rock stars, wealthy men, models, designers. It’s one-stop shopping. They can get their hands on almost anything . . . heroin, cocaine, acid, marijuana, roofies—also known as Rohypnol, the date-rape drug—fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid, crystal meth. It’s quite a menu. They also get a handsome commission, since money is no object to their clientele.”
“What kind of business would this punk have with Marcus?” Isabelle asked.
“Now, that is a very good question. Around lunchtime, Eileen followed Marcus from his office to his apartment building. He was inside for just a few minutes. She then followed him across town, where he went into a jewelry store. She couldn’t tell if he bought anything, but he came out with a wild look on his face. As she put it, ‘He looked like the Cheshire cat.’ He then went straight back to his office. She will be planting some bugs in Marcus’s office later. Sasha will be working on Corbett, who is out in Sag Harbor. Sasha spotted Corbett reading a Christie’s auction house catalog. According to her report, he had an expression of elation on his face while he was reading it. We need to find out what has enthralled both of these men so much.”
Annie chimed in. “I can call Victor at Christie’s, and Myra and I can pay him a visit when we go to New York.”
“You are going to have a very busy schedule,” Fergus observed.
“Yes, you are, because according to the blueprints, each office has a vault—a Scripps Safe TRXP Series pharmacy vault. We may need your safecracking expertise at all three locations. Those vaults are not easy to break into.” Charles looked directly at Annie, who eagerly rubbed her hands together.
Charlotte gasped at the revelation that her old friend, perhaps the richest woman in the world, was an accomplished safecracker. The girls all chuckled at her reaction.
Myra said, “Three critical things we must focus on. First, Maggie needs to talk to the Thompson family and see what we can learn about the circumstances of her death. Second, Isabelle and Alexis have to find out about Marjorie Brewster’s condition. Finally, as a group, we need to decide how these poor excuses for human beings are going to pay for their sins.”
“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