The insult slid off of Bobby like water. “So, you know, kid, according to thief culture, if you’re going to court Kat, you now owe me two dozen goats.”
“It’s a dozen,” Eddie corrected.
“Yeah, but Kat’s worth two,” Hamish said with a wink.
Through it all, Hale said nothing. Then, finally, he smiled. “I’m afraid I’m all out of goats at the moment, but I’ve got some ruby cuff links you can have.”
“No.” Bobby shook his head. “It’s goats or nothing.”
“Sorry, Kat.” Hale shrugged, disappointed. “It was fun while it lasted.”
“Don’t look at me.” Kat threw up her hands. “I’m officially ignoring all of you.”
“Seriously, kid.” Bobby extended a hand, and Hale took it. “I don’t know whether to say congratulations or I’m sorry.”
“Hazel was a great lady,” Eddie added from the other side of the room.
“I wish I’d known her,” Bobby said.
Hale flashed his easy grin. “You would have liked her. Everybody liked her the instant they met her. Isn’t that right, Marcus?”
The butler stepped forward. “It is indeed, sir. Mrs. Hale was, if you’ll pardon the term, a charmer.”
“So she could have been an inside woman, huh?” Bobby asked.
“The best,” Hale said, and for a second, that thought filled the room. Hale wasn’t the boy who’d lost a fortune in that moment; he was the kid who’d lost his grandmother. And that made all the difference.
“So”—Bobby slapped the table—“I hear someone needs to rob the Superior Bank of Manhattan?”
“Yes, sir,” Hale said.
Bobby pulled out a chair. “Have a seat.”
How many times had Kat seen Hale at Eddie’s kitchen table? Too many to even count, she was sure. But right then she was holding her breath, hoping everything was going to be okay.
“Just to back up a moment…” Hamish said. “So that I’m clear, we are supposed to run a dead con on someone who knows that we’re conning him.…”
“Well, not him, exactly—my family,” Hale said. “But pretty much. Go on.”
“And we’re supposed to set up a Big Store with no money,” Hamish said.
“And rob the Superior Bank of Manhattan with no time,” Angus finished.
“And then break into the U.S. Patent office to swap out the fake plans for the real plans…” Hamish said. “Or something like that.”
Kat looked around the room. If she could have chosen any crew in the world, it would have been them, but she didn’t feel any peace.
“You’re right, Hamish, I don’t have any money,” Hale said. “But I have some things we can sell.”
“No, sir,” Marcus chimed in. “I have savings, which I will happily contribute to—”
“No!” Eddie’s fist banged against the table. “You think this is supposed to be easy? In my day we had to work for what we stole. We didn’t fly around on private jets. No one wrote us a check and bought us a Big Store. We made our own luck with our wits and our hands. Now, you two.” He pointed at the Bagshaws and shuffled toward the door. “You boys find me a Big Store. You find it fast.”
“But…” Angus started.
Eddie glared. “Go.”
And with that, Angus and Hamish were up and out the door.