time with the bawdy bimbo and extend as little hospitality as possible. Myra, Annie, and Charlotte tried to avoid making eye contact with each other in fear of bursting out laughing. Women like Norma Marcus gave women a bad name, and that name was bimbo. The only thing that was missing was the bubble gum. That was when Charlotte remembered how Isabelle and Alexis were dressed when they had left for Aspen. Her body started shaking as she ferociously tried to keep from laughing. She cracked. Myra followed. Then Annie. The three of them were howling as their guests stared in shock.
Surprised and perplexed expressions ran across Julian’s and Norma’s faces. Annie was the first to gain her composure.
“I am so sorry. My apologies. It’s a silly private joke we used to share when we were kids.” She took Norma’s hand. “So tell me a little about yourself.” She guided Norma through the growing crowd. “I plan on staying in London for a brief time. I always welcome new donors to my animal charities.” Norma seemed a little unsteady on the spiked heels. Perhaps the word charity was a curse word to Norma.
After a half hour of “How do you dos” with Norma’s friends, Annie politely excused herself. “I must attend to my other guests. We’ll catch up some more later.”
Eyeing Myra and Charlotte, Annie signaled that she was on the move. Charlotte and Myra were to keep their eyes on the Marcuses. Annie slipped through the crowd, kissing cheeks. When it appeared no one was looking in her direction, she slipped out the door to the side stairwell. Debating whether she should slide down the handrails, she realized there wouldn’t be a pile of pillows at the bottom or Charles and Fergus to bounce off. That was something that would have to wait until she got back to Myra’s. She moved swiftly down the stairs, remembering that she had to go one flight below the apartment and then take the lift up. That could eat up several minutes. Lifts did not always arrive on your schedule. Especially when you were in a hurry.
She was careful to avoid the security cameras but was thrown off when the doors to the lift opened and several of her party invitees were inside.
“Annie!” said some of the guests.
“Countess!” other surprised guests blurted.
“Darlings! Good of you to come! You did bring your checkbook, I trust!” Annie was going to get ahead of them before anyone could ask what she was doing in the lift. “Private talk with the doorman.”
“Yes, but this is going up.”
“And so it is. Silly me. So much going on!” She pushed the button for the Marcuses’ floor. “I’ll pop out and grab the next one going down. Be back in a flash!”
She blew kisses as the doors slid shut. She scurried to the Marcuses’ door and picked the lock. She had the floor plan memorized and headed straight to the bedroom closet that housed the stash. She flipped the plastic cover off the emergency lock, inserted her pick tool, jiggled it to the right, left, right, left. The whirring sound of the cylinders falling into place was music to her ears. She took a quick photo of the contents to be sure she placed the replicas in the same positions. After untying her sash, she laid it on the floor and unfolded it, then emptied the contents of the velvet bags. One by one, she withdrew each piece and replaced it with the fake. She had about three more minutes before she would be discovered to be MIA.
As she was closing the safe and resetting the lock, she heard a voice. The shrill of Norma was crystal clear. Hide. Where? And what was Norma doing back in her flat? She realized that Norma was on her cell phone, yammering at someone. Annie dodged behind the bedroom door, hoping the pointed dazzle of her cowgirl boots wouldn’t stick out.
“Yeah. I got to meet ’er. We chatted a bit.” Annie could hear footsteps approaching and Norma’s voice getting louder. “I forgot to wear the Cartier pendant, so I’m back at my flat. Yeah. I noticed she is wearing a Cartier diamond love ring. I want to show her I can also afford Cartier. I know it’s silly, but I don’t want her to think I’m pikey.”
Annie plastered herself behind the bedroom door and held her breath. Pikey is right, she thought to herself. Back home we call it trailer trash with fake