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No, Clementine had been smart about things - just not quite smart enough, since I was still alive and eager to mess up her plans.
One of the men standing by the door opened it. Dixon pushed Owen through the opening, and the two guards went inside behind him. Clementine turned to the two giants who'd followed her here from the rotunda.
"Tanner, you go inside with the others and help them get set up. Gary, you go over to the security center and see if Rose needs any help monitoring the camera feeds. We've got the museum locked down tight, but I want some extra eyes on the hostages in the rotunda, just in case any of them get any dumb ideas about playing hero. "
The giants nodded and did as she commanded, heading down the hallway and leaving her alone with her family. When the others were out of earshot, she turned to Opal and Dixon.
"How did we make out with the jewelry?" she asked.
Opal lovingly patted the silverstone case she was carrying. "At least five million in this case and another five to ten million easy in the garbage bags. Maybe more. "
Clementine nodded. "Good. Go back and deal with the jewelry. I want it out of the rotunda and secured as soon as possible. Dixon, you know what to do with that case. "
"Sure thing, Aunt Clem. "
Dixon expectantly stretched his hand out to his cousin. Opal's fingers clenched around the handle of the case for a moment before she finally passed it over to him. Dixon smirked at her, his swollen nose and the dribbles of blood on his face making his orange skin look even more cartoonish. Opal coldly eyed him like she wanted to rip the case out of his hand and make him eat it. Definitely no love lost there.
Clementine checked her fancy watch. "If everything goes according to plan, it shouldn't take Grays
on more than an hour to work his magic. Most of the art should be loaded into the trucks by then. Then the rest. "
Opal and Dixon both smiled at her words, their faces creasing with dark delight.
The rest? What else did they have planned? And what did they need Owen for? I also wondered why Clementine was so concerned about making sure she had all of the hostages' jewels, when her men were busy robbing the entire museum. But I shrugged the questions away. I'd find out the answers soon enough - body by bloody, bloody body.
"All right," Clementine said. "I'm going to go motivate Mr. Grayson. You two know what to do, so go do it. "
"Yes, Mama," Opal said.
Dixon also murmured his agreement, and Clementine went through the door and closed it behind her.
For a moment, the two cousins stared at each other, before Opal stepped up to Dixon.
"You'd better take good care of that case," she said in a low, ugly voice. "Or I'll pull your insides out through your nose - while it's still broken. "
Dixon winced, and his hand crept up to his swollen face. "Geez. Relax, Opal. Everything's going just fine so far. Even I couldn't screw up this job. It's easy money, just like Aunt Clem said it would be. And the best part is that we don't have to share. "
I frowned. Don't have to share? What about all the other giants? I doubted they were working for free, so what was Dixon talking about?
Opal cocked an eyebrow. "That remains to be seen. But know this - if you do screw up, it'll be for the last time. I'll make sure of that. This is a dangerous job. Plenty of chances for . . . accidents to happen. "
She smiled then, her face soft, pretty, and pleasant, despite the shimmer of violence in her hazel eyes.
Well, well, well. It looked like Opal had the same ruthless streak her mama did. It was certainly enough to scare dear cousin Dixon, who winced again.
"And go clean up and wipe that blood off your face," Opal snapped. "You look like a pig gorging on a trough full of tomatoes. "
Dixon nodded vehemently. "Sure, I'll go do that. Just as soon as I take care of the jewelry. "
He clutched the case to his chest and backed away several steps before turning and scurrying down the hallway as fast as he could without actually running.
"Idiot," Opal muttered before walking in the opposite direction.
I waited until they were both out of sight and the cameras had pivoted away before slipping around the corner and hurrying over to the door. I tried the handle, but it was secured from the inside. Frustration surged through me; it was a sturdy, high-end lock, not the sort of thing I could finesse open with a couple of elemental Ice picks. Finn could have managed it, but I wasn't as good with locks as he was. Plus, an electronic card reader was attached to the wall to the right side of the door, something else I couldn't easily bypass.
Well, just because I couldn't open the door didn't mean that I couldn't see what was going on inside - and exactly what Clementine was making Owen do.
I hurried down the hallway, heading in the same direction as Gary, the giant who'd left for the security center. With cameras covering the entire museum, there had to be at least one that would let me see what was happening behind that door with Owen.
