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“He keeps a copy of everything?” Izzie treaded carefully.
“He does. Right on his desk. Just in case anyone else needs to find me.” Then it hit her. Her life really was an open book—right out there for anyone to see.
“Well, that can come in handy.” Izzie chuckled, keeping the conversation light.
“Yes, I suppose it can.” Zoe wasn’t on the verge of panic, but concern began to flow through her mind. She made a mental note to speak to Kyle in the morning. He couldn’t be in on REBAR’s scheme, or could he? At this point she knew the only people she could trust were the Sisters.
Izzie decided to switch topics. “And the kitties? Did they miss you?”
“Of course they gave me the cold shoulder when I got home, but it didn’t take long for them to sniff out your doggie and climb in my bag.” Zoe nudged Buster and Betty off her clothes.
“Ya gotta love ’em. I’ll let you settle in. We’ll chat more tomorrow. Sweet dreams,” Izzie said, hoping it would be true.
Zoe was a little unnerved by their conversation. She could only surmise her whereabouts were now public knowledge. But she wondered exactly how much was known. Had someone followed her to Washington? To Izzie’s? To Pinewood? Probably not without getting noticed. She was confident Pinewood, at least, was highly guarded. And Izzie’s place also had the highest technology as far as security was concerned. She grabbed her two kitties and gave them hugs. “I guess we’re going to have to wait until tomorrow to see how all of this plays out.” Buster concurred by rubbing his head on Zoe’s leg. Betty rolled over in agreement.
The following morning Zoe went through her usual routine as she got ready for work. Coffee. English muffin. Feed the cats. Change the litter. Take a shower. Hair. Makeup. Get dressed. As she was leaving her apartment and locking the dead bolt, she realized she didn’t have an alarm system. When she thought about it, she was hard-pressed to recall if anyone on her floor had one. She snickered to herself. Doorman building. Now there was a false sense of security. Frankly, anyone could get into the building if they really wanted to. She made another mental note to call a security company when she got her burner phone. If anyone was listening in, she didn’t want them to know her plans.
When she walked out onto the sidewalk she noticed a woman on a black Brompton bicycle a few yards ahead across the street. A different woman from the one she’d noticed following her back from the train station the day before. A chill ran down Zoe’s spine. This woman’s clothes exactly matched the description Izzie had provided. So who was the woman yesterday, if not Sasha? Zoe wondered. It was a crisp day and so Zoe walked the fifteen blocks to Peet’s Coffee in an effort to ease her mind. The woman on the bicycle stayed a good distance away, but still within her line of sight.
As expected, the woman on the bicycle followed her into the coffee shop and stood behind her. Just as planned, Sasha dropped her papers and slipped the envelope into Zoe’s bag. Zoe went along as if they had practiced this stunt before. Relief washed over her. Mission accomplished. At least this part of it. The rest remained to be seen.
By the time Zoe got her coffee, Sasha was nowhere to be seen. Zoe walked to her office, checked in with the security guard and took the elevator upstairs. Again, she thought about the word security and how it was very easy to have a false sense of it just because someone nearby was wearing a uniform and a badge.
Zoe was greeted by the two receptionists in the foyer of the company offices. She walked at her normal pace even though she wanted to run to her desk and lock her office door behind her. “Good morning, Kyle. How was your weekend?”
“Good. Went to the High Line with some friends. And yours? How was D.C.?”
“Nice. It was good to get away and catch up with my friend.” She surreptitiously glanced at Kyle’s desk. Sure enough, there was Zoe’s itinerary for all the world to see. “I have to say that the Acela is a great way to travel.” She lifted her coffee cup in a salute and then went into her office. Normally she kept the door open, but today was different. She stuck her head out and said, “Listen, I have a bit of a headache so I am going to keep my door shut until the caffeine kicks in.”
“Gotcha.” Kyle nodded without looking up.
Zoe hurried to the credenza behind her desk and removed the contents of her tote. She gingerly handled the envelope Sasha had deposited. Just as they’d said, inside was a burner phone and more instructions: Bloomingdale’s. Six P.M. Dolce & Gabbana handbags. You will be picking up a black leather tote. Already paid for by Annie de Silva. The “already paid for” was a relief. Zoe knew the price tag on that particular item was a hefty two thousand dollars. She slipped the phone into her own bag, zipped the bag shut and put it in the bottom drawer of her desk. She exhaled. Had she been holding her breath for the past hour?
She powered up her computer and began to go through the various jobs and their timelines. Everything was on schedule. She checked to see when she would have to go back to West Virginia. As she scrolled through the spreadsheet, she noted a change in the delivery of the foundation materials. Also the vendor, which was now El Cemento. A chill went up and down her spine. Her first reaction was to call Malcolm Fielder, VP of Manufacturing, but then she thought better of it. Now was not the time to bring attention to herself. If he was involved in the corruption, she didn’t want him to have any clue that she was suspicious. She would tell Izzie when she was back at her apartment. It occurred to her that her apartment might be bugged. She knew she was taking a big risk, but she opened the desk drawer where she had secreted her bag and pulled out the burner phone. Phone numbers had already been programed. “They are good,” she whispered to herself. She quickly sent off a text to Izzie: Apartment bugged?
An instant later she received a response:
Will check.
Within the hour Zoe received a phone call from Carlton, her doorman. “Sorry to bother you, Ms. Danfield, but there is a gentleman here who said you called about your cable?”
Her first reaction was to say no, but then she remembered whom she was dealing with.
“Hey, Carlton, can you hold on for a moment? I’m on another line.” She immediately sent another text to Izzie:
Cable guy?
Answer: Yes. Checking for bugs.
She got back on the phone with Carlton. “Sorry about that. I should have mentioned it. Yes, I need an adjustment. You know me. Not too techie.”
“The problem is, I can’t leave the desk right now.” Carlton sounded a bit put out.
“That’s alright. Give him the spare keys and you can send him up. Just tell him to mind the cats so that they don’t run out.”
“Ya sure about this?” Carlton was always concerned about bending the co-op rules.
“Yes, it’s fine. Besides, the cats will probably be sleeping. When I spoke with the dispatcher this morning, I mentioned the cats and gave them my cell number.” Zoe raised an eyebrow. Lying was coming naturally to her.
