottom or Charles and Fergus to bounce off. That was something that would have to wait until she got back to Myra’s. She moved swiftly down the stairs, remembering that she had to go one flight below the apartment and then take the lift up. That could eat up several minutes. Lifts did not always arrive on your schedule. Especially when you were in a hurry.
She was careful to avoid the security cameras but was thrown off when the doors to the lift opened and several of her party invitees were inside.
“Annie!” said some of the guests.
“Countess!” other surprised guests blurted.
“Darlings! Good of you to come! You did bring your checkbook, I trust!” Annie was going to get ahead of them before anyone could ask what she was doing in the lift. “Private talk with the doorman.”
“Yes, but this is going up.”
“And so it is. Silly me. So much going on!” She pushed the button for the Marcuses’ floor. “I’ll pop out and grab the next one going down. Be back in a flash!”
She blew kisses as the doors slid shut. She scurried to the Marcuses’ door and picked the lock. She had the floor plan memorized and headed straight to the bedroom closet that housed the stash. She flipped the plastic cover off the emergency lock, inserted her pick tool, jiggled it to the right, left, right, left. The whirring sound of the cylinders falling into place was music to her ears. She took a quick photo of the contents to be sure she placed the replicas in the same positions. After untying her sash, she laid it on the floor and unfolded it, then emptied the contents of the velvet bags. One by one, she withdrew each piece and replaced it with the fake. She had about three more minutes before she would be discovered to be MIA.
As she was closing the safe and resetting the lock, she heard a voice. The shrill of Norma was crystal clear. Hide. Where? And what was Norma doing back in her flat? She realized that Norma was on her cell phone, yammering at someone. Annie dodged behind the bedroom door, hoping the pointed dazzle of her cowgirl boots wouldn’t stick out.
“Yeah. I got to meet ’er. We chatted a bit.” Annie could hear footsteps approaching and Norma’s voice getting louder. “I forgot to wear the Cartier pendant, so I’m back at my flat. Yeah. I noticed she is wearing a Cartier diamond love ring. I want to show her I can also afford Cartier. I know it’s silly, but I don’t want her to think I’m pikey.”
Annie plastered herself behind the bedroom door and held her breath. Pikey is right, she thought to herself. Back home we call it trailer trash with fake bling. And fake it is. Annie started to lose the feeling of wanting to choke the twit. She would get her just desserts soon enough.
Norma kept babbling on her cell as she opened the safe and withdrew the fake pendant. She put the phone down as she fastened the necklace around her neck, not giving it a second glance. She practically stumbled as she picked up her phone and scampered out. “I’ve gotta go. Julian is probably looking for me, and I have to corner the countess one more time. I want to show her off to the club. Ta.”
As soon as Annie heard the click of the front door, she carefully moved in that direction. She put her ear up against the door to listen for any movement in the hallway. She heard the ding of the lift bell. That was probably Norma going back up to the conservatory. Annie slowly opened the door and peered in each direction. No one. She decided to take the steps to avoid any other possible encounters with partygoers.
When she reached the conservatory floor, she adjusted the sash and cautiously opened the door. She spotted Myra, who was clutching her pearls. Not necessarily a good sign.
Annie frantically gestured to get Myra’s attention. Finally. Eye contact. The relief on Myra’s face could be seen across the room. She was standing with Dr. Marcus as Norma edged her way in.
“There you are!” Norma exclaimed, as she saw Annie walking toward them. Dr. Marcus was beaming. Myra was not. She softly closed her eyes and slightly shook her head. Annie was good at scaring the wits out of Myra. Not intentionally. It was Annie’s wild nature. One of the many things Myra loved about her dear friend.
“Sorry. I’ve been pulled in all sorts of directions,” Annie replied, recovering from the edge of hyperventilating. She had gotten herself out of a lot of jams in the past. Had Norma discovered Annie in her bedroom, that would have been one hell of a calamity. “My, what a stunning necklace!” Annie pointed to the Cartier. “Sorry I didn’t mention it earlier.”
Norma didn’t flinch. “No worries. You were busy being the perfect hostess.”
Annie smiled her most charming smile, all the while thinking, Rubbish, you moron. She leaned into Myra, knowing they were both thinking the same thing.
“Where’s Charlotte?” Annie asked.
Myra had a twinkle in her eye. “She has been spending some time conversing with Lincoln.” She nodded in their direction. Charlotte was giggling like a schoolgirl. Myra was elated to see her friend laughing and what could be construed as flirting!
“Bravo!” Annie replied. “Lincoln is a wonderful man. Widower for about five years. He said it’s hard to meet someone at this point in his life. I’m happy to see him enjoying himself.”
“Would you excuse us a moment?” Annie said to the Marcuses. “Myra and I have a little matter we need to resolve before the evening ends. Nothing major, but you know how caterers can be.” She took Myra by the elbow and shuffled her through the guests.
Myra started. “You gave me such a fright! What took you so long?”
“You had such a fright? You were supposed to keep an eye on them!” Annie was trying to keep her volume to a whisper. “Norma went back to the flat to get that necklace. I hid behind the bedroom door and held my breath.”
“It happened so fast, I couldn’t stop her. At first, I thought she was going to the ladies’ room, and she melted into the crowd. I didn’t realize what had happened until she came back with that necklace on! Thank goodness you weren’t caught.” She and Annie hugged.
“At least we accomplished what we came here to do! And clearly, she is none the wiser.” Myra touched her pearls again. This time in relief. “Will you look at those two?” She nudged Annie in Charlotte and Lincoln’s direction. “I think Charlotte has a new friend.”
“Sometimes the universe does wonderful and magical things. I’m not going to order the wedding invitations yet, though.” They laughed. “But it would be nice for Charlotte to have a friend when she visits her daughter.”
Another hour and a half passed before Annie went over to the doghouse to see how much money they had raised and took the microphone. “Dear friends. I am delighted you could turn out for this impromptu gathering. You know how near and dear animals are to me and Myra. Tonight we raised over nineteen thousand pounds!”
Cheers, hoots, and hollers filled the room.
“Do you think we can make it an even twenty?” Annie said.
Lincoln raised his hand. “I’m good for another five hundred.”
Annie stared straight at Norma.
“Oh, me! We’ll kick in another five, also!” Norma was waving her arms wildly, but Annie could see the color leave Julian’s face.
“And for you few Yanks, that’s twenty-four thousand US—at least last time I checked.” A rumble of chuckles came from the guests. “Again, thank you for coming. I hope to see you again soon!” Annie put down the mic.
The guests gave a huge round of applause and bellowed, “Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!”
The crowd began to thin, with more alternating cheek kisses, hugs, and handshakes. Lincoln was the last guest to leave. Annie and Myra scooted to the other side of the room so Charlotte and Lincoln could say good night. Lincoln handed Charlotte his card and kissed the back of her hand. Charlotte was glowing. Most likely blushing.
Annie was quite pleased with the entire evening. It had been a bit dodgy, but it had all worked out, and then some. Time to head back to the brownstone and report in.
Myra and Annie purposely sat Charlotte between them in the limo. “So?” they demanded in unison. Charlotte was blushing.
“He is very nice. He told me he was familiar with my books. He read them to his grandchildren! Imagine that!” Charlotte had a dreamy look on her face.
“Okay, girlfriend. When are you seeing him again?” Annie pushed.
“I didn’t make any plans.” She qualified her answer. “Yet. Not until our mission is complete.”
“Spoken like a true sister.” Myra squeezed Charlotte’s arm affectionately. “So what did you tell him?”
“I said I would very much like to see him again and would be in touch once I got my bearings and checked with everyone else’s schedule.”
“You’re a quick study!” Annie remarked.
“I’ve been trained by the best!” Charlotte reminded them.
The car pulled in front of the brownstone, and the women piled out. Before they settled in for the conference call, they got into comfortable clothes. Annie and Myra were accustomed to sitting on the floor and snuggling with the dogs when they got home, but here they had to settle for each other’s company.
An hour after arriving at the brownstone, they entered the drawing room. Byron and Jessica were in their own quarters on the other side of the building, and Annie had bolted the door in the hallway that led to the annex. They had complete privacy.
After powering up their tablets and laptops, they signed into their private network. Annie updated the others on the jewelry exchange and told the story of Norma putting on the necklace and not noticing that it was a fake, once again mentioning Lincoln’s superb craftsmanship. She looked at Charlotte and gave her a wink.
Annie had sent the vial from Marcus’s office to a lab. It was a combination of vitamin B12 and niacin. Innocent enough. It was probably what kept the women’s red blood cell count even. It was the rest of those supplements that were so deadly.
Charles informed them that Sasha, Avery’s operative in Sag Harbor, had confirmed that the private showing of the Chagall was to be held in three days.
Myra fingered her pearls. “Do we have enough time to pull all this together?”
“Whatever it takes!” was the cheer that came from all the sisters on the conference call.
Charles gave Myra the rundown on Dr. Steinwood. He would be invited to Oscar Davis’s world-renowned sports car museum in New Jersey for a private tour. It was the largest of its kind and contained some of the most valuable cars in the world. Davis had made the New York Times when he bought a rare Ferrari for $14.3 million at an auction. Steinwood wouldn’t be able to resist that offer. Fergus would make the arrangements with Oscar’s family and would send the ticket and invitation to Steinwood. While Steinwood was at the museum, Kathryn’s crew of behind-the-scenes art haulers would swap Steinwood’s collection for stolen cars. They would need Avery to jam the cameras one more time.
Regarding Dr. Corbett, they would swap the original Chagall with the reproduction at the customs neutral zone. They had plans for the original. But Corbett would be showing off the forgery. Charles and Fergus had contacted Interpol. They, too, would unwittingly be part of the mission.
As far as Dr. Marcus, it would be a very short matter of time before Franny O’Rourke was handed paste instead of diamonds. The sisters chattered about what Franny would do to Marcus. They would allow Franny to finish the job for them. He probably wouldn’t kill Marcus, but the good doctor would wish he was dead after the beating he would be getting. All part of the Sisterhood credo.
But the timing had to be perfect.
The action was to take place in three days. Everyone was at the ready. Kathryn would meet up with her road buddies in Ohio. Avery was on call to disable the cameras while Steinwood was en route to New Jersey.
Their work in London was done. Myra and Annie had to get back to Pinewood for the grand finale. They encouraged Charlotte to stay on in London, at Annie’s place. No need for her to witness the details of the final act of this play. Charlotte was undecided. She wanted to see it through. But Annie and Myra knew there were some things that should not be shared and convinced her to stay.
Annie called her pilot to have him get the jet ready for the return trip to the States.
“Tell Maryann we are sorry we missed her this trip, but something came up with Fergus and some business deal, and I have to get back.” That was always a convincing excuse.
On the flight back, Myra and Annie discussed their plan for Corbett and Steinwood. Fergus would keep tabs on Marcus. If Franny didn’t put him in the hospital, they would go to plan B, but they were certain Franny would handle it as well as they could. He had a reputation for showing little mercy. But after meeting Norma Marcus, Annie and Myra were almost convinced that she was torture enough.
* * *
The morning after the fund-raiser, Marcus was flying high. His obtaining two new patients, Myra Rutledge and none other than Countess Anna Ryland de Silva, plus the return of Charlotte Hansen, had Marcus on cloud nine. And with the new arrangement he had with Franny, he was feeling just fine. Fine enough to order a month’s worth of cocaine. That would save a lot of dealing with that rotter Jerry Hardy. Before he left for the office, he went to the jewelry safe. There were at least five tennis bracelets. Norma wouldn’t miss one of them. He pinched one that had been appraised for twenty thousand dollars. Franny would give him credit for half of it. That was fine with Marcus. It was a win-win for him. He would get cocaine for diamonds and gold. The only costs were for making the fake replacements. Something Norma would never figure out.