Page 45 of The San Marco Heist

Chapter 19

Malcolm

Thursdaymorning,twodaysbefore the Albrecht-Bancroft wedding and our mission to retrieve the Chalcis Ring, Scarlett, Jayce, Declan, and I descended on Will’s mother’s house. She owned the upstairs floor of a modest duplex—maisonette was the appropriate term, I’d been told. We’d held all of our other meetings at the hotel, but the three-dimensional model of the house was ready and had to be kept private.

A kind-faced woman with gray-streaked brown hair greeted us at the door, arms wide. “It’s been so long.”

Scarlett accepted the first hug. “Too long.”

Jayce held up a white box tied with string before her hug. “I brought your favorite chocolates from Harrods.”

“Just as beautiful as ever,” said Declan. “How do you do it, Mrs. Reaney?”

“Charmer.” She grinned at him and pinched his cheek. “And who’s this?”

“My name’s Malcolm.” I held out a hand, but she wrapped me up in her arms. “I’m new.”

Mrs. Reaney put her hands on her hips, looking over my shoulder. “And where’s Rav? Will says you don’t go anywhere without him anymore, Scarlett.”

“He’s visiting a friend. He’ll join us soon.”

“Good.” She clapped her hands and waved us in, up a flight of beige carpeted stairs in a tight hallway. “Willie’s upstairs in his loft.”

Her accent was slightly thicker than Will’s, betraying a youth spent in England, but many years abroad. At the top of the stairs, she led us down a short hallway to the cramped kitchen, with a narrow staircase heading up. “Have you been here since we renovated?”

“No, Mrs. Reaney.” Scarlett’s face softened as she lay a hand on Will’s mother’s arm. “We haven’t been here in a year, and you were just starting the loft conversion.”

“Of course.” She patted Scarlett’s arm. “I remember that now. And who’s the handsome one with the blue eyes?”

“That’s Malcolm,” said Jayce. “And I brought you chocolates.”

Mrs. Reaney gave her a coy smile. “Not the ones from Harrods I like?”

“The exact ones.” Jayce placed the box on the kitchen table between five untouched cups of tea. She undid the string, popping a green-and-white speckled bonbon into her mouth. “Eat as many as you want.”

Scarlett’s gaze swept across the three of us and flicked up the stairs. More shorthand that Jayce and Declan immediately acted on, climbing up to the floor above, and I followed them.

Mrs. Reaney continued talking with Scarlett. She explained about the renovation, thanked Reynolds for paying for the expansion, and asked whether Brie was in town. “My Willie misses her so much.”

“She’s still at home. We’ll bring her the next time, I promise.”

“You’re such a good girl.”

The upstairs was narrow, as though the room had been built into the attic space. Loft conversion. Of course. At one end, there was a giant white board on caster wheels and a rack of servers. Shelves stacked with bins were crammed between dormer windows and the 3D printer nestled in a corner. Next to a large-screen television, Will’s two computers sat on a desk with six monitors.

A six-foot long table dominated the center of the room, half of it taken up by the house model, the rest covered in architectural diagrams.

When Scarlett had first mentioned Will’s special drone, she’d said that he’d moved here after his mother got sick. The repeat questions, the confusion, and the excess of teacups—obviously Alzheimer’s. And that was possibly why he worked out of the house so often.

Scarlett’s mouth was tight when she finally joined us. “Will, can you get Brie on the line?”

The big screen on the wall switched from black to Brie’s face. “Already here, Scar.”

“Do you have a view of the model?”

“She’s all set.” Will pointed to a digital camera he had propped at the end of the table. “Are we waiting for Rav?”

“No.” Scarlett waved her hand vaguely at the model, and everyone gathered around it. “High-level plan first. We’ll have Brie and Will on standby, in case we find an access point for the security system or need other support. Jayce and Declan will enter covertly to secure the ring. Rav and I will act as married friends of the bride, doing lookout and running interference as needed. Malcolm will be our driver.”

---