Sasha watched Corbett for a few more minutes, while he sat and thumbed through the catalog, taking sips of his cocktail every few minutes. The expression on his face was ecstatic. Must be something very special. Usually, men had that look on their face only when they were about to have sex or had just had sex. Some kind of jubilation. She wondered what could turn a man on in an auction catalog. Never mind. She didn’t want to go there. She made her way around the rest of the privet, taking photos of the entrances. She knew they would be designated on the blueprints, which were waiting to be downloaded onto her computer, but an actual visual was always best.
Sag Harbor was once a whaling village. Over the past century, it had become a haven for wealthy industrialists during the summer months. This old fishing community was now filled with high-end boutiques, the same ones that could be found on Fifth Avenue and Rodeo Drive. Unless you were a megastar with a net worth over twenty million dollars, you had a small historic cottage on less than an acre of land. If you wanted to remodel it, you were limited when it came to what you could do on the outside, and it could cost hundreds of thousands to renovate. A lot of that 1880s wood could get rotten over the decades. Centuries. If you wanted to say you lived in the Hamptons, you had to pay the price and play by the rules, and these little towns had lots of them.
Surrounding the quaint hamlet were acres of estates and cottages alive with tulip trees, the tallest hardwood on the East Coast. This made it easy for Sasha to find ample locations from which to peer into the second floor of the house. She followed Corbett’s movements as he turned on the light in the hallway, then the ones in the master bedroom suite. Not any sign of a feminine influence. Maybe he was too much of a narcissist to have a girlfriend, even as wealthy as he was.
Sasha snapped a few more photos. The small balcony off the bedroom could provide easy access, so she took several shots at different angles. No security cameras. She guessed that since it was over 140 miles from New York City, and not necessarily an easy trip on a two-lane highway, they didn’t get a lot of lowlifes showing up in Sag Harbor. Made sense. It was a long haul, so someone had to be motivated enough to make that trip. Sasha thought for a moment. Except for several murders, all of which were about sex or money or both. Another type of white-collar crime. Domestic violence. She immediately gave thanks for people like Myra and the sisters. At least some women would get justice.
After observing Corbett for another hour, she saw him go into the bathroom and return wearing a robe and slippers. Was that some sort of a family crest on the toe? Seriously? Who was he trying to kid? They didn’t know a whole lot about the trio of scumbags they were dealing with, but they were learning new info every day. And one thing they did know was that there were no aristocrats in Corbett’s family tree.
It looked like he was in for the evening. Sasha took a good look around. No one in sight. She climbed down from the tree, returned to her car, and headed back to her motel. She needed to check on the blueprints of the office. That would be tomorrow’s target.
Chapter 22
London
Marcus was beginning to sweat again. Steinwood was right. He needed to rein in Norma’s extravagance. But how? She would beat him to a pulp if he even uttered the word budget. He paced some more; then it hit him. Her diamonds! He would slowly replace them with fakes. One, maybe two at a time. Brilliant. He laughed at the pun. He phoned Norma to see what was on her agenda. She always had one. Another laugh. Yes, indeed. He was energized by his new plan.
“Hello, dear. Tell me, what are your plans for today?” Marcus hoped she wouldn’t be suspicious. He rarely showed any interest in anything she did. He only paid for it.
“Hello, darling. I’m lunching with Victoria and Blake. We’re going to the Square.” She could not have been more blasé as Marcus was adding up the tab in his head. “Why do you ask, darling?”