Vanishing Act (12 page)

“This time, though, we had an extra operative, one who followed one of the business types. We are now profiling her, and I’m waiting for that report. My man followed Bonnie back to the airport and waited to be sure she boarded the flight back to Reagan National, at which point another one of my people picked up the trail and followed her back to the Watergate.

“Dennis Bookman, Clyde, if you prefer, did exactly the same thing, but he went in another direction. The MO was exactly the same as Bonnie’s. He flew south to Florida, then to Georgia on his second leg. He arrived back at the Watergate an hour after Bonnie arrived. On the third day, they did exactly the same thing, only with different destinations. With each name change, there was also a change in appearance. Different hair, a change of jacket, high heels to low heels, different purse for Bonnie, that kind of thing. Clyde was more casual, baseball cap, jeans, jacket, all either reversible or he carried a spare in his backpack. The alias he used on the first leg was James Ferris; the second was Timothy Black.

“So, girls, what do you think?”

“What I think,” Nikki said, “is we stepped into a giant hornet’s nest, and what we thought was some couple scamming a few dozen people is now a giant fraud ring. The big question is, are Bonnie and Clyde the ringleaders, or is there someone over them?”

“My gut is saying Bonnie and Clyde are the ringleaders,” Myra put in.

The other Sisters all agreed.

“So where do we go from here?” Kathryn asked Charles.

“We need to formulate an airtight plan. We’re now open for input. Bear in mind, we just purchased an apartment in the Watergate complex that is in move-in condition. This,” Charles said, waving a sheaf of papers in the air, “is a schematic of the entire complex, along with their current security system. At best, it’s mediocre. My people also learned that there is no maid, live-in or otherwise, in Bonnie and Clyde’s apartment. When the couple leaves, the place is empty. A little B&E might be called for. Their security system can be dismantled in under sixty seconds if you know what you’re doing.”

“Are we sure Bonnie and Clyde had no idea they were being followed?” Alexis asked.

Charles looked out over the top of his glasses and squelched Alexis with a stern look. “Puhleze! I do not operate a Mickey Mouse operation. The couple are clueless at the moment. As far as they are concerned, it’s business as usual. Which is good for us. I would like surveillance on both of them for at least another week. I think they’re big, but not
that
big. If it’s as my operative suspects—that they take a trip every two to three days—it’s just the Eastern Seaboard. Who knows where they were operating before they descended on the nation’s capital. Documentation, as we all know, is everything.”

“Are we going to wait it out here on the mountain, or are we going to go to the Watergate?” Annie asked.

Charles looked around at the expectant faces staring at him. “I’m going to leave that up to all of you. If you think you can be more effective on the scene, then I will arrange transportation for you to the Watergate. If you prefer to stay here on the mountain until all our information is confirmed, that’s all right, too. It’s your call.”

Isabelle frowned. “Seven people…seven new faces in a condo might raise eyebrows.”

“I could stay at my old house if I have enough cover,” Nikki said.

“I can stay at Harry’s
dojo
,” Yoko volunteered.

“I would be happy to stay with Joseph,” Alexis said. “That leaves only four to move in. Myra, Annie, and their two daughters, Kathryn and Isabelle. My personal opinion is it would be too dicey for Kathryn to hang out at Bert’s pad.” The others nodded, even Kathryn. “If you want to count it down to three, Kathryn or Isabelle could stay with Maggie. Then we could
visit
as the need arises.”

Charles pondered the suggestions presented to him. He nodded. “Work it out among yourselves, and get back to me first thing in the morning. I have a mountain of work ahead of me, so we’re adjourned for now.”

The Sisters walked out into the dark summer evening, each busy with her own thoughts, until Myra said, “I think I just got the brush-off.”

“I think you did, too, dear,” Annie said. “What are you going to do about it?”

Six very ripe and unorthodox suggestions followed Annie’s question, all of which sent Myra off into gales of laughter. The one Myra liked best was where they had Avery Snowden bring Gaston, the tattoo artist, to the mountain under cover of darkness after they drugged Charles with enough of something to fell an ox so Gaston could do some artwork on Charles’s nether regions. “Let’s do it, but not until we finish our mission.”

“Myra, I love the way you think. Can we watch?” Annie asked, clapping her hands together in excitement.

“Annie, my dear, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Myra said.

“When we corner Bonnie and Clyde, what are we going to do with them?” Nikki asked, bringing matters back to hand. “What kind of punishment are we going to mete out?”

“Let’s get a snack and meet up in our common room and kick it around. I have a few ideas,” Annie said. “Good ones!”

While the Sisters were kicking around suitable punishments, Jack Emery was banging on the door of Harry Wong’s
dojo.
At his feet were Harry’s belongings, along with the paperwork and check Lizzie had left for him to give to Harry.

Harry appeared in the dim light and peered out at Jack. “What? Don’t you ever sleep, Jack? What’s with this nocturnal visit?”

“You’re so damn ungrateful, Harry. I’m returning your belongings because I care about you and didn’t want you sleeping directly on the floor. And to return your cell phone, which you left at the house. I also come bearing messages from the mountain and one in particular from Yoko, who said she was going to kick your ass all the way to Kentucky. I didn’t even know Yoko knew where Kentucky was, but that’s where you’re going when she gets hold of you.”

Harry’s arm snaked through the door, and a second later, Jack was sliding across the slick floor. “What the hell…Now I’m going to have blisters on my ass. What the hell is wrong with you, Harry?”

“That was for breaking my damn door.”

“How’d you expect me to get your stuff, you dumb shit! You were sitting barefoot on the curb in your Armani suit when I got here. You didn’t even have your toothbrush. I got you your toothbrush. And, you asshole, you even thanked me for getting you all your stuff. I want an apology,” Jack blustered.

“Climb in the window like any other burglar. Thanks for bringing my stuff back,” Harry said grudgingly. “Are you telling me the truth about Yoko?” His tone was so worried, Jack enjoyed the moment.

“Would I lie about something that stick of dynamite would say? In case you don’t know it, I’m almost as scared of her as you are. You got some major sucking up to do, buddy, and I can’t wait to see it. Serves you right, you ungrateful…
terrorist
.”

Harry’s concession to making peace was to play the host. “You want some tea?”

“No, I don’t want any of your shitty tea. Don’t you have any beer?”

“I do. Do you want one?”

“Well, yeah,” Jack said, getting to his feet.

Tea in hand, Harry led the way into the practice room. Jack with his beer followed. Together, they sat down cross-legged on a deep-blue practice mat. “So, talk to me, Jack.”

“The girls are coming soon, probably within the next couple of days. Yoko will be staying with you, at least temporarily.” Jack quickly outlined all that Nikki had told him. Tongue in cheek, he said, “You better start sprucing up the place, Harry.” Harry favored him with the evil eye, which then made Jack hurry to explain all that Lizzie had told him. “Here’s the check for the renovations. A letter of apology will be coming from the bank. Lizzie wasn’t sure how long that would take, but it
is
coming. If I were you, I’d frame it when it gets here. From now on you will be banking online, and Lizzie and some guy at the bank will be monitoring your account since you have such a phobia about mail. They’re still working on the credit card stuff, so just be patient. You can still use the two cards you have, it’s been cleared, and new card numbers have been issued. You following me here, Harry?”

“Yeah, but I don’t like that online part.”

“Harry, you are such a Neanderthal. That’s another way of saying you don’t have a choice in the matter. It was part of the deal Lizzie made, so suck it up and shut up. How about another beer?”

“What, now you want me to wait on you, too? Gratitude goes just so far, Jack.”

“Listen, your ass could be sailing over Kentucky as we speak if it wasn’t for me, so, yes, I expect you to wait on me. Hand and foot. Then I’m going to help you spruce up your place for when Yoko arrives. That means we have to wash the sheets, preferably new ones, in some sweet-smelling stuff, get some fresh flowers, dust with lemon something or other, clean the dust off the paddle fan, and
really
clean up that scuzzy bathroom of yours. I’m thinking you need new pink bathroom rugs. Women love pink. New towels, too, big and soft. Soap that smells good, new toothbrushes, all that junk you saw in my house. I’m sleeping here since today is Friday, and we can hit the stores first thing in the morning.”

Harry’s eyes were as round as he could make them. “Tell me you’re jerking my string, Jack.”

Jack laughed. “It’s either that or you’re going to Kentucky. Your choice.”

“I hate your guts, Jack. If I find out you’re lying to me, you’re the one who will be going to Kentucky!”

T
he Sisters were clustered together on the platform where the cable car rested as they waited for Charles to join them with whatever last-second information was coming in by the minute. It was four in the afternoon, and their trip into the nation’s capital would get them there soon after dark. It was the perfect time for the six-hour trip.

“I can’t believe it’s taken six days to get all this information,” Kathryn grumbled. “My head feels like it’s going to explode with all the information Charles drummed in to me…us. Finally.” She sighed as she pointed to Charles crossing the lawn, the two dogs at his side. “Damn, will you look at that stack of folders he’s carrying. They must weigh a ton,” she continued to grouse.

Charles handed a folder to each of the women, then stepped back. “Ladies. There’s been a change of plan. Annie, Myra, instead of waiting until tomorrow to go into Bonnie and Clyde’s apartment at the Watergate, you’ll be doing it right after you arrive. Word came in from the men and women who have been tailing them that both Bonnie and Clyde have checked in for the night at the Hiltons where they had their business meetings. No one knows why the change in routine, but it works out well for us.

“So, good luck! Call in every three hours, and I don’t mean every four hours. Three means three, and it also means no one acts independently under any circumstance. Should that happen, you will be extracted. I have already alerted Jack, Harry, Bert, Ted, and Joseph to these new rules. Do any of you have any questions?”

They all shook their heads no. It was Annie who opened the gate to the cable car. She stepped in, Myra behind her.

As the dogs barked, Charles waved nonchalantly and slowly made his way back to the command center.

Alexis shoved her Red Bag, which looked like it weighed a ton, into the cable car before she followed Annie and Myra.

“You look more like Tyra Banks than Tyra does,” Nikki shouted at Alexis. “See you tomorrow.”

Alexis laughed at what she’d accomplished with her Red Bag. She did look like Tyra Banks. She could hardly wait to see Joe Espinosa’s expression when she let herself into his apartment. Would he think that somehow the wrong woman had come calling? What a hoot that would be.

“Do you think we look like two spinster sisters?” Annie asked Alexis.

“You do. Trust me, no one will give either one of you a second glance. I don’t mean that the way it sounds. What I mean is no one who sees you will think of either Annie de Silva or Myra Rutledge. And if, when you’re around people, you can remember to speak that awful German language Charles forced us to learn, you’ll ace your new identities.”

Dressed in prim suits, walking shoes with stout heels on their feet, and look-alike wigs fitted perfectly to their heads, the two women did resemble sisters of a certain age. Both wore glasses with wire rims and had no jewelry other than plain gold wedding bands. Widows, both of them. Each carried a small leather duffel bag that was worn and battered. Two suitcases waited for them at the bottom of the mountain. They were in the trunk of a two-year-old Ford Taurus, complete with an onboard navigator, set to show them the way to the Watergate and its underground parking garage.

Alexis, on the other hand, looked just like the model and movie star she was supposed to be. She wore skintight jeans, spike heels, and a crisp white shirt tied in a knot at her waist. A rakish jeweled cap pulled low over her forehead at an angle matched the gleaming bracelets and rings she wore. Huge gold-hoop earrings dangled from her ears. A car waited for her, too—in her case a Ford Mustang convertible, which also had a navigation system. It would take her straight to Joe Espinosa’s apartment, where she would park in an underground parking spot, at which point she would take the elevator to the floor where the photographer hung his hat. She was so excited at the prospect that she had trouble breathing. This would be the first time she was actually going to be
alone
with Joe. Giggling, she said, “I am ecstatic!”

Myra and Annie smiled indulgently.

The cable car came to a stop and slid into its nest. The women exited quickly, and Myra pressed the button that would send the car back to the top of the mountain. Within minutes, all three women were in the waiting cars and out on the highway. Their destination: Washington, D.C.

Back on the mountain, Yoko, Kathryn, Isabelle, and Nikki stepped into the cable car. Sadly, there was no one to wave good-bye.

Charles had issued new identities and driver’s licenses, the procurement of which had also contributed to the weeklong wait on the mountain.