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“Now there’s a real Get Out of Jail Free card.” Melanie bit her lip.
“The exhibit is a week from tomorrow.”
“Huh? Say what?” Melanie blinked several times. “A week from tomorrow?” She pursed her lips after she stopped biting them. “How am I supposed to get ready for something like that in eight days?”
He handed her an envelope. It contained a thousand dollars cash, and an American Express credit card. “You’ll go shopping. Get a few outfits, wigs, shoes. Very upscale.”
“Now you’re talking!” Melanie’s tone became more dynamic as she peered into the packet of goodies.
“We’re going to establish a few different identities for you, so as soon as you get the wigs, we’ll need photos. Create at least four personas.”
“Roger that.” Melanie took a very deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I know you can do this, Mel. Compared to some of the work you’ve done, this is a walk in the park.” He wrote down a date, time, and address and handed it to her. “A town car will pick you up and bring you to the exhibit. It will be waiting outside the exhibit venue in case you need to make a quick exit.”
“Will I be wired?”
“Yes. Bluetooth. No real wires, per se. You’ll have a pencil eraser-sized mic and an earpiece you can clip on to an earring. I’ll hook you up just before you leave your house.”
“Okay, boss.” She snickered. “Thought I’d never say that to you again.”
“You can take the girl out of OSI, but . . .”
“Yeah. Yeah.” Another deep huff. “Can I go home now?” She placed her hands in a prayer-like pleading position. “I have to pick up my pooches tomorrow morning, and then it’s the school Season of Giving Festival Play.”
Patterson smiled. “You look good, Mel. You’ve put a little meat on your scraggly bones, and you don’t have that permanent frown on your forehead.”
She leaned in and whispered, “A little Botox can work wonders.”
“Well, it’s good to see you smile.”
“I trust your escapades won’t wipe the smile off my face.”
“Think of this mission as a role in a spy movie.”
“As long as I don’t get caught, and James Bond’s got my back.”
“Will Gilmour do?”
“Gilmour?” she asked quizzically.
“Yes, he’ll be somewhere in your orbit. Never far away. When you spot him, ignore him.”
“Understood.” She heard the final bell ring, signaling the building was closing. Out of an abundance of caution, the school locked its doors at four thirty unless there was a planned activity. No one was allowed to be alone in the building. “Okay. I’ve gotta run.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “You’d better make sure I don’t regret this.” She walked quickly to the administration parking lot and headed home, stopping at a pet center on the way. Melanie still had a few things to pick up to welcome her new doggies.
When she pulled into the parking lot, she phoned Gilmour.
He picked up right away. “Patterson talked to you.” It was a statement, not a question.
“How long have you known about this?” she asked suspiciously, trying to figure out the timeline.
“Just a couple of weeks.”
“You signed me up for the dogs before or after?”
“Before, Mel. I wouldn’t dump so much on you all at once,” he said sincerely. “Just think, you’ll be able to come home to them twice a day. Imagine how happy they’ll be.”
“Boy, you know how to put a spin on things, don’t you?”
