"I told her that the tapestries were valuable and asked how she had them protected. She didn't mention a security system."
Julia recognized the squeamish look on Nina's face. "What did she mention?"
It took a sharp pinch to the fleshy part of Nina's arm to make her say "pit bull."
"She doesn't have a dog," Caroline scoffed. "I've been watching that house for months and I've never seen a dog.""
"Exactly," Nina said, point proven. "That's why I didn't bring it up."
Caroline moved a box of wet wipes from the changing table and unrolled a set of detailed diagrams of the four house styles allowed in the development. She pulled out the floor plan for the smallest of the possible houses, the one the bankrupt contractor had chosen to build for his mother. It showed that the window Nina had unlocked was in the rear of the house, the "keeping room."
"Okay," Caroline said as everyone gathered around. "I'm going to stay here and be central control." She used a turkey baster to point to the diagram as she carried on. "I can only see into the formal living room, formal dining room, keeping room, and part of the kitchen. But I can keep an eye out for lights coming on and movement in the south side of the house. We have emergency exits here and here." She placed Candy Land game pieces on top of the locations of the pedestrian door in the garage and the French doors off the patio. "Take this." She handed Nina the other walkie-talkie. "If you see anything strange, radio back to base, and I'll tell you whether or not to abort."
Abort? Emergency exits? Central control? What's next, Julia wondered, code names and tubes of lipstick that double as rocket launchers?
Undaunted, Caroline carried on. "Nick wakes up to eat i lost nights about one-thirty. I've never noticed any activity over there then, and judging from the number of whiskey bottles Myrtle hauls to the curb on recycling days, I think that's as good a time as any to go in." She paused to survey the troops. "Does that sound okay?" she asked. There were nods all around, so Caroline finished. "Until then, we should consider ourselves in a holding pattern."
Surprisingly, Julia found herself starting to relax. We've got plan, she thought as she, Nina, and Lance shared "this might actually work" glances in the playroom. A feeling of cockiness was starting to build when the doorbell rang and, despite their cool bravado, all four of them nearly jumped through the roof.
"What's with the getups?" Jason asked, looking at Julia, Nina, and Caroline, who stood in the foyer, decked out in black. "You look like rejects from mime academy."
"We're going clubbing," Nina coolly lied, ever the used-car salesman’s daughter.
"You three?" Jason asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yep," Caroline agreed. "We're gonna pick up guys."
Caroline had forgotten that she had the walkie-talkie taped to her shirt. Julia jumped and tried to stand in front of her, but Jason had already noticed and said, "What's that?"
"Baby monitor," Julia said.
"Why is it taped to you?" Jason asked.
"Babies are a lot of work, Jason," Julia snapped. "Families are a lot of work. But you know that already. Isn't that why you told Nina you never want to have kids?"
Nina looked troubled, but Jason was unfazed.
He just smirked and pointed to the walkie-talkie. "Won't that get in the way of picking up guys?"
"Not really." Lance's voice carried down the staircase. "I'm already here."
Lance strolled toward the door, looking strong and territorial. Julia thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest as a thought settled firmly in her mind: I actually know a man like this. He stopped ten feet from Jason, and Julia realized how Lance had survived as a kid, moving from town to town, living without a father. He was a good man and a great actor, and at that moment, he was acting like someone who would dearly love to beat the crap out of Jason.
Testosterone bounced off the marble floors of the foyer as the two men sized each other up.
"Justin, isn't it?"
"Jason."
"Oh, right. What brings you by?" Lance asked.
"I'm looking for Tiny here," Jason said, and snapped his fingers in an annoying gesture that Julia had seen him do ever since the seventh grade. "Got a couple of movie tickets. Thought she'd want to go."
"Really?" Lance said. "What are you gonna see?"
Jason waved the question away. "It doesn't really—"
Lance cut him off. "If you're asking the lady to a movie because you've got an extra ticket, you ought to tell her what the movie is. So, Jason, what movie is it?"