to the reception area. “Mrs. Brewster needs her rest?” Isabelle said in a loud whisper. “What do they think she’s doing in there? Jumping jacks?”
“Hush.” Alexis tried to calm Isabelle. “I don’t want them physically throwing us out of here.”
“Yeah, but did you notice that it was when I mentioned Steinwood that the ruckus started?”
“The theory may be right. They can hear what’s going on.” Alexis put her arm through Isabelle’s as they waved at Jeanne. “Thanks very much! Bye-Bye!”
Jeanne waved back at them.
As soon as they jumped into the Jeep, Isabelle texted Myra. Saw MB. Hand twitched when I mentioned DS. Then they threw us out. But all okay. Will call in later.
“Wow. You’re right about that twitching. Too bad we didn’t have more time with her.” Alexis drummed her fingers on the dashboard.
“I see those wheels turning. No, we are not going to break into this place later. We have our assignment. Besides, if we had said anything else, she might have died!” Isabelle’s eyes widened.
“Huh. She’s as good as dead,” Alexis said bitterly.
“Hey, don’t talk like that. Look what we went through, and our lives turned around.”
“Yeah, but we weren’t in a coma.”
They drove back to the lodge in silence, each thinking back to her own personal nightmare: when Isabelle lost her job, her man, and was framed for drunk driving, and when Alexis was wrongfully imprisoned for fraud. Yes, each of them had suffered great losses, but life was still worth living, thanks to people like Myra Rutledge and Anna Ryland de Silva.
Chapter 29
London
Eileen found a perfect go-go outfit for the fund-raiser being held in the conservatory in Dr. Marcus’s building. A red leather miniskirt, white leather boots, fake-fur vest, and a pixie wig, with a big shoulder bag on her arm. There was nothing in there that would set off security, and the devices she needed to plant in the apartment were tucked inside her bra. The contents of her bag were normal items, including a large shawl, foldable ballet flats for when her feet were tired of being tortured by high heels, a makeup case, phone charger, wallet, keys. The only thing was that the information in her wallet was fake, the phone charger was for the surveillance equipment, the shawl concealed an extra outfit, and the makeup was for the purpose of changing her look. The slippers were just for what they were meant to do and more. They gave her feet a break but were also made of special material that left no prints.
She approached the security desk in the lobby, then offered her purse to the guard, who simply nodded in her direction and let her pass through the small acrylic gate. She gave him a wink. He tipped his hat. Yes, they will remember the cute chick in the sixties outfit. They will not remember the plain and simple, mousy-looking girl.
Eileen made her way through the guests, had a few hors d’oeuvres, and snatched a glass of champagne from a waiter passing by with a trayful. Pretending to take a sip, Eileen looked around for the ladies’ room. It was in the far corner, next to an exit. When Eileen had studied the blueprints, she had etched the exact location of the stairs into her memory.
She smiled and nodded to several people as she approached the bathroom. There was a woman washing her hands as Eileen entered. “Good evenings” were exchanged, and Eileen went into one of the stalls. She quickly removed her wig, boots, skirt, and vest and replaced them with a long prairie-style skirt, tan blouse, brown hair in a bun, and granny glasses. And the flat shoes. She stepped on the toilet to see if there was anyone else in the room. It was empty.
She turned her bag inside out, and it now looked like an old satchel. She took a quick look in the mirror. Yes. She’d blend right into the woodwork.
Slowly opening the door, she peered out to see if anyone was looking in her direction. There were a few people engaged in conversation nearby, so she avoided making eye contact with any of them. With catlike moves, she was in the stairwell. She waited. Listened. Nothing.
She looked around for security cameras, just in case they had changed the layout since the building opened. Everything appeared to be in the locations indicated on the plans. She knew where the cameras were and how to dodge them. She had already made her way to Marcus’s floor