Chapter 16 #2
My hair was too distinctive, so changing that was my top priority.
I picked out a wig in a dark, straight bob that would hit chin-length on me, totally different to my natural curls.
Under a baseball cap, no one would be able to tell it was a wig.
The glasses were tempting, but I didn’t want to risk dropping them and accidentally leaving evidence that someone had been in the house who shouldn’t have been.
On my way back to the hotel I detoured to a CVS, and my vision for the look I was going for rapidly came together as I picked up the last few things I’d need.
Returning to the room, I hung the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door and hoped housekeeping would stay away. Then I settled back down at the desk and picked up where I left off last night, researching Wilson’s house.
Using my iPad I sketched out the most likely layout of the house based on the floorplans I’d found yesterday and tried to identify the major entrances and exits.
I wasn’t opposed to climbing out of a window if I was forced to, though a fire escape would be preferable. The townhouse didn’t have one of those.
I knew Wilson didn’t have a guard dog – he was allergic – that was another nugget of information I’d picked up from Marcus a year or so ago. But, with his mother currently visiting and staying in the house with him, I would have to be even more careful.
As for Wilson, he’d be at the club. It was Monday night and Tanoshimu had been widely advertising a famous DJ playing tonight. There was no way Wilson was anywhere but basking in the glory of his celebrity connections.
When early evening rolled around I decided to take a nap to kill a few hours and rest my brain in the process, hoping that I’d wake up feeling sharp and refreshed. It worked. Sort of.
The nerves started to really take hold as soon as it was time to get changed.
Hopefully this was an unnecessary over-precaution, but I knew there was no way to avoid being caught on camera somewhere tonight.
If my plan worked, Wilson wouldn’t even have the need to check the cameras, but if he did, it was incredibly important he saw someone other than me.
It took a while to twist all my hair into tight curls and pin them to my head so I could get the wig to sit neatly over the top. But as soon as I pulled it on, I knew it was the right choice. It made me look completely different.
I’d only used face putty before for Halloween, when me and my friends had made fake scars and cuts to apply to our skin.
It was surprisingly easy to use, though I didn’t want to go over the top and it be obvious.
I carefully broadened the bridge of my nose, built up a new shape to my jaw and created a more pointed chin.
Then I applied more makeup to my face than I’d normally wear, being sure to fully conceal the bruises on my face – they were starting to turn yellow now – and making my eyelashes and brows much darker and heavier.
Changing my body shape was a little more difficult. I’d picked up a bra that was two cup sizes bigger than what I normally wore, and I spent some time padding it out. The long-sleeve T-shirt I pulled over the top and short leggings smoothed out my figure.
For a few minutes I hesitated about whether or not to take the Glock. Leaving it behind, when I was doing something so incredibly risky, seemed very stupid. Then again, if I got caught and the cops found a gun on me, I’d be in a load more trouble.
In the end I put it on – the holster first, then the gun tucked safely into it, covering it with the T-shirt. I pulled a black Yankees hat over the top of the wig and stepped back to check myself out in the full-length mirror.
The woman staring back at me looked alien and definitely older than nineteen. It wasn’t a perfect disguise. But it didn’t need to be.
My stomach was in knots, and I knew I should probably have something else to eat, except I didn’t want to get sick from the nerves.
I spent the last hour pacing, knowing that Wilson was at the club by eleven every night, and wanting to give myself a decent buffer in case something at home had held him up.
Trying to break in while he was there, and awake, would be a disaster.
My phone had been turned off since last night so Alice couldn’t contact me. And there was no reason to take it with me tonight – the last thing I needed was it pinging at a cell phone tower near Wilson’s house and causing problems later.
I gathered up what I’d need for tonight – gloves, lock-picking tools, a pen light, an emergency alarm in case I needed to cause a distraction, a smoke bomb for the same purpose. Hopefully I wouldn’t need them, but I was going to go in there as prepared as I could be.
I pulled on my sneakers and did a few stretches, wanting to test my range of motion, then I threw the bag over my shoulder and took a deep, clarifying breath before moving out.
Wilson’s neighborhood was much quieter at midnight than the last time I was here. The houses along Wilson’s street were beautiful: red-brick townhouses or creamy stone, with luxury high-rise apartment buildings closer to the park offering incredible views.
I turned sharply to sneak down a narrow alley between the houses, and paused for a moment to pull on thin, tight gloves and roll my shoulders a few times to loosen up.
Then I cut through a neighbor’s yard to get to Wilson’s house.
His own yard was small but well-tended, with rose bushes wafting delicate fragrance toward me on the night air.
Approaching the house, I could see the door that probably led to the kitchen was locked, as were the elegant patio doors.
I’d expected that, but it still made sense to check.
I almost missed the open basement window, and my heart stuttered as I lay down flat on the gravel and looked inside.
There was a light on, and from what I could see it was a laundry room, the dryer mid-cycle.
I couldn’t believe my luck – someone had left the window unlocked.
Of course, it was a tiny, flap-style window that was at ground level outside and at roof level inside, meaning getting back out of it would be a challenge. But not impossible. I waited and watched for a few minutes, not wanting to rush in and make a mistake.
The house remained still, except for the familiar rumble of the dryer.
It was now or never.
I pushed my bag round onto my back and wriggled on my belly, entering feet-first through the window.
The frame of the window dug into my ribs and my stomach, and I forced myself to lift my chin so it didn’t scrape my face as I finally got through and hung by my fingertips for a second before dropping to the floor.
I landed in a crouch to soften the sound and froze, waiting to hear movement.
My heart was thundering, and stomach acid was crawling up into my throat.
Inside the house, it felt like I was the only one moving.
I straightened up slowly and took a moment to look around, checking for anything that could be helpful. Except it really was just a laundry room, with a couple of industrial-sized washer and dryers, and I was fairly certain that Wilson and his family never came down here.
The door to the laundry room was closed, and I turned the handle all the way before pulling it open, determined to be as silent as possible.
Then I slipped into the dark hallway and closed the door behind me.
It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, and I let myself have a second to celebrate the victory – I was in.
Now came the hard part.