By the time he got back to his room, Charles had called with information about a utility truck. “Kathryn said she is going to have to fly to Denver and pick up the rig herself. She’ll meet you in Aspen around nine. This way, you can get the truck outside the house before he leaves in the morning.”
Avery Snowden checked his watch. He had no idea what time the Live-Life-Long office closed for the day. There had been no indication anywhere. They probably conformed their schedule to their patients’. After all, the patients were the ones paying the exorbitant fees, and God knows what else.
His ears perked up when he heard a man’s voice getting louder in the background.
“That about does it for today, ladies. Enjoy your evening.”
From what Avery could glean, the doctor was leaving the office, and the women were preparing to do the same. The woo-woo music stopped, and he could hear them rustling and chatting about what they were going to do for the evening. One was meeting her boyfriend to go dancing, and the other was meeting her sister for a movie. Nothing suspicious about either of their plans.
He would wait another hour or so before he returned. That would still give him several hours before he had to meet up with Kathryn. The plan was to park on different streets and meet at a Starbucks, where they would exchange keys and directions to their vehicles. Kathryn would take one rental back to Denver. That would still leave Avery with a rental and a utility truck.
He reviewed the office blueprints again. No security cameras in the front. Just one at the rear door, facing in one direction. There was also an alarm system that could be dismantled by a three-year-old with access to the Internet . Cripes. You can learn to do almost anything from YouTube. Avery shook his head. What a world. He laughed again at himself. Indeed.
After donning a black running suit, black cap, black gloves, and black sneakers, Avery slipped out of the motel and walked down the street to the first of the two rentals. He double-checked his gear. He had magnets for the alarm system and four bugging devices. He parked the car a few blocks away, began a slight jog in the direction of the office, and made a turn onto the street behind it. Behind the buildings, there was a small walkway running parallel to the street. It was where the trash bins and electric and gas meters were located. It would qualify as an alley, but they would never call it an alley in this town. No, it was considered public works access. Whatever.
Avery made sure he approached the rear of the office from the side at which the security camera did not point. After looking in both directions for other pedestrians and cameras, he neared the door. Within seconds, he had picked the lock and disengaged the alarm sensor. He listened carefully for any sounds of company. All quiet. He would plant the bugs in each patient suite, and the office in the back that housed the impressive vault. Safecracking wasn’t necessarily his forte, but he knew enough people who made a very lucrative living doing so, if he needed to call in an expert.
Avery opened several file cabinets in search of information, but the files were coded in colors and numbers. No names, just what appeared to be dates of office visits. Odd. Maybe it was all on a hard drive. He booted up the desk computer, but it was password protected, and there wasn’t enough time to try to gain access. The critical move was to get the place bugged so the sisters could carry out the next stages of their plan.
After checking that all the recording devices and the strategically placed cameras were operating properly, he e-mailed photos of the safe directly to Charles. Taking one last look around, he was satisfied. Avery reset the alarm sensor, locked the door, and carefully moved down the alley. He looked at his watch again—8:00 P.M. He had an hour before he had to meet up with Kathryn.
He returned to the motel to change into something more “outdoors country” appropriate, in place of the ninja look. Or was it the bank-robber look? Either way, he didn’t want to stand out among all the flannel shirts and Timberland boots.
Avery entered the Starbucks and gave the room the once-over. It looked like an L.L.Bean convention. He would blend in just fine. Kathryn entered a few minutes later, looking like her usual self. Jeans, hiking boots, denim shirt. Perfect. She nodded at him and walked to the counter and ordered a double cappuccino and a hot chocolate from the barista. After paying for the beverages, she sauntered over to his table and placed the hot chocolate in front of Avery.
“Wasn’t sure if you were in need of caffeine or an antioxidant,” Kathryn’s husky voice boomed across the table.
“Thanks! I’ll take the chocolate. It has a lot of benefits. Improves blood flow, lowers blood pressure, and may reduce my chances for heart disease.” Avery gave her a wry grin.
“Had I known all that, I would have gotten two. For me.” Kathryn smiled, which was something she didn’t do all that easily. She had been through hell and back. If it were not for Myra and the other sisters, she couldn’t imagine where she would be now. One could say she was happy, but the scar on her heart from losing the love of her life would never go away. Content would probably be a better word.
Both placed their keys in the middle of the table, finished their drinks, picked up the other’s key ring, and gave directions to their vehicles. Kathryn would spend the night at a different motel and would head back to Denver in the morning. Avery would park the utility truck a block from his motel and would retrieve it at the crack of dawn.
Chapter 20
Pinewood
The landline in the kitchen was ringing. Very few people knew that number. Charles glimpsed at the caller ID and saw that the call was from the UK. At first he was hesitant to answer, but then it occurred to him that it might be Maryann calling for Charlotte.
“Yes?” he asked in a very deep baritone voice.
“Hello, Charles? It’s Maryann. How are you?”
“Very well, Maryann. Is everything all right?”
“Uh, yes.” She hesitated. Charles noticed. “Is my mom available?”
“Yes, she’s in the atrium with Myra. Hold on a moment.” Charles brought the handheld device into the room where the others sat. “Charlotte, it’s Maryann. Don’t worry. She said everything is fine.” He handed the phone to her.
“Maryann, sweetie, all okay?” Charlotte wanted to hear it for herself.
“Well, yes, Mom.” Another hesitation.
“Good. I’m surprised to hear from you.”
“Okay, Mom, please hear me out.” Maryann couldn’t dance around the issue any longer. “Dr. Steinwood called me from Aspen. He said he was concerned that you were missing appointments and that this lapse could have detrimental effects.”
“Oh?” Charlotte was being coy as she motioned for Myra and Charles to listen in as she put the phone in speakerphone mode. “I don’t know, dear. I’m feeling quite fantastic right now. Maybe the program has already worked, and I don’t need to continue.” She looked up at her friends, who both gave her a thumbs-up.
“Mother, would you at least consider it? Sleep on it, as they say. Please?” Maryann was begging.
Myra grabbed a pen and paper and wrote, “Tell her yes.”
Charlotte looked stunned and shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, “Why?” But Myra was mouthing, “Yes.”
“Oh, okay, honey. I will sleep on it. Happy now?” Charlotte was finally playing along.