Ancient Hiss Story (Kate Diamond Adventure Series Book 2) Read online

  “I have snacks outside.” Carlotta led Kate through the condo, which was apportioned with the finest money could buy, with upscale kitchen cabinets, granite countertops, Carrera marble flooring. But the best part about the condo was the view. In the back was an un-obscured view of Lemon Bay—a large expanse of water dotted with mangrove and palm trees. From their second story perch, they could watch boats sailing past on their way to the channel that lead to the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical birds flitted in the trees and even an occasional dolphin graced the bay with its appearance.

  The mild breeze ruffled Kate’s hair as she followed her mother through the sliding glass doors.

  “Did you have a nice trip?” Vic asked.

  Kate kissed her father on the cheek before sinking into a cushioned patio chair in between her mother and father. “The flight was kind of bumpy, but overall it was good.”

  Kate studied Vic. His short-cropped, salt-and-pepper hair—mostly salt now—gave him a distinguished air. Even though he was almost seventy, his face was relatively free from lines. His golden tan was a testament to his active, outdoors lifestyle as was his sturdy build. His ready smile, which showed off his perfect teeth and the gleam in his eye, all added to his youthful appearance.

  Kate felt blessed that both her parents were in good health and enjoyed an active lifestyle. That lifestyle probably helped keep them looking so young. That and good genes. Kate hoped she’d inherited the looking-young-for-your-age gene from them.

  “That’s good. We’re so glad to have you here.” Vic slid the laptop that was open in front of him over so Kate could see the screen. “I was just talking to Gideon here on Skype.”

  Kate waved to Gideon, whose face took up most of the screen. “Hi, Gid.”

  “Hey, Kate. Your Dad and I were just discussing the painting.”

  “Okay. Anything new?” Kate had told her parents the whole story about what had happened at Estelle’s when she’d called the day before to ask for their help. While she’d been packing and flying down, Gideon had probably done more research and he and Vic must have been well into making plans. Kate would need to catch up.

  “It seems that Max has someone on the inside at the Lowenstaff Museum and he got word that the painting is there,” Gideon said.

  “They have it on display already?”

  “No, not on display. It’s in the basement. Max’s contact didn’t know exactly why, but I assume it would be for restoration. Do you remember if the painting needed work?”

  Kate wrinkled her forehead, trying to remember what the painting had looked like. She wished she’d looked at it closer, but at the time, she thought it would just be an easy acquisition. Hindsight was always twenty-twenty. “It did look pretty old. I guess it might have needed some repair.”

  Vic slid the laptop back in front of him. “I’m running some scenarios through the software now. We’ll know more about the best way to retrieve it in a minute.”

  Vic referenced the special ‘heist’ software that one of their computer expert friends had created. Vic had assured Kate they only had it created to use for practice, as a video game of sorts. Apparently, it got pretty boring having parties out by the pool all the time, so the Golden Capers gang liked to practice their old skills even if they didn’t put them to practical use anymore. The software was part of that, but it turned out that it also came in handy for some of Kate’s assignments.

  “I sent over some blueprints of the museum layout in case you need them,” Gideon was saying.

  “Thanks, kid,” Vic replied. “We might need some of your other unique talents once we get the plan worked out.”

  “No problem. Anything you guys need. Oh, and Kate…”

  “Yes?”

  “Max wants to make sure that you leave money for the painting. He said that we’re not thieves. We don’t steal things, and since the painting wasn’t technically stolen from us and Markovic paid Estelle for it, we need to pay for it, too. Otherwise, we’re no better than he is.”

  “Okay,” Kate said uncertainly. She didn’t really think leaving money was necessary. As far she could tell, the whole stealing business when it came to this painting was walking a fine line anyway.

  “So I’ll send that down along with whatever equipment you guys need.”

  “Sounds good.” Kate remembered the pile of money on Estelle’s kitchen table and wondered how they would lug around a big duffel bag full of money while they were trying to pull off a museum heist. She assumed it would be cash since they couldn’t very well leave a check.

  “This is going to be so exciting.” Carlotta’s eyes sparkled.

  “Gee, Mom, you’re acting like we’re going on a fun vacation. We are breaking in and stealing something,” Kate pointed out.

  “I know. That’s what makes it exciting.”

  Carlotta had been one of the best jewel thieves in the business. She’d broken into countless homes and other places. That’s how she’d met Vic. When they combined both of their skills, they were unstoppable.

  But Kate’s parents hadn’t just used their skills to accumulate money for themselves. They’d done good things with their skills, too. Things like retrieving items stolen by governments during various wars and giving them back to their rightful owners.

  Sure, they took a little bit of payment for themselves along the way, but just like the others at Golden Capers, they’d never hurt another human being. It was a special code with all the Golden Capers gang who had rarely brought guns on any of their jobs.

  “What’s so special about this painting, anyway?” Vic asked.

  Kate shrugged. “I’m not sure. It was pretty old. But I got the impression that getting it back from Markovic was a matter of pride with Max. They have a long-standing rivalry.”

  Vic’s eyes narrowed. “Seems like this is going a bit far for it to be a matter of pride. There has to be more.”

  “I’m sure if there was more, Max would have told me.” Wouldn’t he? Her father had a point. It was going a bit overboard. The thought that Max might not trust her enough to tell her made her chest tighten.

  Vic and Carlotta exchanged a glance.

  “Maybe he’s trying to keep you safe,” Carlotta suggested. “You know, the less you know about it, the better. You know how bosses are. They don’t always want to tell all their secrets. Makes them feel important.”

  Kate’s chest constricted another notch more because of what her mother hadn’t said than her actual words.

  “Oh, I see. You guys think Max didn’t tell me because he was afraid I would freeze up again. Is that it?” Kate hated the defensive tone that had crept into her voice.

  Carlotta patted her arm. “Of course not, dear. Everyone freezes up once in a while. It’s very common, especially in high stress situations. It’s happened to me countless times.” Carlotta shot a glance over to Vic.

  Vic chimed in, “Me, too.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes at her parents. Were they just telling her that to make her feel better? She’d never known them to lie to her, even for her own good. Somehow, the thought that her parents weren’t perfect, either, mollified her.

  She relaxed back into her chair. Her mother was right, of course. But that still didn’t explain why Max’s interest in the painting was a little bit over the top.

  “Did you get a good look at the painting? Who was the artist?” Vic asked. “Maybe we can have Sylvia do some research.” Sylvia was another of the Golden Capers gang who had specialized in art.

  Kate sighed. “I guess I should have paid more attention to it, but I honestly thought it was just a routine pickup. It was old, but it wasn’t even by anyone famous, or at least not that I could tell. The signature was just a scribble.”

  Vic’s face screwed up in thought. He was just about to say something else when the computer dinged, stealing his attention.

  “Aha! This is perfect.” Vic’s eyes shone as he looked over the top of the computer screen at them. “The Lowenstaff is having a big event
to show off their new Faberge egg exhibit this Friday. There should be thousands of extra people milling around and lots of chaos going on … a perfect opportunity for us to use as camouflage while we steal the painting.”

  5

  Vic zipped off assignments to the others via email, then got to planning. They scheduled a meeting out by the pool at five p.m.

  “What the heck,” Vic said. “Might as well combine it with happy hour."

  Carlotta got busy outlining her part of the heist, alternating between that and making her famous seven-layer dip.

  At five p.m. sharp, they gathered around the pool. Gertie decorated a long table with a plastic pink flamingo tablecloth and everyone put a dish on it. There were deviled eggs, curried carrots, finger sandwiches, meatballs and brownies. It looked more like a potluck supper than a meeting on how to steal a painting from one of the country’s largest museums.

  Inside the grass tiki bar in the corner, Sal had the blender on high, whipping up a batch of margaritas and pina coladas. He used the Swiss army knife-like gadgets hidden in his prosthetic thumb—courtesy of Gideon—to open the cans of coconut milk.

  They sipped umbrella drinks, nibbled the food and made small talk while sitting on the patio loungers and around the small, glass-topped umbrella tables. At six o’clock, Vic clapped his hands.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s get down to business.” He sat down at one of the tables with his laptop and they all milled around him, some standing with drinks in hand, others pulling their chairs over.

  “As you all know, we’ve been commissioned by the Ritzholdt to help … umm … acquire a painting from their rival museum, the Lowenstaff.”

  “’Bout time. It’s been kind of boring around here,” Frankie said.

  “Yeah, and we could always use some more money to line the coffers,” Sylvia joked.

  “But we’d help our Katie for free, right?” Sal asked.

  “Yes!” everyone chorused and Kate’s heart warmed at her extended family’s willingness to help even for free, although she’d long suspected that their eagerness to help on her assignments had more to do with the excitement than the money.

  “Anyway,” Vic continued. “The Lowenstaff is having a gala event to show off their Fabergé egg exhibit and we’ll use that as our cover.”

  Sylvia elbowed Carlotta in the ribs. “Fabergé eggs? I bet you’d like to get your hands on one of those.”

  “But she wouldn’t do that, would she?” Vic leveled a look at Carlotta.

  “Of course not,” Carlotta bristled. “I’m out of that business now.”

  “How will we get in?” Benny asked. Benny was an expert on security systems. Kate knew he would be chomping at the bit, hoping this would give him an opportunity to ply his skills. “I hear they have a pretty sophisticated alarm system.”

  “That’s where this event is going to help us,” Vic said. “We’re going to go in as part of the cleaning crew. The painting is in the basement, presumably for restoration. With the activity of the event, we should be able to sneak down there without being noticed.”

  “And then what? You gonna just walk out with the painting under your arm?”

  “Sort of. But not through the front door. We’re going to take a lesser-known exit.” Vic gestured toward Gertie, who was standing beside the tiki bar with a rolled-up paper in her hand. She moved over to one of the tables and motioned with her hand for everyone to pick up their drinks before spreading the large paper out on the table.

  “This here is a blueprint of the New York City steam tunnels. No one uses them anymore. In fact, many of them were sealed off decades ago. But it just so happens that one of the working tunnels goes right to the Lowenstaff museum.”

  “Are you sure these are passable? I mean they could be filled up with water and rats and stuff,” Charlie said.

  “Maybe even snakes,” Frankie offered.

  An image of the gold snake ring with the ruby eyes surfaced and Kate shuddered at the thought of snakes.

  “Me and Frankie are going out tomorrow and do some recon to figure out the best exit strategy and see if the tunnels are passable. I called one of my former contacts about them and he said the route we wanted was all clear back in ninety-nine.”

  “So, you don’t need me to disarm any alarms or anything?” Benny’s voice dipped in disappointment.

  “We might,” Vic said. “I need you to study up on their system, just in case. In particular, find out anything you can about the preservation area in the basement so we’ll know what we are up against once we get in.”

  “Will do.”

  “I’ve already found out who the museum uses for cleaning. They’ve hired a special service for the event. Gideon will make us exact replicas of the uniforms and get us the appropriate badges. We should be able to walk right in.”

  “And then it will be a breeze,” Carlotta added. “Because, as we all know, cleaning people are virtually invisible.”

  Everybody laughed at that. They’d all used the cleaning person disguise at one time or another.

  “Surely, there will be guards even in the lower levels. Especially if there are artifacts and paintings being restored,” Sylvia said.

  “Ahh. That’s where the brilliant part of my plan comes in,” Vic said. “While the non-English-speaking cleaning crew is insisting on entrance to the restoration room, there’s going to be a surprise visit by the New York City Board of Tunnel Inspectors.”

  “They have tunnel inspectors?” Bennie asked.

  “No, but I doubt the guards know that,” Vic replied. “I’ll have official badges and a uniform.”

  “That stuff’s easy,” Charlie chuckled.

  “It sure is,” Vic continued. “Anyway, I’ll try to distract them as long as I can so the fake cleaning ladies can grab the painting. If our blueprints are correct, the steam tunnel door opens into their lab. The tunnel doors are locked from the tunnel side but I’m sure the lock will be a piece of cake for Gertie.”

  “Darn tootin’,” Gertie said.

  “She’ll open the door for us and we’ll escape down the tunnel before the guards know what hit ‘em.” Vic looked around at the crowd. “Does anyone see anything wrong with this plan?”

  “Is there any way we can get inside to that basement area ahead of time?” Sylvia asked.

  Vic nodded. “Yes, I almost forgot. You’re right, we do need to take a look at it ahead of time. I know that little old ladies get lost in museums all the time and find themselves in the basement when they were really just looking for the ladies room. Isn’t that right, Ginny?” Vic looked at the petite woman pouring a pina colada into a large glass.

  “That’s right.” She stuck a piece of pineapple in the drink.

  Vic nodded. “I’ll have Gideon send out one of those brooch cameras and Ginny can bring back pictures so we know exactly what we’re dealing with, and can try to anticipate any problems as well as map out alternate escape routes.”

  “That sounds great,” Benny said. “And I’ll check out the security on the other floors, just in case you have to go out that way.”

  “Excellent.” Vic shut his laptop. “I think that’s it, then. Are there any more questions?”

  “I think you pretty much covered it,” Sal said, taking a noisy sip of his margarita. Then he added those famous last words that probably would have been better left unsaid. “This is gonna be the easiest job we’ve ever pulled off.”

  6

  Kate couldn’t believe the woman standing in front of her was her mother. The slim, fashionable Carlotta had been transformed into a frumpy old lady in a nondescript, gray cleaning uniform, complete with thick, rubber-soled shoes.

  Kate, herself, was unrecognizable in a similar uniform. But it wasn’t just the uniforms. Gideon had sent an array of disguise materials which, when combined with her parents’ extensive selection of makeup, contact lenses and wigs, had worked magic. Kate was willing to bet that neither she nor her mother would have been recognized even
by their own family members.

  Kate and Carlotta each had a laminated ID card hanging from a chain around their necks, which had worked perfectly to gain them entrance to the Lowenstaff Museum. Once inside, they’d stuck to the back corridors and stairways so as not to disrupt the guests who were already starting to arrive for the event. No one had paid them any attention.

  They knew exactly where to go thanks to Ginny, who had come out a few days before and done her old lady act, gaining access to the basement and snapping a few pictures of the area as well as bringing back information on the best route for Kate and Carlotta to follow inside the museum.

  They’d made their way through the halls with their cart of cleaning equipment, taken the freight elevator to the basement and followed Ginny’s directions to the restoration room, in front of which they now stood.

  Kate looked into the room through the glass window and recognized the painting, which lay on a table. It had been taken out of the frame and there were brushes and solvents next to it. Apparently, someone had been working on restoring it.

  Unfortunately, their access to the room was blocked by two young guards who Carlotta was jabbering at in some foreign language. Italian, maybe? Kate had no idea what the language was and, judging by the confused looks on the guards faces, neither did they.

  Kate watched with amusement as her mother gestured wildly toward the door then at her cleaning cart, trying to indicate to the guards that they needed to get inside to clean.

  One of the guards—Jim, his nametag said, frowned down at her. “No admitto.” He thrust his arm out toward the hallway, indicating for Carlotta and Kate to leave.

  Carlotta unleashed a barrage of foreign words, causing Jim’s brows to rise as he exchanged uncertain looks with his coworker. They both took a step back from the crazy cleaning lady.

  “Look, lady, we don’t need any cleaning in here,” the other guard, Brian, said. He looked over at Kate imploringly. “Don’t you speak English?”

  Kate just frowned at him as if she didn’t know what he was saying and clutched her modified Kirby vacuum cleaner, which doubled as a container for the money Max insisted they leave after taking the painting.