LITMIR.BIZ

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sure to use the word performance as often as you can.”

      “Candles, dim light, fragrant sheets are where it’s at.”

      “Brush up on your athletic capabilities.”

      “You can find a tutorial on the Internet about hundreds of ways to use your tongue. They even have one for hand and toe usage.”

      Myra had to slap Annie’s back when she started to choke. She was still sputtering, the others giggling, when the door opened. Charles led his guest into the dining room.

      He was tall; his hair, snow-white. He was handsome and tanned. He was built like an athlete and moved with the stealth of a cat. He looked capable and hungry. He appeared to be of an age with Myra and Annie. It was his twinkling eyes that put the girls at ease.

      “Ladies, your attention please. I’d like to introduce Tobias Tyson.” It was obvious Charles wasn’t going to introduce them by name, and it also looked like the tall stranger standing in front of them understood.

      Tyson shed his white poplin down jacket and took his place at the sideboard. He filled his plate with fruit and muffins. Instead of coffee, he opted for hot tea.

      Conversation consisted of the weather below the mountain, the coming holidays, and the Christmas trees that were going up in New York and Washington.

      Later, all agreed they liked Tyson. He was well spoken on just about any subject. They all liked the fact that he looked whomever he was talking to in the eye. And, Yoko said, he smelled good. She wanted to know what cologne or shaving lotion he used so she could get some for Harry.

      The minute the table and sideboard were cleared and the dishwasher was humming in the background, Charles left them to return to his command center.

      Tyson unzipped the heavy bag at his feet. It took all his strength to lift a heavy door model onto the table. “This,” he said, “is a replica—a scaled-down version—of the safe you will be dealing with.” He pointed to a smaller unit. “This is a replica of a digital safe.” He pulled a small square box out of the bag, powered it up, and said, “This will run through thousands of numeric codes in seconds and will give you the code you need within fifty-seven seconds.” In a businesslike voice, he said, “Put your hands on the table so I can see them. When I tell you to raise your hands, do it and flex your fingers.” He demonstrated how they should do it. “What’s needed here is flexibility and a light touch.”

      The women frowned, openly showing their disapproval as Tyson touched their hands, shaking his head.

      “Too short. Stubby isn’t going to work. Knuckles too big. Those nails have to go, and so does the polish. It might chip, and it will be a clue for the authorities to follow. Too much jewelry. It has to go, too. Wrist’s too thick. I’m looking for long, tapered fingers. Piano fingers. The pads of your fingers are too thick. Yours are too fleshy.”

      “Aren’t we supposed to sandpaper our fingertips?” Nikki all but snarled.

      “That’s only in the movies. This is no movie,” Tyson responded. “I was told that there is a security guard who makes his rounds of the building every twenty to thirty-five minutes. On the second go-round, the guard opens the office and checks the interior. Your window of time is small, so we have to make sure the person cracking the safe knows what she’s doing and can do it with her eyes closed.”

      “I don’t remember hearing anything about a security guard,” Yoko grumbled.

      Tyson looked over at the small, Asian American woman as though taking her measure. He didn’t bother to respond. “Ahhh, perfect. Finger pad is just right. Good flexibility. No sign of arthritis. Nails trimmed just right. You’ll do!” he said dramatically.

      Annie was so befuddled, she didn’t know what to do. When Tyson winked at her, she almost blacked out.

      Isabelle leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I think you have a problem here, Annie. You went from no man to two men all of a sudden. I saw that wink. It was roguish. The others saw it, too. He’s interested in you. I bet you could bring him to his knees if you tried.”

      Annie swallowed hard. Feast or famine. Tyson was waiting for a comment. If Isabelle was right, and the wink meant something, she did have a problem. Well, she knew how to wink. In the end, she made a kissing motion, then laughed. She smiled and kept smiling, to Tyson’s discomfort. She leaned over and whispered, “You wouldn’t know what to do with me. Trust me.” She loved the man’s startled expression so much, she decided to go a step further. She dropped her voice even more. “I know how to…”

      Myra couldn’t believe her ears. She gasped, and she gasped again as she whispered to Kathryn, who then passed Annie’s comments down the line.

      His ears red, Tyson made a production out of searching for something in his bag. “You couldn’t possibly…,” he muttered.

      “Mr. Tyson, do I look like someone who makes idle boasts? I’m up for a sizable wager. Now, let’s get this show on the road. Time is money. By the way, how much money are we paying you?”

      Tyson told her.

      “Really! I hope you can earn it. Shall we get started?” Annie wanted to be done with it all so she could go on the Net to visit the tutorial the girls were talking about.

      Clearly flustered, Tyson asked Annie if she wore a hearing aid or if she thought she might need one to hear the tumblers turn over.

      “My hearing is as perfect as the rest of me, Mr. Tyson.”

      The girls gawked, their eyes round as saucers. Annie never ceased to amaze them.

      “Call me Tee.”

      Her heart beating like a trip-hammer, Annie did her best to pay attention and ignore the closeness of the man beside her. She liked the smell of the man and said so, her ear pressed to the makeshift safe door.

      “Thank you. I don’t think anyone ever told me she liked the way I smell before.”

      “Shhh, ah, this is the first one. Keep going. There’s a first time for everything. What was it like doing two stretches in the federal pen? That’s it. Number two. I thought you said this was hard.”

      “It is hard. It’s the third one you’re going to miss. It wasn’t a picnic, but once I made up my mind that I had to do the time, I did it and walked out a free man. Believe it or not, law enforcement calls on me from time to time to…help them. I do it gratis. How would you like to go dancing someday?”

      “Dancing? You did that on purpose to throw me off so I’d miss it, didn’t you?”

      “I did. You have to focus, pay attention, and not allow yourself to get distracted. For instance, you could be going for the third tumbler, and the guard is a little early. You have to keep going and let the others worry about the guard. Capisce? The third tumbler is always the harder one. Once it took me nine times. Start from the beginning. We have all day. So, would you like to go dancing someday?”

      Annie pressed her ear to the safe door. Suddenly she felt like crying and didn’t know why. “Someday may never come, but if it does, I get to lead.”

      Tyson threw his head back and laughed. “You got it! Now concentrate.”

      “You may not know this about me, Mr…. uh…Tee, but I know how to multitask.”

      As Annie concentrated on the task in front of her, she found herself measuring the ex-con sitting next to her against Fish. The trouble was, neither one of them was coming up short.

      Myra almost killed herself getting up from the table and running to the pantry off the kitchen, where the others were doubled over laughing. “She’s a loose cannon. Someone has to rein her in,” Myra said, her voice so garbled, the others could barely understand what she was saying. “This is not funny, girls. What if she…crashes and burns? Then what?”

      “That is not going to happen. We’re all going

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