“We need to find their Achilles’ heels.” Nikki tapped her pen on the table. “But I don’t think it will be in those vaults.”
“You are correct, but we do need to know what they’re hiding,” Charles replied.
“Myra also makes a good point. It’s a twofold operation. Which do we pursue first? Or do you think we can gather what we need simultaneously?” Nikki asked.
“We should have more intel from Avery and his crew by tomorrow. Once we know what we are dealing with, we can assign everyone her duties,” Fergus added.
“What about the snatch?” Yoko asked. “How will we coordinate three at once? We can’t do that in stages, because the others will find out and probably flee.”
“Good point.” Myra touched her pearls. “I’ve been thinking.”
In unison, the group chorused a teasing “Uh-oh” and broke into fits of laughter.
Myra shook her head and smiled. “As I was saying. We know that emotional pain can be much more excruciating than physical pain. With the exception of children or pets, we need to find what would cause these men to suffer mentally.”
“And I was hoping for another scorching.” Alexis reminded them of their last mission, with a woman who had a penchant for very expensive shoes and abused her adopted son. She would have a very difficult time squeezing her feet into four-thousand-dollar Manolo Blahniks now.
“Ew. I remember how badly that smelled. Let’s not do that again, please,” Yoko added her opinion. “Can’t we just send them off somewhere with Pearl?” Pearl Barnes was their “relocation” connection. She ran a secret underground railroad for abused women and children and occasionally freelanced for the Sisterhood. Except the people the Sisterhood provided were not sent to a safe house, but more like to the most unsafe place people would want to find themselves.
“As soon as we know a little more about these men, we’ll be able to plan their grand finales, that is, the one before God gets His hands on them,” Myra added.
Annie made a list:
1. Maggie on the Thompson story.
2. More intel from Avery’s group.
3. Isabelle and Alexis go to Aspen to get Brewster medical records.
4. Myra and Annie head to New York to see Victor at Christie’s. Depending on what is discovered, either stay or fly to London with Charlotte.
“Do we have any idea how much longer Avery’s team will be?” Annie asked.
Fergus checked the monitor screens for any updates. “Looks like tomorrow. Day after, the latest.”
“I’ll call my pilot and let him know we’ll be flying in a few days.” Annie added that to the list.
Maggie slumped in her chair. “You guys get to have all the fun in Annie’s private jet. I’m sure I’ll be sitting in front of some spoiled brat in economy class who likes to kick the seat.”
“Stop moaning. Instead of taking the shuttle, take the Acela to New York City from Union Station.” Annie stuck out her tongue.
“If you insist.” Maggie went to bite her nails but was stopped short by their unusually pristine condition and giggled. “Hmmm . . . This really is a good deterrent.”
Annie turned to her. “What do you have on the Thompson case?”
Maggie checked her laptop. “‘Lorraine Thompson, widow and mother, passed away at home of an apparent suicide. Family members said she had been very emotionally unstable as of late but were shocked that she had been despairing enough to have committed suicide. Her eldest daughter, Genevieve Ringwood, said her mother had been a bit manic but not necessarily depressed. “We would have done something about it if we had only known.”’” The article goes on to offer the usual bromides. ‘If you or anyone you know shows signs of depression, call the hotline.’
“I spoke to Mrs. Ringwood, who was very reluctant to talk to me on the phone, so I offered to interview her in person. She sounded a little . . . I dunno. Secretive? Like she was hiding something.”
“If anyone can get her to talk, it’s certainly you!” Annie chortled.
“I’m meeting with her day after tomorrow. She lives in Huntington, Long Island, so I’ll take a car from Penn Station. I asked her if she had any paperwork on Live-Life-Long, which seemed to spook her a bit. She stammered but said she would look through her mother’s papers and see what she could find. I thought that was very accommodating of her.”
“Very,” Myra said thoughtfully. “Perhaps she, too, has her suspicions but was afraid to voice them. Good job, Maggie. I’m sure once she meets you, she’ll spill her guts.”
“That’s what I’m hoping for.” Maggie took a little bow.
Charles and Myra could hear the dogs making a yapping sound, signaling it was getting close to dinnertime.
“I think we have plenty to work with now.” Annie looked around the room. Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Let’s eat!” On that note, Maggie, with the voracious appetite, brought the meeting to an end, and each of the sisters gave a fist bump and hooted their slogan, “Whatever it takes!”
“Which includes feeding Maggie.” Charles gave the erstwhile newspaperwoman a wink.
The group saluted Lady Justice, climbed up the steps, and entered the delicious-smelling kitchen. Charles clapped his hands once and directed, “Fall to it!” That was the signal for everyone to perform their dinner duties, as well as for the dogs to line up for their evening meal. In less than thirteen minutes, the table was set, the dogs were fed, and the scrumptious casserole and side dishes were placed on the table.
They took a moment to say grace, and Charlotte added, “Dear Lord, bless these wonderful friends. I am so fortunate to have them in my life.”
A resounding “Amen!” filled the room. Lady and her pups echoed the sentiment with their version of prayer—little yowling and a yap.
Once the table was cleared and the kitchen sparkling clean, the women headed back to the war room to see what other information might have come in.
Chapter 24
Aspen
Avery Snowden put on a pair of overalls, a flannel shirt, and a hard hat. He could easily pass for a lineman. He jumped into the cab of the utility truck and headed toward Crystal Lake Road. When he came upon the estate, he parked the truck along the side of the road and put out an orange cone and a MEN WORKING sign. He hoisted the bucket to the level of the tree line to get a good view of the property. From where he sat, he could see the front and side entries of the house, as well as the four overhead garage doors. It was eight in the morning. Should be some action soon.
Within the half hour, Steinwood exited through the side door and pushed a few buttons next to the garage doors. The closest door to Avery slid smoothly up the tracks. He couldn’t get a good look inside, but what he saw was impressive. A glint of two very high-end sports cars from the reflection of the morning sun. Avery suspected there could be more. He definitely needed to get into that garage.
Steinwood pulled out the Jaguar and roared out of the driveway, just as he had done the day before. Avery quickly got out his small camera with the telephoto lens and snapped a photo of the cars before the garage door closed. He then sent the photo off to Charles who he hoped would be able to identify the cars. Avery waited several minutes before he brought the bucket down, then jumped out and walked up the driveway as if he belonged there. Cable service, if anyone asked. Getting past the cameras could be a problem. The layout of the garage did not seem out of the ordinary. It was the size of the garage that was striking. There were three doors on one side and three on the opposite side. The driveway wrapped around the building. He suspected there would be cameras on the other side, as well. He decided to move the truck to get a different vantage point. Maybe he would be able to see the other side of the garage.