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“I think he thinks he might be, but Mahdi Alkali may have other ideas.” He took out his notes and continued. “Here is a floor plan of the townhouse. The main living area is on the second floor.” He pointed to one of the rooms. “This is where the paintings will be on display. You’ll chat up a few people, and then you’ll slip this into Alkali’s pocket.” He handed her a very small object, the size of a pencil eraser, just as she had been told.
“What about me?”
Gilmour handed her a velvet pouch. It contained a silver and black Edwardian brooch. “Can you wear this with any of your new threads?”
“Yes. I can wear it with the black dress, front and center. Does it have matching earrings?” Melanie was quite serious. She needed an earpiece.
“Yes, my lady.” He produced another pouch.
“These aren’t real, are they?” Melanie had to ask. Everything was a secret sideshow.
“No, but the jeweler we use promised no one will be able to tell unless they have an eyepiece.”
“Where will you be during all this?”
“I’ll be your humble servant. They got me a gig passing hors d’oeuvres.”
“So when I arrive, what’s my first move?”
He handed her the engraved invitation. “Show this to the gorilla at the door. As soon as possible, introduce yourself to the host. Then a little later, you plant the device on him.”
“Is it GPS or audio?”
“Audio. We want to hear what he’s saying to people. The agency’s van will be in the alley, marked like the rest of the catering vehicles.”
The dogs stood at attention when a car pulled into the driveway. Gilmour got up to see who it was, the dogs following. “Delivery!” he called out.
“I’ll get the dishes.” Melanie quickly pulled out the tableware as Gilmour paid the man.
Gilmour came into the kitchen with his head partly hidden by the bag. “This smells delicious! I don’t remember the last time I had ribs.”
Melanie grabbed a roll of paper towels. “I think we’re going to need these.”
The only sounds after that were groans of delight, finger licking, and lip smacking. “I’m really liking my neighborhood,” Melanie exclaimed.
As they were finishing up, Gilmour asked, “So will I be able to recognize you?”
“That would be the true litmus test, now, wouldn’t it?”
She scraped the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. “What about the other escorts? How many people will be attending?”
“Guest list says fifty. Some of the men will be with their wives, but there will be a smattering of other sophisticated women such as yourself.”
“This should be very interesting.”
“Yeah. Ready to take a walk on the wild side?”
“According to Patterson, it’s supposed to be a walk in the park.” She let the dogs out one more time. “Your turn.” She pointed to the door. “I’ve got to get my beauty sleep.”
* * *
The next day was another shopping jaunt. This time to the wig boutique. The wig fitting was a hoot, and she was lucky enough to get exactly what she wanted. Each outfit required a certain look if she wanted to appear authentic. You didn’t wear Chanel with a Mohawk. She stopped at a national eyewear chain and picked up four pairs of contacts: violet, turquoise blue, green, and gray. She stopped at a drugstore and purchased several pairs of press-on nails in French, red, and gray. She wondered who’d come up with the idea of painting fingernails. Of course, Melanie had to find out and discovered it was believed the practice began over 3,000 years ago in China, where the color of one’s nails represented one’s social status. She speculated what the color gray represented. When she finished, she went to a secret location to have photos taken with the variety of wigs and different makeup looks. Good enough for fake passport and driver’s license photos.
Chapter Sixteen
Back to Business
The Monday after Thanksgiving weekend was a slog. Everyone was overstuffed, over tired, over football, parades, complaining, arguing about politics, and hearing the same stories year after year. Melanie hoped there wouldn’t be any crying or fighting. She was tired from running all over the county, pulling together the many sides of Melanie. She reviewed everything in her head. She couldn’t think of anything else and hoped there would be no surprises. This assignment was as big a surprise as she could stand.
