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“What about the daughter? Will she be in any jeopardy?”
“No. Her parents decided to send her to London, where she will be seen on social media.”
“And that’s when the foreign money will discover their plan went sideways.” Melanie finished the concept.
“Yep. You’re a genius.”
“Well, this genius is going to retire after our next escapade. I can’t do both jobs, and I kinda like being a guidance counselor in a small school, in a quaint town, in my cute house with my big dogs.”
“I’ll let Patterson know. As I said last time, this will surely secure their budget for next year. You will have done your civic duty.”
“Again.”
Chapter Nineteen
One Last Time
Kids were beginning to get hyped up about the holidays. There was already too much crying, and too many holiday cookies. Audrey explained the routine to Melanie. “You’ll probably get at least one crier per day.” Melanie shut her eyes, imagining all the tears she’d have to wipe away. Audrey handed her two boxes of tissues. “There are more in the nurse’s station.”
Melanie rolled her eyes. At least the situations at school weren’t treacherous. Just a lot of blubbering.
She spent as much time as she could helping the art teacher decorate the hallways, and all the individual classrooms. It was actually relaxing for Melanie. No sleight of hand required. At least not until Saturday. Thinking about Saturday, she wondered if her Chanel suit would be appropriate? Why not. Just because most of the men in the subversive group looked like they’d crawled out from under a rock didn’t mean she had to dress down. And no one would suspect her of being a pickpocket. She thought a moment. What do you call someone who picks and then plants?
Gilmour had already briefed her on whom to look for. “He’ll be wearing a dark green blazer with a gold crest with I KNOW MY RIGHTS sewn onto the breast pocket. He’s in his mid-twenties, shaved head.”
“This is a fundraiser?”
“Yes. Ticket price is five hundred dollars to get in the door. There may be some riffraff, but any protest activity will be squelched. This group does not want any negative publicity.”
“Wait. This group doesn’t want any negative publicity, but they are planning to kidnap someone?”
“That’s part of the problem. It’s a splinter group trying to gain control, and they are using the kidnapping to draw attention to their cause.”
“How many people will be attending this hoop-dee-do?”
“About two hundred.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“He should be relatively easy to spot. You’ll just have to keep moving. Plus we’ll have several agents there on the lookout. There’s a mezzanine where they’ll be posted, so they can be on the lookout and guide you.”
“Where’s my jewelry?” She held out her hand.
* * *
When Saturday arrived, she went into disguise mode. This time it was the cream Chanel number, the blond wedge wig, and the violet lenses, and those luscious yellow patent leather pumps. She’d be standing out in the crowd for sure, especially with the additional three inches she’d gain from her shoes.
James picked her up at the designated time and drove her to the venue. It was a large space open to anyone who could afford a ticket. Most of the event was underwritten by big donors.
Melanie handed her ticket to a woman wearing the hall’s official jacket and then entered the large ballroom. Two hundred? More like five hundred. She was going to clobber Gilmour. It was a sea of people. She heard a voice in her pearl cluster earrings. “You’re in our sights.”
She moved through the crowd, pretending she was happy to be there. Then she spotted Shannon. Not again! At least she could disappear into the crowd if necessary. As she moved farther into the mélange of people, she also spotted someone else. It was Yassin Cumbe. What was he doing here? It occurred to her he might be the financier of the fringe group.
Now there were two people she had to avoid while trying to find a bald head among many.
Over an hour passed. Her feet were beginning to hurt. She whispered into one of her many strands of pearls. “Anything?”
“Not yet.”
