In Love by Design (The Adventures of Anabel Axelrod) (36 page)

Am I a bad woman to feel a teeny
bit vindicated that Mrs. Thornburgh is a diabetic and Susan Sheedy has five unruly children under the age of seven that she home schools?

I don’t think so, either.
Being a librarian is an awesome, nurturing responsibility right up there with being a mother. Mrs. Thornburgh was a terrible motivator and a worse role model, and Susan Sheedy didn’t read half the books her mother signed off on.

Tre
was nodding at Jaz. “We need to learn how to pick pockets.”

“Absofuckinglutely!”
Jaz agreed fervently and they smacked high-fives.

I
tilted my head and contemplated them both for a moment. This reminded me that I never have gotten to the bottom of what these two girls are doing in their spare time because they are definitely doing something.

Anna
was frowning at them, too, and after giving me a little quizzical shrug, focused on our operation tonight and her concerns. “Are you sure we can get in and out of the emergency exit and do we have Diego’s computer password?”

I shrugged back and nodded
. “I’m sure the door alarm was broken as of three o’clock today. Diego verified he hadn’t called a repairman and he sure doesn’t have a clue where to begin fixing an alarm.”

I
handed Anna the list of computer passwords and Tre J the key to Diego’s office, both provided by Mac at my insistence.

I
said seriously, “If I’m wrong and the alarm goes off when Tre opens the exit door, then we abort the mission,” Anna giggled at my fancy lingo. I gave her the hard, professional stare that I’ve learned from my boyfriend and she giggled even more. Hiding my smile, I continued, “and we all run for the van faster than jackrabbits and drive off.”

“Puma’s,” Jazy state
d succinctly.

“Excuse me?” I ask
ed politely.

“We run like puma’s, not
like some wild-eyed jack rabbits that don’t know their asses from a hole in the ground,” my baby sister explained.

I stare
d at her for a moment and am reminded by her calm return gaze that Jazy takes her animals very seriously.

“
Well, okay then, you all heard Nature Girl. Nobody better even think of acting like wild-eyed jackrabbits.”

Tre and Anna openly
snickered while Jazy only nodded happily at this new directive.

My plan
was no frills. Tre will go into the store, grab a basket, stroll through the aisles until she reaches the bathrooms, and then wait for the coast to be clear in the downstairs hallway. She’ll swipe through the locked employee’s door.

The second part of the plan
was for Tre J to verify Diego’s office was empty. Diego should be gone based on his schedule Mac gave me and the fact she hasn’t called to say otherwise. We will be waiting by that door in the back alley for Tre J to let us in. Once in the office, Tre will provide overwatch, Jazy and I will search the room, and Anna, the fastest of us all on the computer, will log in and search Diego’s files.

Tre J asked a few more questions a
bout the layout of the store. I went over again that we were looking for proof of infidelity, blackmail, or anything that seemed odd. After that, we were ready. Jaz and Tre changed places, so that Jazy was the wheel man.

We drove the short, few blocks to supermercado
de Dos Santos and did one pass through the parking lot and back alley area. I narrated, showing Tre where we’d park the van, in the event we had to make like puma’s. I pointed out our emergency exit door flanked by the two high, small windows on each side, and the location of Diego’s office.

Diego’s vehicle
was not there, so we looked good to go. Driving out of the alley, we took a right and drove up the side street. On this side of Dos Santos’, it was a long length of uninterrupted red brick with no doors or windows. We stopped shy of the corner to drop Tre off. We all did a final check to make sure our phones were silent and our disguises were in place.

Three sets of eyes turn
ed to stare at me expectantly. I was still learning about working as a team in my personal life, but I think this meant they were waiting for me to say some final, inspiring words before the start of the mission.

I
returned their stare, nodding slowly at each of my cohorts. I shoved my arm out straight and whispered fiercely, “To the Night of the Ninjas!”

Anna slap
ped her hand on top of mine and whispered ferociously, “Ninjas fear nothing!”

Jaz add
ed her hand to the pile and growled softly, “Ninja’s own the night!”

Tre J’s large hand cover
ed all of ours and she nodded back to me, smiling savagely. “Ninja’s never fail!”

I look
ed at our pile of arms and hands thinking we’re done here, but they were all staring at me again, faces aflame with mission bloodlust.

“
Er…One, two, three,” I counted out, reverting back to my brief career as a middle school cheerleader while bouncing our pile of hands and arms. Throwing mine up in the air, I called out, “Goooo Ninjas!”

This seem
ed to work because the team was all smiles and back slapping, as Tre unbuckled and prepared to open her door to leave the van.

“Oh, and Tre?” I call
ed out. “One last thing, please.”

“Yes, Bel?” She answer
ed, promptly turning back to face me.

“
While you’re in there, don’t forget to pick up a dozen eggs in the dairy section,” I said, straight faced.

Tre blink
ed at me and Jazy put in nonchalantly, “And bread for us. I think Blanca needs orange juice, too.”

Anna
sat up and eagerly asked, “Can you check for me in the candy aisle and see if they carry peppermints?”

At Tre’s pained, confused expression, we
broke into snickering giggles.

“You ninja bitches, I’ll get you all for that!”
Tre warned with a broad smile before she quietly slipped out her door while Jazy kept the dome light covered.

Jazy wait
ed for a few seconds and then pulled away from the curb, took a right again, and we passed Tre J walking with her loping, ground eating strides to the front entrance of the store. We entered the parking lot, leaving the van in the predesignated spot.

The three of us kept our heads causally down
and we stayed close to the wall of the store. We walked in the shadows through the dimly lit back alley area and stopped when we almost reached the metal emergency exit door.

We huddle
d together, but stayed quiet. We kept our heads bent towards the pavement to avoid our faces showing on any security tapes, and we waited.

Waiting patiently
was boring and the hardest part of any adventure, but much as Luke described about surveillance, it was necessary to stay alert and be ready for anything. The night’s grown chillier once the sun went down, but it was still practically tropical for Minnesota. Anna was bouncing on her feet and had pulled on her mittens, but she’s always jittery and always cold. Keeping the bun in her oven at an even roasting temperature had messed even more with the calibration of her internal thermometer, so I moved closer to share my warmth. Jazy grinned reassuringly at Anna and moved closer from the other side. I smiled at the sight of my sister’s deep dimples and Anna’s chipmunk cheeks rounding in grateful response, but looked away to keep scanning the back alley.

Jazy
was starting to blow on her hands when the metal door squeaked open slowly and Tre’s head stuck out. “All clear!”

I le
d the way with the duffle bag, and we slipped in and ran the short distance into Diego’s open office.

The plan
was working beautifully and we’re off to a good start, aside from bumping into each other in the darkened office and doing a little pushing, shoving, and muttering until we were all in.

Tre pull
ed the door almost completely closed behind us, leaving it open an inch while she got in position to watch and listen. Dropping to my knees, I unzipped the duffle and took out a towel.

“
Situation report, Tre?” I asked while twisting the body towel I borrowed from Luke’s linen closet into a long, thick rope. I shoved it against the bottom of the door to fill in the gap where light could shine out underneath. I’d brought flashlights, but could only find two in Luke’s house, so I was glad this idea was working.

“
We’re cool here and no problems in the store,” she acknowledged softly, without taking her eye off the hallway.

I whisper
ed, “Okay, lights on.”

Tre close
d the office door tight, locked it, and flipped the switch for the lights. I heard everyone suck in a breath when the overhead fluorescent lights only flickered a few times. Finally they stayed on, but buzzed annoyingly loud. I mentally noted that Diego’s has a failing ballast to add to his repair list. The team let out a collective sigh of relief and got busy doing our assigned tasks while Tre leaned with her ear against the cheap, hollow-core office door.

Anna
was at the computer doing her thing, muttering softly to herself as she typed away. Jazy and I took a moment to quickly survey Diego’s office overall before moving. We made a face at each other when we realized that we’d both done the same thing. She moved right and started opening Diego’s desk drawers, working around Anna, and I went left and opened the miniscule coat closet.

There
was a jacket hanging from a rod, a plastic bucket sitting on the floor, and a short, nasty broom with straw sticking out at all angles. Propped on the wall next to the icky broom was one of those long-handled dust pans. I jumped up and down in place to verify the overhead shelf was empty.

Behind me, I hear
d another flurry of typing as Anna called out in a low voice, “I’m in!”

“Yay!” I cheer
ed softly.

S
ifting through the small amount of accumulated garbage in the trash can by the desk; I was happy that Mac was right about Diego not changing passwords.

“How we doing Jaz, Tre?” I ask
ed, skimming through a pile of file folders on top of the credenza against the wall before kneeling to slide open the cabinet’s lower doors.

Jaz murmured, “Nothing so far in the desk.”

Tre murmured, “We’re good.”

The typing stop
ped suddenly and Anna whispered loudly, “What was that? Did you guys hear that?”

I turned to the desk, as Jazy
asked, “Hear what, Anna?”

Tre
replied, “I don’t hear anything in the hall.”

“No, it’s a scratching sound,” Anna
exclaimed in a high voice, her head cocked at an angle. “There! Did you hear it now?”

The three of us
listened and then shared a shrugging glance before I said to Anna, “Sorry, I don’t hear anything, but let’s just finish and get out of here.”

Anna’s face twist
ed anxiously in repugnance and she glared at me accusingly. “Are there mice in here, Junior?”

I
tossed my hands up, trying not to laugh because Anna was deathly afraid of mice. If you ever want to see a genuine tizzy fit enacted, throw a fake fur ball on Anna. My brother tried that once years ago and I don’t think he could walk straight for a week after Anna got finished freaking out on him.

Whispering back, I
lied for the sake of the mission, “Anna, of course not! I personally killed every rodent in Faribault today on the off chance you may visit. Now will you please forget the damn noises and check Diego’s email!”

Anna
called me names and grumbled nervously, but bent over the keyboard. Not that I wanted to run into any furry friends, either, after my experience last night with the potentially cannibalistic rats in Hell’s Kitchen. I turned back to searching the credenza and thought of Dickie. His twenty-four deadline was growing uncomfortably close and I really wanted him to have some good news to report.

For a few
quiet minutes longer, we three diligently searched Diego’s office and computer files, but found nothing incriminating. Flipping up the area rug on the floor, I checked for hidden trapdoors while thinking that something was bugging me, but again, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. I hated that feeling.

I’ve got so much going on in my head
that I may be approaching information overload and couldn’t concentrate properly. I tried to shake the thought loose by lightly probing with my mind over the obvious issues. Was it about the identity of my murderous enemy, Pam’s situation with Carter, Luke machinations with Carter’s brothers that I’m beginning to suspect involved heavy gambling debts, or Mac’s suspicions of Diego? Whatever it was that was bugging me stayed elusive and I gave up for now.

Anna interrupt
ed my rambling thoughts by turning off the computer, sitting back in the chair, and stating in a scornful whisper oozing with relief, “Jesus, Diego is one boring dude! Every email is business related or preaching something to a female relative that’s asking for his advice. What is he, some kind of junior Puerto Rican Godfather?”