Page 53 of The Twilight Theft

Liana’s hand flew to her chest. “My word!”

I nodded at her. “The metal platform your workers brought in—is that for your sculpture?”

“It is.”

“That puts it closest to the patio. The odds of someone coming in that way are slim, but we’ll have less opportunity to stop them if they do. I want it moved to the northernmost spot.”

“But the sculpture is designed—”

“Nope.” I popped the ‘P’ sound at the end, emphasizing there was no debate. I needed some gum. “Our third-tier concern would be the ceiling or the floor. Neither is likely, but the floor’s more possible than the ceiling, so we’ll have Rav’s men do the initial sweep before the event, and then a rover will keep it on his circuit.”

Liana pressed her palms together, as if in prayer. “I’m worried the extra security will detract from the event.”

Scarlett said, “You wanted to make it a big event—talk of the town? Play up the security during your vernissage and drop some hints about the threats. It’ll increase the intrigue and open their wallets further.”

I added, “While keeping everyone on high alert for anything suspicious. Make it sound like one of those murder mystery nights, where everyone wants to solve the puzzle.”

“That’s a good start,” said Drew.

“Also in this room, we have the risk to the chip.” I turned to Liana. “Does it have a GPS tracker embedded in it?”

“No.”

“I’ll add one once we arrive tomorrow evening.”

“Also no.” Liana put her hands up. “Your job is to prevent it from being stolen. If you need to track it, you’ve already failed. And I will not have my masterpiece marred by extra material.”

Artists. I held back the eye roll. That just meant I couldn’t tellherthat was the plan, but I’d easily sneak one onto it.

“All right.” I made my way to the center of the Xs on the floor. They were fifteen feet apart, giving ample room for traffic flow between. “You’ll move your sculpture, put the mirror to the west, closest to the main door—”

“That cannot be done.” Did she have to be so difficult? “It has to be on the opposite side, so it can reflect people as they come in. I don’t want anyone approaching it from the back.”

“That’s fair,” said Scarlett.

I walked to the main door, the group gravitating with me. My goal had been to position the scarab furthest from the doors, so we’d be able to study it. We still had a client looking for it, and whatever detail we gathered at the gala would help plan its eventual recovery. I nodded—having it closest to the main door would give us several passes from behind and in front. “In that case, scarab to the west, and bird to the south.”

Liana stood back, arms folded, tilting her head back and forth. “I think I can make this work.”

“And I don’t want those VIP items coming in tonight.” I nodded to where George had been installing the stand for the scarab. He’d told me Liana’s plan for the evening, but I wanted the center of the room as empty as possible for the early guests, to ensure potential thieves couldn’t get a read on the space they’d be working in. The more variables they had to contend with, the more chances we’d have to stop them.

Liana glanced at Craig, who nodded, and she did the same.

“Next up…” I walked back toward the middle of the room, all eyes on me. They didn’t follow this time. I was pacing. I had to stop that. “We’ll have four teams on rotation, three that combine our teams and one that is Reynolds exclusive. Each team will have separate communications. Brie will coordinate ours from Halifax.”

Craig said, “The manager’s approved my use of his office to coordinate my team, and I’ll be able to provide your tech support with access to the cameras.”

Before my feet could whisk me toward the main door again and prove I really was pacing, I forced my body toward the windows at the eastern end. The rain continued coming down in sheets. Too bad it was raining today, not tomorrow. All the rain for the gala would have given us more control of the foot traffic in and out from the patio, plus the bonus of making it easier to track wet footprints.

“Each couple will do rotations in the banquet room, ten-to-fifteen-minute minimums, with Wyatt and I floating in more frequently and for longer.” I was better in the shadows. This was going to be a long night. I paced back toward the group, looking at Wyatt. “I warn you, I’m a talker, but not a conversationalist. You’ll have to handle any shmoozing required so we can stay close to the chip.”

Wyatt tipped a non-existent hat at me. “My specialty.”

“Since we have the extra Reynolds-exclusive team and we’re not sharing comms, Scarlett will coordinate the banquet room times and Emmett will convey them.”

Everyone nodded, even Mr. Sourpuss. Maybe that’s why he left the spy world—people kept picking him out in a crowd because he was always too miserable to blend in.

“I want to review the main dining room, mezzanine, and kitchen next. Follow me.”

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