LITMIR.BIZ

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to have to watch the surrogate, as well as the two lawyers,” Charles said. “Everyone is under surveillance as we speak.”

      Annie reached for a yellow legal pad. She scribbled furiously for several minutes. “Give us the name of the second surrogate and the adoptive parents.”

      “The second surrogate is Joan Olsen. She’s also a student. The parents are Beth and John Evans. She’s a nurse, he’s a doctor. Intern, actually. Like the Dawsons, they didn’t want their employer, the hospital, to know what was going on. Newsom represented Olsen, Baron Bell represented the Evanses. They had essentially the same experience the Dawsons did, absent the attempted extortion. When things went sour, they tried contacting Bell, but he wouldn’t return their calls. John Evans said at their initial meeting Bell spelled it all out for them. Once they took possession of the baby, and all the papers were signed, his part was done. Any future legal problems would have to be dealt with by another lawyer. Bell said he simply did not have the time to do a follow-through for the next eighteen years. Evans said he made a joke of it, and they signed off on it. So Bell didn’t commit any obvious crime in that case. Morally, that’s another story.”

      “What do we do and when do we leave?” Annie asked. “By the way, does Mr. Bell’s safe have some kind of special significance?”

      Charles smiled. “Think about it, ladies. Seeing a safe like that, an old-timey affair, complete with the engraved elk on the door, tells me Bell wants people to think he has a lot of things in there. It also tells people it’s impenetrable. What it tells me is this…There’s another safe in his offices. Snowden managed to secure and forward to me a complete blueprint of the entire office building. Mr. Bell’s second safe is built into the floor under his desk. I’m sure he has one of those hard plastic sheets on top of it so that his chair can roll and move about with ease. Undetectable to the naked eye.”

      “So which safe do we want to crack?” Myra asked.

      “Both,” replied Charles. “If I’m right, the one in the floor will be a modern safe, digital, a snap for someone like Mr. Tyson to open. The old-timey Browning safe is going to be more difficult. You have to have a good ear so you can hear the tumblers. Not to mention a light touch.”

      Annie looked over at Myra. “This is exciting, don’t you think, Myra?”

      Myra thought the whole thing was frightening. Here she was, soon to finally marry the love of her life, but before she could do that, she had to take a hiatus so she could do a little breaking and entering and possibly pay a visit to the local jail.

      “Absolutely, it’s exciting,” she snapped.

      “Is that why you have such a death grip on those pearls around your neck?” Annie asked.

      “No!” Myra snapped again. “I suggest you get rid of those chains around your neck if we’re going to be breaking and entering. I can hear you clanking when I’m a mile away.”

      “You’re such a poop,” Annie sniffed. “What else, Charles?”

      “There’s not much that’s going to happen through the night. Our surveillance is ongoing. I have a conference call scheduled with Lizzie and Maggie in the morning. Ted is going to see the Dawsons and the Evanses first thing in the morning to prepare them for whatever plan Maggie and Lizzie decide to run with. We don’t want to tip our hand this early in the game.”

      “What about Adel Newsom? Who’s checking her out?” Myra asked.

      “I have it all right here,” Charles said, tapping a dark blue folder. “She’s a one-lawyer office with two paralegals and two secretaries. She does not do pro bono work. Never has. She drives a high-end car, wears only designer clothing, has a luxurious apartment complete with terrace. She likes fine wine and gourmet food. She also has a summer house at Rehoboth Beach. She spends many weekends there. Mr. Snowden’s people visited her office here and her apartment and found nothing in either place to help us. I would like her to realize her security has been penetrated at the same time Baron Bell realizes it. That’s when the rats start to scurry. Then Maggie follows up with her headline, whatever it turns out to be. At that point, it’s all in your hands, ladies.”

      “Do we know who has the Evanses’ baby?” Annie asked.

      “Not at this moment in time, but we should know sometime within the next few days. We know where the twins are at the moment. By the way, the twins’ names are Robert and Rita. The Evanses named their baby Benjamin. They called him Benjy. If it looks like the Dawsons’ surrogate is going to flee, Mr. Snowden will deter her in some manner.”

      “I suggest we adjourn for the evening,” Annie said as she offered up an elaborate yawn. Myra looked at her suspiciously, but Annie was oblivious to her friend’s stare. “’Night, you two. I’m so happy for both of you. I can hardly wait for the wedding.”

      “Will you help me, Annie?” Myra whispered. “I want it all to be perfect.”

      “Absolutely,” Annie said as she pulled on her boots. “We’re all so happy for you. The girls were worrying about what color you want them to wear.”

      “Ice blue,” Myra answered. “What color do you want to wear, Annie?”

      “Well, I love purple, but that might clash with the girls. Whatever works for you, dear. I’ll see you in the morning.”

      Myra followed her friend to the door. “You might as well tell me right now what it is that has you in such a tizzy. You know I’ll find out sooner or later, and if it turns out to be later, then I just might get pissy. And we don’t want that, do we?”

      “Fish is going to be calling me soon. I…uh…I called him and we had a very nice dialogue and we’re going to do it again.”

      “Ahhh.”

      “Never mind ahhh. Try ooh la la,” Annie called over her shoulder before she started to slog through the snow. It occurred to her when she was halfway to her building that she could have walked on the shoveled path instead of wading through the midthigh snow.

      “Awawk,” she mumbled as she brought herself out of her daydreams.

      Chapter 4

      It was barely light out when Charles set the last breakfast dish on the sideboard. The girls lined up and filled their plates. Out of the corner of their eyes, they watched Charles don his stout boots and fur-lined parka.

      “I heard Charles’s cell chirp, so that must mean our guest is at the foot of the mountain. That means he has to send the cable car down manually. Around four o’clock I saw him going out with the oil can,” Kathryn whispered to Nikki.

      “Why are you whispering?” Nikki asked.

      Kathryn laughed. “I don’t know.” She loaded her plate with bacon and waffles.

      “Do you think Mr. Tyson and Charles will confer before he springs him on us? It worries me that more and more people know our current address,” Isabelle grumbled. Today she was eating sparingly and thinking about how she would look in her old bikini should she find herself on a beach in the Cayman Islands. Maybe she should order a new one and get some sun so that she didn’t look like a snowbird when she hit the beach. She chided herself for such thinking, but she couldn’t help but smile.

      “You might as well tell us,” Alexis said. “We’ve all been trying to figure out why you and Annie have been wearing these secret smiles. Share!”

      Isabelle grinned, then looked at Annie, who nodded. She shared.

      The girls clapped their hands in approval.

      “Annie? It’s your turn,” Myra said.

      Annie shared, her face flushed. “I talked a good game but…it’s been like forever since I…you know.” She was so flustered the girls forgot their breakfast as they jumped in with both feet to tease her. Annie’s face turned a deeper shade of pink at their risqué suggestions. The suggestions ran from the sublime

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