Thirteen
Page 75
“Thank you.”
THIRTY-FOUR
We did get over quickly and safely. At least Adam and I did. Clay took one look at the flimsy rig and decided to stay behind and handle radio contact. Elena was game—she’d done some rock climbing with us—but quickly realized she wouldn’t be fast enough on the traverse to avoid being spotted if my blur spell failed. She decided to stay with Clay.
Adam and I crossed and crawled through the dormer window into the attic, which was dusty and as hot as hell. I suppose no matter how wealthy you are, you don’t clean or air-condition your attic. It was also full of crap. Boxes of old clothing. Stacks of LPs and VHS tapes. Piles of toys and baby furniture. I had to wonder at the last. Were they planning to drag this old stuff down when they had grandkids? I think their sons—and certainly future daughters-in-law—would expect them to buy new, considering they were billionaires and all.
The technicians met us at the window and led us over to where they’d tapped into the security system. One showed us the laptop screen displaying the view of all six cameras. They were all aimed outside the house.
“Do we have any interior views?”
“We’ve been drilling holes and threading cams through. I can give you the boys’ rooms and the guest rooms.”
“What we need is the master suite.”
“It’s at the far end of the second floor. The attic doesn’t extend that far, so we haven’t managed to get a line in.” He picked up a pair of headphones. “We have sound, though. Just got that snaked through far enough to pick up decent levels.”
His partner grunted. “Which would be a lot more useful if that kid would turn off the damned video game.”
He was right. We could hear the music blasting even without headphones. One of the Grand Theft Auto titles, it sounded like.
“And here’s the upstairs,” the tech said, as he flipped a switch.
The music now sounded slightly farther away. Then, as I was about to take the headset off, I heard the muffled click of pumps growing louder.
“Do we have more than one feed on the second floor?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Is this the one closest to the master suite?”
He shook his head and hit a button on the laptop. “We’re still in the hall here, but this is a bit closer.”
When he switched the feeds, the pump-clicking quieted. Then it grew louder again as the footsteps approached the master suite. A pause. Then a rap on a door.
“Maury?” Mrs. Lester said. “It’s me.”
No answer. A faint jangle as she tried the handle.
“Maury? Why is the door locked? I told the boys not to bother you. They know you aren’t feeling well.”
Shit. He was sick. Injected? Or just too much barbecue?
She knocked again. Then she muttered, “Lock the door and fall asleep. Wonderful.”
As her steps retreated, Adam got Elena on the radio and told her what was happening. Elena thought Mrs. Lester might be going for a key, so she advised us to hang tight.
Mrs. Lester did return. She knocked and called again, though, before using the key. I suppose, in some marriages, not knowing what’s happening on the other side might be the only thing that keeps you together.
When Lester still didn’t reply, she went in, calling a warning as she did. She closed the door, too, which meant that her voice disappeared under the roar of the music.
“Let me listen,” Elena said through the radio.
I pulled off the headset and put it to the radio speaker.
“She’s looking for him,” Elena said. “He’s not in bed.”
A moment later, there was an exclamation even I could hear. “Oh! There you are. I—”
Silence. We waited through three more seconds, then Elena said, “Get in there, Savannah, take the lead. Blur spells and cover spells. Have Adam follow at a distance.”
“Got it.” I turned to the techs. “Show me where to go.”
One of them led us to the trap door. We got it open. There was a set of stairs that could be lowered, but we didn’t dare use those. I leaned out, making sure the way was clear, then got in position to drop.
Just before I did, the other tech hurried over to exchange my radio for an earpiece. I slapped it in, then lowered myself through the hole. It was still a two-foot drop. No way to muffle the thump of my fall. Adam followed quickly. We waited for someone downstairs to come running, but our thuds must have been drowned out by the game sounds.
The second-floor hall was long and wide and central, with rooms off both sides and a sweeping staircase in the middle. Passing that staircase was the riskiest part—the master suite was at the far end. I moved under a blur spell. Adam kept his distance. I could have covered him, too, but that took extra juice.
When I got to the door of the master suite, I flipped my back to the wall, where I could see partway down the steps. I waved Adam over while I kept watch.
Adam took up position against the wall on the other side of the door. I reached for the door handle and slowly turned it. It wouldn’t budge. Mrs. Lester had relocked it. Damn.
I should have brought the picks. A spell was an extra drain wasted on a task I could do manually.
I leaned over and checked the lock. A simple household one. A flip of my credit card did the trick. I cracked open the door and listened. The damn music was still booming from downstairs. I thought I picked up a thump from inside the room, but that was it. I closed the door and whispered to Elena.
“Go in,” she said. “Keep a blur spell on and be ready to run if you’re spotted.”
“Where do we run?” I whispered. “We jumped through the trapdoor.”
Adam answered, “Elena? Tell the tech guys to ready the ladder. If we come running, get it down.”
I opened the door again, an inch at a time.
I could see the bed, with the covers in a snarl, half on the floor. Otherwise, nothing. I leaned in farther. There were four doors. Two were open, but the angle was wrong to see through either of them. I listened hard, but the rap music below had gone up another notch.
I double-checked my blur spell then eased into the bedroom. It was massive. Wasted space mostly, with nothing except a king-size bed and nightstands, along the far wall by the window.
The first open doorway was to my right. A sliding door to a walk-in closet, it looked like. Dark inside. I turned and gestured for Adam to be ready in case anyone came flying out of it when I passed. Communicating while in blur-form wasn’t easy, but he understood.
THIRTY-FOUR
We did get over quickly and safely. At least Adam and I did. Clay took one look at the flimsy rig and decided to stay behind and handle radio contact. Elena was game—she’d done some rock climbing with us—but quickly realized she wouldn’t be fast enough on the traverse to avoid being spotted if my blur spell failed. She decided to stay with Clay.
Adam and I crossed and crawled through the dormer window into the attic, which was dusty and as hot as hell. I suppose no matter how wealthy you are, you don’t clean or air-condition your attic. It was also full of crap. Boxes of old clothing. Stacks of LPs and VHS tapes. Piles of toys and baby furniture. I had to wonder at the last. Were they planning to drag this old stuff down when they had grandkids? I think their sons—and certainly future daughters-in-law—would expect them to buy new, considering they were billionaires and all.
The technicians met us at the window and led us over to where they’d tapped into the security system. One showed us the laptop screen displaying the view of all six cameras. They were all aimed outside the house.
“Do we have any interior views?”
“We’ve been drilling holes and threading cams through. I can give you the boys’ rooms and the guest rooms.”
“What we need is the master suite.”
“It’s at the far end of the second floor. The attic doesn’t extend that far, so we haven’t managed to get a line in.” He picked up a pair of headphones. “We have sound, though. Just got that snaked through far enough to pick up decent levels.”
His partner grunted. “Which would be a lot more useful if that kid would turn off the damned video game.”
He was right. We could hear the music blasting even without headphones. One of the Grand Theft Auto titles, it sounded like.
“And here’s the upstairs,” the tech said, as he flipped a switch.
The music now sounded slightly farther away. Then, as I was about to take the headset off, I heard the muffled click of pumps growing louder.
“Do we have more than one feed on the second floor?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Is this the one closest to the master suite?”
He shook his head and hit a button on the laptop. “We’re still in the hall here, but this is a bit closer.”
When he switched the feeds, the pump-clicking quieted. Then it grew louder again as the footsteps approached the master suite. A pause. Then a rap on a door.
“Maury?” Mrs. Lester said. “It’s me.”
No answer. A faint jangle as she tried the handle.
“Maury? Why is the door locked? I told the boys not to bother you. They know you aren’t feeling well.”
Shit. He was sick. Injected? Or just too much barbecue?
She knocked again. Then she muttered, “Lock the door and fall asleep. Wonderful.”
As her steps retreated, Adam got Elena on the radio and told her what was happening. Elena thought Mrs. Lester might be going for a key, so she advised us to hang tight.
Mrs. Lester did return. She knocked and called again, though, before using the key. I suppose, in some marriages, not knowing what’s happening on the other side might be the only thing that keeps you together.
When Lester still didn’t reply, she went in, calling a warning as she did. She closed the door, too, which meant that her voice disappeared under the roar of the music.
“Let me listen,” Elena said through the radio.
I pulled off the headset and put it to the radio speaker.
“She’s looking for him,” Elena said. “He’s not in bed.”
A moment later, there was an exclamation even I could hear. “Oh! There you are. I—”
Silence. We waited through three more seconds, then Elena said, “Get in there, Savannah, take the lead. Blur spells and cover spells. Have Adam follow at a distance.”
“Got it.” I turned to the techs. “Show me where to go.”
One of them led us to the trap door. We got it open. There was a set of stairs that could be lowered, but we didn’t dare use those. I leaned out, making sure the way was clear, then got in position to drop.
Just before I did, the other tech hurried over to exchange my radio for an earpiece. I slapped it in, then lowered myself through the hole. It was still a two-foot drop. No way to muffle the thump of my fall. Adam followed quickly. We waited for someone downstairs to come running, but our thuds must have been drowned out by the game sounds.
The second-floor hall was long and wide and central, with rooms off both sides and a sweeping staircase in the middle. Passing that staircase was the riskiest part—the master suite was at the far end. I moved under a blur spell. Adam kept his distance. I could have covered him, too, but that took extra juice.
When I got to the door of the master suite, I flipped my back to the wall, where I could see partway down the steps. I waved Adam over while I kept watch.
Adam took up position against the wall on the other side of the door. I reached for the door handle and slowly turned it. It wouldn’t budge. Mrs. Lester had relocked it. Damn.
I should have brought the picks. A spell was an extra drain wasted on a task I could do manually.
I leaned over and checked the lock. A simple household one. A flip of my credit card did the trick. I cracked open the door and listened. The damn music was still booming from downstairs. I thought I picked up a thump from inside the room, but that was it. I closed the door and whispered to Elena.
“Go in,” she said. “Keep a blur spell on and be ready to run if you’re spotted.”
“Where do we run?” I whispered. “We jumped through the trapdoor.”
Adam answered, “Elena? Tell the tech guys to ready the ladder. If we come running, get it down.”
I opened the door again, an inch at a time.
I could see the bed, with the covers in a snarl, half on the floor. Otherwise, nothing. I leaned in farther. There were four doors. Two were open, but the angle was wrong to see through either of them. I listened hard, but the rap music below had gone up another notch.
I double-checked my blur spell then eased into the bedroom. It was massive. Wasted space mostly, with nothing except a king-size bed and nightstands, along the far wall by the window.
The first open doorway was to my right. A sliding door to a walk-in closet, it looked like. Dark inside. I turned and gestured for Adam to be ready in case anyone came flying out of it when I passed. Communicating while in blur-form wasn’t easy, but he understood.
