“I hope you’re not planning on doing that during the flight.” Isabelle looked at her sternly.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m simply getting into character.”
“You’re a character, all right.” Isabelle put out her hand. “Fire with fire. Where’s mine?”
Alexis handed her a wad of gum as Fergus put the luggage in the trunk. The cars departed to their appointed destinations.
Isabelle and Alexis arrived at the small airport, boarded Annie’s private jet, and settled into their seats. “This really is the only way to travel,” Isabelle said wistfully. “Don’t you just love it when we can go on a mission when Annie’s jet is available?”
“You’ve got that right! I don’t suppose we could start off with a mimosa?” Alexis said slyly.
“Let’s start with our strategy first. Then we can relax. The flight is just over four hours,” Isabelle responded.
The women pulled out their laptops and began to review the information they had on their subject. Marjorie Brewster. Age sixty-five. Widowed. No children. Now residing in a nursing home. She has one sister, who lives in Boulder. That was all they had. For now.
“I think we should visit Mrs. Brewster and see what her condition is. Last information we had was that she had slipped into a coma, but things could have changed,” Alexis suggested.
Isabelle checked the file. “She was an art teacher before she got married. He had gobs of money. We can say we were students of hers.”
“Perfect. Art teacher in local community college. We’re here for a reunion, heard about her being ill, and want to visit.”
“Sounds like a plan. We can do that this afternoon. The flight is four hours, but with the two-hour time-zone difference, we’ll be there by one at the latest. We’ll go to the lodge, get changed, and head over to the nursing home. Annie said we can use the Jeep in the garage,” Isabelle added. “By the way, what do you have in mind for our next costume?” She rolled her eyes in anticipation.
“Let me think on that.” Alexis looked at the list of outfits she had packed. “Hmmm. What would artists wear? Ah. Here we go. You get the maxi skirt, denim jacket, and a short pink pixie wig. Big black glasses, like the ones Annie sometimes wears.”
“And you?” Isabelle gave her a sideways look.
“I’ll be wearing denim overalls with a T-shirt and combat boots. And I’ll use the wig you’re wearing now.”
“Speaking of which, do you think we should change into civilian clothes now?” Isabelle suggested. “I’m feeling a bit inflated in this thing!”
“I think we should wait until we get to the lodge, just in case we’re caught on camera at the airport. That way, they’ll never find the two big-assed, over-the-top bling chicks.” Alexis chuckled.
“Good point. Too bad the flight is so long.” Isabelle readjusted herself in the plush leather seat. “Once we check on Mrs. Brewster, we can head over to the hospital.”
“Not before we change into something different.” Alexis looked at her list again. “We’ll be very corporate. I have a brown bob-cut wig for you, and I have a very short curly one for me. Remember, we’re part of a scouting team doing research on skiing recuperation.”
“Got it.” Isabelle checked her laptop again. “I have the blueprints for the hospital administration offices. There is also a video of parts of the interior, including the floor plans. It looks like there is an office for the director of the hospital, two small offices, and an open section with workstations. I count four of them. I imagine that’s where all the data from all the departments is stored. I’ll check the electrical specs. That will tell me which section has the most cable connectivity, and that should indicate where the computers are located.” Isabelle tapped a few strokes. “Yep. Looks like the four cubbies have the most outlets.”
“Now, how do we get into their system?” Alexis looked at Isabelle. “I would imagine that information is highly guarded, no?”
“That depends. Even though HIPAA requires that a patient’s privacy be maintained, that doesn’t mean that the computer system itself has particularly tight security.”
Alexis looked a little confused. “I’m not sure what you mean. Aren’t patient records private?”
“Yes, but what that actually means is the information about a patient cannot be shared without the patient’s consent. You sign those waivers anytime you went to the doctor.”
“Sure. I give them the name of someone who they can call.”
“Right. But as I was saying, they aren’t necessarily required to keep everything in a vault.”