skill. It’d be amusing to watch you deflate those egos a bit.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, but they play for money. I’ve never done that. It’s a different game when you actually have something to lose.”
“That’s true, but I still would love to see you beat them.”
Cindy allowed herself a moment to picture that. It would be a sweet victory, especially if it upset their wives. She knew she wasn’t being charitable, but both women had really rubbed her the wrong way. Dorothea, on the other hand, had seemed very sweet. Beth, the other woman at their dinner table, had been very quiet. So quiet that Cindy hadn’t been able to get a good impression of her except to think that she must be even more introverted than Cindy could be.
“So, what is the plan for tonight?” she asked.
“I’m going to wait for midnight then slip out and see if I can break into the computer system and find out more about Malcolm, including which bungalow he was staying in.”
“Okay, and what will I be doing?”
“Staying here and covering for me just in case we get any surprise late night visitors.”
She blinked at him. “And just what do you think the odds of that happening are?”
“Late night visitors?”
“No, me staying here and doing nothing while you’re out getting the information.”
“I think the odds are pretty high,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “I need you to be safe.”
“Did you learn nothing over the summer?” she countered. “I’m safest when I’m with you.”
“I think you’ll be perfectly safe in this room. I don’t want to put you in danger. I’m going to have to be moving fast and if I get caught I might be able to come up with a good excuse, but if they catch both of us it’s over for sure.”
As much as sneaking around the compound in the middle of the night sounded daunting and a little frightening to her, it was nothing compared to how she felt about waiting behind while he did all the sneaking around.
“I want to go, too.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“I can help act as a lookout or something.”
That made him smile for some reason. “Careful or you’ll be offering to drive the getaway car next,” he said.
She rolled her eyes at him. “We’re breaking into a computer, not a bank vault. Besides, we don’t have a car to drive.”
“Okay, but we might want to rethink our wardrobes for the big caper. Matching black burglar costumes will be a little too suspicious.”
“I think I have the perfect idea,” Cindy said as something came to her. It was either brilliant or insane. Either way, she was running with it.
Mark stared at the image of his dead partner, feeling like he was looking at a ghost. His hands were shaking as he held the file folder. The picture was of Paul when he was younger, probably college-aged, standing with his arm around another guy’s shoulders. They were both smiling for the camera.
“Did you find something?” Melinda asked, walking over to him.
“Paul. Do you know who the other guy in this picture is?” he asked.
“That’s Kent. They both look so young there. It’s hard to believe they’re both gone,” she said, her voice filling with sorrow.
“Tell me about it,” Mark muttered.
He strained to see if he could make out any other details in the picture, but the background was blurry. He saw what were probably a couple of trees, but it could have been taken anywhere. He also wondered who had taken the picture.
“They were friends, I know that much. I always had the impression they met during their undergrad days,” Melinda said.
Mark moved the picture and looked at the first page underneath it. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, then he thought the writing on the page must be in some foreign language. It took him several moments to realize he was staring at a coded message.
He instantly thought about the coded message Paul had had this man give to Georgia. Was it possible the two
She shrugged. “Yeah, but they play for money. I’ve never done that. It’s a different game when you actually have something to lose.”
“That’s true, but I still would love to see you beat them.”
Cindy allowed herself a moment to picture that. It would be a sweet victory, especially if it upset their wives. She knew she wasn’t being charitable, but both women had really rubbed her the wrong way. Dorothea, on the other hand, had seemed very sweet. Beth, the other woman at their dinner table, had been very quiet. So quiet that Cindy hadn’t been able to get a good impression of her except to think that she must be even more introverted than Cindy could be.
“So, what is the plan for tonight?” she asked.
“I’m going to wait for midnight then slip out and see if I can break into the computer system and find out more about Malcolm, including which bungalow he was staying in.”
“Okay, and what will I be doing?”
“Staying here and covering for me just in case we get any surprise late night visitors.”
She blinked at him. “And just what do you think the odds of that happening are?”
“Late night visitors?”
“No, me staying here and doing nothing while you’re out getting the information.”
“I think the odds are pretty high,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “I need you to be safe.”
“Did you learn nothing over the summer?” she countered. “I’m safest when I’m with you.”
“I think you’ll be perfectly safe in this room. I don’t want to put you in danger. I’m going to have to be moving fast and if I get caught I might be able to come up with a good excuse, but if they catch both of us it’s over for sure.”
As much as sneaking around the compound in the middle of the night sounded daunting and a little frightening to her, it was nothing compared to how she felt about waiting behind while he did all the sneaking around.
“I want to go, too.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“I can help act as a lookout or something.”
That made him smile for some reason. “Careful or you’ll be offering to drive the getaway car next,” he said.
She rolled her eyes at him. “We’re breaking into a computer, not a bank vault. Besides, we don’t have a car to drive.”
“Okay, but we might want to rethink our wardrobes for the big caper. Matching black burglar costumes will be a little too suspicious.”
“I think I have the perfect idea,” Cindy said as something came to her. It was either brilliant or insane. Either way, she was running with it.
Mark stared at the image of his dead partner, feeling like he was looking at a ghost. His hands were shaking as he held the file folder. The picture was of Paul when he was younger, probably college-aged, standing with his arm around another guy’s shoulders. They were both smiling for the camera.
“Did you find something?” Melinda asked, walking over to him.
“Paul. Do you know who the other guy in this picture is?” he asked.
“That’s Kent. They both look so young there. It’s hard to believe they’re both gone,” she said, her voice filling with sorrow.
“Tell me about it,” Mark muttered.
He strained to see if he could make out any other details in the picture, but the background was blurry. He saw what were probably a couple of trees, but it could have been taken anywhere. He also wondered who had taken the picture.
“They were friends, I know that much. I always had the impression they met during their undergrad days,” Melinda said.
Mark moved the picture and looked at the first page underneath it. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, then he thought the writing on the page must be in some foreign language. It took him several moments to realize he was staring at a coded message.
He instantly thought about the coded message Paul had had this man give to Georgia. Was it possible the two
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