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Fred drove them, and as he approached the house, the garage door opened, seemingly of its own volition. Mike was in the garage, talking to some of his people. He introduced them all to Joan, Stone, and Fred.
“Okay, let’s take the elevator up to the eighth floor,” Mike said. They rode up, and one of Mike’s people was in the car with them.
“What’s that guy doing in the elevator with us?” Joan whispered to Mike.
“He’s making sure there are no intruders on the elevator with us.”
“Is he armed?”
“All my people are armed.”
“Where’s my .45?”
They got off the elevator and Mike picked up her weapon, which was lying on the coffee table. He was about to show her how to disassemble it, but Joan fieldstripped it, worked theaction, then reassembled it, reinserted the magazine, and pumped a round into the chamber. “Nice work,” she said, flipping on the safety.
Mike handed her a leather box. “And here is your cleaning kit. It should always be cleaned after it’s fired.”
“I can do that,” Joan said.
He handed her a small velvet box. “Open it,” he said.
Joan found a locket on a gold chain inside.
“I didn’t know you were so sentimental, Mike.”
“It’s an electronic device.”
“You mean like ‘I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up’?”
“Better than that. All you do is press it, then say whatever you like. ‘Intruder,’ for instance, or ‘fire in the kitchen.’ Like that.”
Joan pressed it and said, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.”
“Perfect, but don’t use that line. My people will think you’re kidding.”
Joan tried again. “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up. NO KIDDING!”
“That’s better. Pretty, isn’t it? We gave you the Cartier model. Wear it at all times.”
“In the bathtub, too?”
“Especially in the bathtub. We don’t want you to hurt yourself trying to get to it when you need it. Don’t worry, it’s waterproof.”
“Won’t it hear the splash?”
“Only if you’re wearing it. It charges on a pad at your bedside. Leave it there every night when you go to bed.”
He gave her a remote control device. “We’ve put one of these on all three of your cars, so the garage door will know you’re coming. The buttons turn on and off anything you like. Just point it.”
Joan pointed it at a lamp and it came on. Then she turned it off again. “Good.”
“The button at the bottom turns everything in the house on. When you get into bed for the night, you can turn all the lights off from there.”
“What’s Geoffrey going to do for a living?”
“Geoffrey is now your driver and bodyguard. He spent the afternoon training on our firing range. He already has a carry license.”
