Twenty-six #2
“Grant? That guy?” Irene asked, perking up.
“That’s him. Also, Joan and I went to a repair shop across town and picked up some materials for me to practice.
We also found an old-style wall safe. It’s the same brand as the Pelican safe, same sort of lock with all the necessary parts, but much smaller, obviously.
It was too big for us to bring back, so we’ll need to arrange a pick-up.
” She was aware that Marcy was listening, wide-eyed with surprise. “Joan? Your turn.”
“The staff wear walkie-talkies. I picked up some toy walkie-talkies for you to wear if you’re ever in a work uniform.
And then I made security badges for everyone.
” She passed them out. “Except Marcy, who I did not know would be joining us. But I don’t think you’ll need one.
I also spent some time at the slots observing shift changes.
I’ve got the time of shift changes and the exits most used,” she said, pushing a paper across the table.
“Oh, and I won two hundred bucks with Lucky Sevens.”
“Woot!” Irene said. “Drinks on Joan.”
“So, here’s an idea,” Edie said. “Grant told me that there is a lot of chatter around town about how much power is necessary to house the crypto exchange at the Pelican. He said the requirements are insane and folks are worried about power surges or outages. People are saying the city doesn’t have the capacity for the casino to go all crypto. Maybe we could use that?”
“A well-timed power outage?” Irene said. “I’d have to get into the power grid. I’ll need to consult one of my contacts.”
“That won’t work,” Joan said. “Everything shuts down when the power goes off. It’s locked up tight as a drum so people don’t make off with chips or what have you.”
“Unless you have a badge,” Irene said. “It’s part of their backup. They have a sub-generator that operates the entry systems so that first responders can enter if necessary and staff can move around. It takes about twenty minutes before it fully kicks into gear.”
“Who else knows this?” Frances asked.
“I don’t know, but if I had to guess, I’d say Mark Wachtel for sure. And Rocco. Probably the maintenance crew. Emergency services, for sure.”
“We’d have twenty minutes?” Frances asked.
“Tops,” Irene confirmed.
“Which means fifteen,” Marcy said. “To be safe. Which really means ten.”
They all paused to look at Marcy. “Look at you,” Irene said with a smile. “How long do you need, Edie?”
“Oh my God,” Edie said. “Assuming we can get past the motion detector and into the vault right away? I don’t know. Three minutes? Five?”
Irene was shaking her head. “You’ll have to make it shorter.”
“I’ll do my best. Let’s see if you can figure out how to shut off the power and the motion detector.”
“I think it’s the same way you grab the power systems of hospitals when you send ransom notes,” she mused. She waved a hand. “I’ve got a friend on the dark web who can help. We, as a nation, are surprisingly vulnerable to people like me.”
“I am really starting to worry about you,” Frances said.
“Worry about yourself, sweet cheeks.”
“How do we get to Rocco and Mark?” Joan asked.
“We’ll know more about Mark’s habits in a day or two,” Irene said.
“And as for Rocco …” Frances turned to look at Marcy. “He’ll be at the Nest tomorrow night. Found that out when he tossed a note in Edie’s trash cart.”
“Her what?”
“Never mind,” Edie said.
“Do you think she can do it?” Joan asked.
“I don’t know,” Frances admitted. “It’s going to take some … skin.”
“I’m going to say it—she doesn’t look very bombshelly,” Joan continued, studying Marcy with a critical eye.
“I think we can work on that,” Frances said, gesturing to Marcy’s body.
“Hello,” Marcy said, waving at the four of them with her spoon. “Again, I’m sitting right here.”
“You’ll have to teach her, Edie,” Frances said, as if Marcy hadn’t spoken.
Edie tensed. Her anxiety was causing a dull ache at the base of her neck. Now she had to teach her granddaughter how to attract men so that she could dupe them? What sort of person was she? A despicable one, that was who.
“Teach me what?” Marcy asked. “I already know Rocco.”
“Yes, love, you know him,” Edie said. “But do you know how to lead him into a trap?”
“Well, I … No. But I think that—”
“Don’t think, kid,” Joan said.
“Jesus, we have a lot to do,” Irene said with a sigh.
“No kidding,” Frances agreed, and shifted her gaze to Edie. “Do you have enough time to get her ready for the Nest tomorrow?”
Edie shook her head.
Marcy looked wildly affronted. “Okay, it’s my first time,” she said defensively. “Give me a minute.”
“Darling, we don’t have a minute. So, we better get to work.” Edie stood and gestured for Marcy to do the same.
“Get to work on what? What are we doing?” Marcy asked.
“Listen to your nana,” Frances said, and patted Marcy’s hand. “She can be a bit of a perfectionist, so don’t take anything personally.”
Edie steered Marcy out of the kitchen. Frances followed and leaned against the kitchen door frame.
“Okay, let’s see your walk. Walk across the room like you’re walking onto a yacht.”
“Huh?”
Edie gestured for her to walk. Marcy walked, all right—like a linebacker.
“Oof,” Frances muttered. “That’s not good.”
“No.” Edie sighed. They had work to do.