Ancient Hiss Story (3 page)

V
ic zipped
off assignments to the others via email, then got to planning. They scheduled a meeting out by the pool at five p.m.

“What the heck,” Vic said. “Might as well combine it with happy hour."

Carlotta got busy outlining her part of the heist, alternating between that and making her famous seven-layer dip.

At five p.m. sharp, they gathered around the pool. Gertie decorated a long table with a plastic pink flamingo tablecloth and everyone put a dish on it. There were deviled eggs, curried carrots, finger sandwiches, meatballs and brownies. It looked more like a potluck supper than a meeting on how to steal a painting from one of the country’s largest museums.

Inside the grass tiki bar in the corner, Sal had the blender on high, whipping up a batch of margaritas and pina coladas. He used the Swiss army knife-like gadgets hidden in his prosthetic thumb—courtesy of Gideon—to open the cans of coconut milk.

They sipped umbrella drinks, nibbled the food and made small talk while sitting on the patio loungers and around the small, glass-topped umbrella tables. At six o’clock, Vic clapped his hands.

“Okay, everyone, let’s get down to business.” He sat down at one of the tables with his laptop and they all milled around him, some standing with drinks in hand, others pulling their chairs over.

“As you all know, we’ve been commissioned by the
Ritzholdt
to help … umm … acquire a painting from their rival museum, the
Lowenstaff.”

“’Bout time. It’s been kind of boring around here,” Frankie said.

“Yeah, and we could always use some more money to line the coffers,” Sylvia joked.

“But we’d help our Katie for free, right?” Sal asked.

“Yes!” everyone chorused and Kate’s heart warmed at her extended family’s willingness to help even for free, although she’d long suspected that their eagerness to help on her assignments had more to do with the excitement than the money.

“Anyway,” Vic continued. “The
Lowenstaff
is having a gala event to show off their Fabergé egg exhibit and we’ll use that as our cover.”

Sylvia elbowed Carlotta in the ribs. “Fabergé eggs? I bet you’d like to get your hands on one of those.”

“But she wouldn’t do that, would she?” Vic leveled a look at Carlotta.

“Of course not,” Carlotta bristled. “I’m out of that business now.”

“How will we get in?” Benny asked. Benny was an expert on security systems. Kate knew he would be chomping at the bit, hoping this would give him an opportunity to ply his skills. “I hear they have a pretty sophisticated alarm system.”

“That’s where this event is going to help us,” Vic said. “We’re going to go in as part of the cleaning crew. The painting is in the basement, presumably for restoration. With the activity of the event, we should be able to sneak down there without being noticed.”

“And then what? You gonna just walk out with the painting under your arm?”

“Sort of. But not through the front door. We’re going to take a lesser-known exit.” Vic gestured toward Gertie, who was standing beside the tiki bar with a rolled-up paper in her hand. She moved over to one of the tables and motioned with her hand for everyone to pick up their drinks before spreading the large paper out on the table.

“This here is a blueprint of the New York City steam tunnels. No one uses them anymore. In fact, many of them were sealed off decades ago. But it just so happens that one of the working tunnels goes right to the
Lowenstaff
museum.”

“Are you sure these are passable? I mean they could be filled up with water and rats and stuff,” Charlie said.

“Maybe even snakes,” Frankie offered.

An image of the gold snake ring with the ruby eyes surfaced and Kate shuddered at the thought of snakes.

“Me and Frankie are going out tomorrow and do some recon to figure out the best exit strategy and see if the tunnels are passable. I called one of my former contacts about them and he said the route we wanted was all clear back in ninety-nine.”

“So, you don’t need me to disarm any alarms or anything?” Benny’s voice dipped in disappointment.

“We might,” Vic said. “I need you to study up on their system, just in case. In particular, find out anything you can about the preservation area in the basement so we’ll know what we are up against once we get in.”

“Will do.”

“I’ve already found out who the museum uses for cleaning. They’ve hired a special service for the event. Gideon will make us exact replicas of the uniforms and get us the appropriate badges. We should be able to walk right in.”

“And then it will be a breeze,” Carlotta added. “Because, as we all know, cleaning people are virtually invisible.”

Everybody laughed at that. They’d all used the cleaning person disguise at one time or another.

“Surely, there will be guards even in the lower levels. Especially if there are artifacts and paintings being restored,” Sylvia said.

“Ahh. That’s where the brilliant part of my plan comes in,” Vic said. “While the non-English-speaking cleaning crew is insisting on entrance to the restoration room, there’s going to be a surprise visit by the New York City Board of Tunnel Inspectors.”

“They have tunnel inspectors?” Bennie asked.

“No, but I doubt the guards know that,” Vic replied. “I’ll have official badges and a uniform.”

“That stuff’s easy,” Charlie chuckled.

“It sure is,” Vic continued. “Anyway, I’ll try to distract them as long as I can so the fake cleaning ladies can grab the painting. If our blueprints are correct, the steam tunnel door opens into their lab. The tunnel doors are locked from the tunnel side but I’m sure the lock will be a piece of cake for Gertie.”

“Darn tootin’,” Gertie said.

“She’ll open the door for us and we’ll escape down the tunnel before the guards know what hit ‘em.” Vic looked around at the crowd. “Does anyone see anything wrong with this plan?”

“Is there any way we can get inside to that basement area ahead of time?” Sylvia asked.

Vic nodded. “Yes, I almost forgot. You’re right, we do need to take a look at it ahead of time. I know that little old ladies get lost in museums all the time and find themselves in the basement when they were really just looking for the ladies room. Isn’t that right, Ginny?” Vic looked at the petite woman pouring a pina colada into a large glass.

“That’s right.” She stuck a piece of pineapple in the drink.

Vic nodded. “I’ll have Gideon send out one of those brooch cameras and Ginny can bring back pictures so we know exactly what we’re dealing with, and can try to anticipate any problems as well as map out alternate escape routes.”

“That sounds great,” Benny said. “And I’ll check out the security on the other floors, just in case you have to go out that way.”

“Excellent.” Vic shut his laptop. “I think that’s it, then. Are there any more questions?”

“I think you pretty much covered it,” Sal said, taking a noisy sip of his margarita. Then he added those famous last words that probably would have been better left unsaid. “This is gonna be the easiest job we’ve ever pulled off.”

K
ate couldn’t believe
the woman standing in front of her was her mother. The slim, fashionable Carlotta had been transformed into a frumpy old lady in a nondescript, gray cleaning uniform, complete with thick, rubber-soled shoes.

Kate, herself, was unrecognizable in a similar uniform. But it wasn’t just the uniforms. Gideon had sent an array of disguise materials which, when combined with her parents’ extensive selection of makeup, contact lenses and wigs, had worked magic. Kate was willing to bet that neither she nor her mother would have been recognized even by their own family members.

Kate and Carlotta each had a laminated ID card hanging from a chain around their necks, which had worked perfectly to gain them entrance to the
Lowenstaff Museum
. Once inside, they’d stuck to the back corridors and stairways so as not to disrupt the guests who were already starting to arrive for the event. No one had paid them any attention.

They knew exactly where to go thanks to Ginny, who had come out a few days before and done her old lady act, gaining access to the basement and snapping a few pictures of the area as well as bringing back information on the best route for Kate and Carlotta to follow inside the museum.

They’d made their way through the halls with their cart of cleaning equipment, taken the freight elevator to the basement and followed Ginny’s directions to the restoration room, in front of which they now stood.

Kate looked into the room through the glass window and recognized the painting, which lay on a table. It had been taken out of the frame and there were brushes and solvents next to it. Apparently, someone had been working on restoring it.

Unfortunately, their access to the room was blocked by two young guards who Carlotta was jabbering at in some foreign language. Italian, maybe? Kate had no idea what the language was and, judging by the confused looks on the guards faces, neither did they.

Kate watched with amusement as her mother gestured wildly toward the door then at her cleaning cart, trying to indicate to the guards that they needed to get inside to clean.

One of the guards—Jim, his nametag said, frowned down at her. “No admitto.” He thrust his arm out toward the hallway, indicating for Carlotta and Kate to leave.

Carlotta unleashed a barrage of foreign words, causing Jim’s brows to rise as he exchanged uncertain looks with his coworker. They both took a step back from the crazy cleaning lady.

“Look, lady, we don’t need any cleaning in here,” the other guard, Brian, said. He looked over at Kate imploringly. “Don’t you speak English?”

Kate just frowned at him as if she didn’t know what he was saying and clutched her modified Kirby vacuum cleaner, which doubled as a container for the money Max insisted they leave after taking the painting.

Carlotta made a move toward the door, grabbing the handle and opening it slightly.

“No!” Jim shook his head, grabbing her arm and pulling her away.

The elevator behind Jim dinged, pulling his attention from Carlotta. The doors whooshed open and Vic stepped out, wearing a dark blue uniform. His facial features had been altered using putty and makeup and he sported a long, dark beard. Kate almost didn’t recognize him.

Vic whipped out a badge and shoved it in Jim’s face.

“Bud Kingsly, Chief Inspector, steam tunnel division,” Vic barked with authority.

Jim’s brow creased and he glanced at Brian. “I don’t know anything about any inspection. Where did you say you were from?”

Vic drew himself up to his full, six-foot height. “Don’t try that with me. You people have known about this inspection for a week. Let me into the room or I’ll have to shut this place down right now. I’m sure your bosses won’t like that with all those VIPs milling around upstairs.”

“We didn’t hear anything about any inspection.” Brian looked at Jim for confirmation.

Vic walked over and opened the door. “Look, guys, it’s not my problem that your bosses didn’t tell you about the inspection.” He held up a clipboard and tapped it with his finger. “You can see right here that the city wants me to inspect this today. I need to get this paperwork in by midnight or the museum will be in violation and you two will be responsible.”

Jim chewed his bottom lip. Kate noticed he was just a kid, not much older than twenty. He glanced into the room, then shrugged. “I guess it can’t hurt. What did you say you were inspecting, anyway?”

“The steam tunnel door over there.” Vic pointed to the corner of the room where a gray panel was set in the wall. “Opens up to the city steam tunnels. Got to be inspected every five years to make sure you’re staying within the code.”

Jim’s eyes flew over to the panel, then back to Vic. “Oh, I wondered what that was. Well, then, go ahead.” He opened the door and gestured for Vic to enter the room.

Vic started toward the door, then stopped short. “Now, look here. There may be an issue.” He gestured for the guards to join him at the door and they fell for it, entering the room behind Vic. Carlotta and Kate slipped into the room just after them.

“What is it?” Jim asked.

“See this crack here?” Vic pointed to the side of the door. “There’s a little rusting. I’m not sure if it meets code.” He pulled out a tape measure and started measuring.

Jim frowned at the door. “Where’s the knob?”

“Doesn’t have one,” Vic answered. “It opens only from the steam tunnel side. That’s why we have to watch the rust accumulation. We can’t have people getting into those tunnels from the museum. It’s dangerous in there. But the rust here is below the spec so you’re okay.”

The guards watched while Vic took out a small tool and tapped on the door in various places. He paused after each tap, looked thoughtful and then wrote something on the clipboard. To anyone watching, it all seemed very official, but Kate knew he was buying time and trying to distract the guards so she could get the painting.

Meanwhile, Kate plugged in her vacuum cleaner. She didn’t know how she was going to get the money out that Max insisted they leave, but she wanted to make it look like she was actually getting ready to clean. Gideon had rigged the vacuum so that it would actually work, but he’d also done a few modifications to it. Kate hoped she wouldn’t hit the wrong switch by mistake. On the other side of the room, Carlotta took out a feather duster and started to dust.

As Vic went about his inspection, Kate moved slowly over to the table with the painting. It was only an eight-inch by ten-inch and she had a special pouch in her uniform made specifically for hiding it.

The best case scenario was that she’d be able to unobtrusively slip the painting into the pouch, then she and Carlotta could simply walk out as cleaning ladies, leaving the special vacuum with the money behind. You couldn’t count on best case scenarios, though, so they had a ‘plan b’ which involved a hasty exit out through the steam tunnels.

It was now or never. Kate reached out toward the painting slowly.

“Hey! Stop right there!” Jim’s agitated voice yelled from the other side of the room. He pressed a red button on the wall and a door flew open. A familiar man ran in, assessed the situation and darted for Kate, who was clutching the edge of the painting in one hand.

In two quick strides, he was on the opposite side of the table, the gold serpent ring gleaming as he grabbed the other side of the painting.

Vic karate chopped Brian, who fell to the floor in a heap.

Jim pulled his gun, but apparently he couldn’t decide who to point it at. He stood there, wavering it back and forth between Vic, Carlotta and Kate.

“Hand it over!” Snake Ring tugged on the painting, but Kate had a firm hold on her side.

She tugged back.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Carlotta backing toward the steam tunnel door. Vic gave the triple tap on the door that was their signal.

Where was Gertie?

Snake Ring pulled on the painting again and Kate stumbled forward into the edge of the table, but she didn’t let go. She dug in her heels and braced against the sturdy table, then yanked back.

The sounds of an alarm vaguely registered in the back of her mind—she was totally focused on getting that painting away from Snake Ring. He put both his hands on the painting and pulled hard, but Kate was ready—she leaned backwards as he tried to wrench it away from her.

Rip!

Kate stumbled back, staring in horror at the half of a painting in her hand.

Across from her, Snake Ring stared at the other half he held in his hand with much the same expression on his face.

Clatter.

The wooden stretchers that the canvas had been stretched across had splintered in the tug-of war and something had fallen out of a hollowed-out space in the wood. It skittered across the floor, sliding to a stop in front of Kate. She barely registered what it was—a small figure of some sort—before swooping it up as quickly as possible.

As she did so, a door on the other side of the room flew open and three masked men came in, waving guns.

“Put it down! Hands in the air!”

Jim and Snake Ring whirled around. Snake Ring pulled a gun with the hand that wasn’t holding the painting and pointed it at the three men.

Who were these guys? Were they not with the museum? Why would Jim and Snake Ring point guns at them?

Kate’s heart pounded as she clutched her half of the painting to her chest.

What was going on here?

She eyed the other half of the painting, but Snake Ring was still gripping it.

Over at the steam door, Vic and Carlotta had pulled out guns. Kate knew they would only use them as a last resort.

Why hadn’t Gertie opened the door from the other side yet?

With everyone pointing guns at each other, it was like a Mexican standoff and Kate knew they needed to create a distraction to make a getaway. She glanced behind her at the plug then down at the vacuum cleaner, wishing she’d paid more attention when Gideon had described what all the various switches and buttons were for. She flipped open one end of the vacuum cleaner, pressed the red button and said a silent prayer that she’d done the right thing.

A few heart-stopping seconds of nothing, then the vacuum whirred. Everyone turned toward the noise. Kate felt a puff of warm air come out of the machine and then an explosion of money burst out, whirling into the air like a green tornado.

The room was covered in a blizzard of hundred dollar bills. They swirled in the air, catching everyone’s attention. Guns clattered to the floor as everyone freed up their hands to grab at the airborne money.

“Come on!” Vic yelled.

The steam tunnel door cracked open revealing a dank, black tunnel. Carlotta dove in and Kate made a run for it, reaching the door in record time. Vic barreled through behind her.

Kate turned and looked back into the room. Her eyes collided with those of one of the masked men. Her heart jerked in her chest.

She recognized those eyes—they belonged to FBI agent, and her former partner, Ace Mason. She strained for a closer look just as Gertie slammed the door shut and turned the locking wheel, sealing the door and preventing anyone on the other side from coming after them.