be better if there’s two of us.”
“Except for the nights when there’s not two of us.”
“Except for the nights when there’s not two of us. Agreed. But those nights it’ll be me and my friend Mr. Mace.”
Slowly, reluctantly, he nodded.
“Shake?” she said.
“I already am,” he said. And they both laughed, a little hysterically, as if they’d been holding way too much inside.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I T WAS WEDNESDAY before Cramer saw Mimi again. Just a glimpse, and it wasn’t up at the snye but at the Page place on Riverside Drive.
The Taurus was not a car people noticed. It wasn’t old enough to be antique or rusted enough to be an eyesore. Cramer himself wasn’t sure what color it was: gray, green—he had no idea. The car, as large and ugly as it might be, was invisible. Which was just as well, when Mimi and Jay suddenly pulled out of the driveway in her Mini Cooper. There were high hedges to either side of the entrance, and so Cramer didn’t see them until the last second, even though he was parked pretty well right across the road. He had a map open on the steering wheel as an excuse, a lost traveler. But neither of them so much as glanced his way. They were talking up a storm, oblivious. It wasn’t just his car that was invisible.
A boxy black Honda Element pulled out of the driveway a moment later, a large old desk strapped to the roof rack, its legs sticking up in the air like some dead animal. The back of the Honda looked to be jam-packed with furniture. Dr. Lou was sitting in the passenger seat, the other woman driving. They didn’t notice Cramer, either.
It was 7:00 PM . He was on his way to work. For the last couple days, he had taken the time to drive out of his way past the Page house. He was scoping the place out. He had done it before, after all. And tonight it looked as if he had caught a break. It wasn’t hard to guess where they were all heading. The round-trip to the snye would take them an hour at least and who knows how long to unload all the furniture. Plenty of time. Now all he needed was to talk himself into it.
Cramer looked ahead and behind him. Riverside Drive was deserted in both directions. It was a stretch of road with farmland to the north and large riverside properties to the south, properties that were wooded and landscaped, hedged and fenced. Private. Some of them even had gates. But not the Pages’. A lawn mower was making a racket nearby, but Cramer couldn’t see where. He skipped across the pavement and down the long, shaded drive without anyone seeing him.
ADVANCED ALARM. The little sticker in the corner of the glass-fronted door didn’t come as a complete surprise. Clearly, he wasn’t going to just walk in the door the way he had last fall.
He walked around the side of the house to the floor-length windows of the master bedroom. This was where he had found the emerald necklace. The curtains weren’t fully drawn. Pressing his nose up to the screen, he could dimly make out the dresser where Dr. Lou had kept her jewelry case. He had a penknife, never went anywhere without it; the mesh of the screen would be easy to slit. And then what? Break the glass? He quickly glanced behind him. He was alone. He turned his attention back to the window. It all depended on how the alarm system was activated: motion detector, pressure detector, or metal contacts on the window frames. Yes, there they were. But how long was this going to take? Would the siren be louder than the lawn mower? The alarm company would contact the local cops, but not before they phoned the residence to see if it was a false alarm. He sure didn’t plan on dawdling and he wasn’t greedy. Shit! He hated this—just wanted it to be over!
He looked around for a rock, a stick. Nothing, just lawn. He backed off.
He’d had a plan. He’d seen other stuff when he stole the necklace: pearls, some silver earrings, whatever. Not much, but he was guessing it was good stuff. He didn’t know any fences to
“Except for the nights when there’s not two of us.”
“Except for the nights when there’s not two of us. Agreed. But those nights it’ll be me and my friend Mr. Mace.”
Slowly, reluctantly, he nodded.
“Shake?” she said.
“I already am,” he said. And they both laughed, a little hysterically, as if they’d been holding way too much inside.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I T WAS WEDNESDAY before Cramer saw Mimi again. Just a glimpse, and it wasn’t up at the snye but at the Page place on Riverside Drive.
The Taurus was not a car people noticed. It wasn’t old enough to be antique or rusted enough to be an eyesore. Cramer himself wasn’t sure what color it was: gray, green—he had no idea. The car, as large and ugly as it might be, was invisible. Which was just as well, when Mimi and Jay suddenly pulled out of the driveway in her Mini Cooper. There were high hedges to either side of the entrance, and so Cramer didn’t see them until the last second, even though he was parked pretty well right across the road. He had a map open on the steering wheel as an excuse, a lost traveler. But neither of them so much as glanced his way. They were talking up a storm, oblivious. It wasn’t just his car that was invisible.
A boxy black Honda Element pulled out of the driveway a moment later, a large old desk strapped to the roof rack, its legs sticking up in the air like some dead animal. The back of the Honda looked to be jam-packed with furniture. Dr. Lou was sitting in the passenger seat, the other woman driving. They didn’t notice Cramer, either.
It was 7:00 PM . He was on his way to work. For the last couple days, he had taken the time to drive out of his way past the Page house. He was scoping the place out. He had done it before, after all. And tonight it looked as if he had caught a break. It wasn’t hard to guess where they were all heading. The round-trip to the snye would take them an hour at least and who knows how long to unload all the furniture. Plenty of time. Now all he needed was to talk himself into it.
Cramer looked ahead and behind him. Riverside Drive was deserted in both directions. It was a stretch of road with farmland to the north and large riverside properties to the south, properties that were wooded and landscaped, hedged and fenced. Private. Some of them even had gates. But not the Pages’. A lawn mower was making a racket nearby, but Cramer couldn’t see where. He skipped across the pavement and down the long, shaded drive without anyone seeing him.
ADVANCED ALARM. The little sticker in the corner of the glass-fronted door didn’t come as a complete surprise. Clearly, he wasn’t going to just walk in the door the way he had last fall.
He walked around the side of the house to the floor-length windows of the master bedroom. This was where he had found the emerald necklace. The curtains weren’t fully drawn. Pressing his nose up to the screen, he could dimly make out the dresser where Dr. Lou had kept her jewelry case. He had a penknife, never went anywhere without it; the mesh of the screen would be easy to slit. And then what? Break the glass? He quickly glanced behind him. He was alone. He turned his attention back to the window. It all depended on how the alarm system was activated: motion detector, pressure detector, or metal contacts on the window frames. Yes, there they were. But how long was this going to take? Would the siren be louder than the lawn mower? The alarm company would contact the local cops, but not before they phoned the residence to see if it was a false alarm. He sure didn’t plan on dawdling and he wasn’t greedy. Shit! He hated this—just wanted it to be over!
He looked around for a rock, a stick. Nothing, just lawn. He backed off.
He’d had a plan. He’d seen other stuff when he stole the necklace: pearls, some silver earrings, whatever. Not much, but he was guessing it was good stuff. He didn’t know any fences to
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