“Yeah, I’m ready.” Gray pulled his own hoodie down low over his face before he adjusted his black bandana over his mouth. “You have the codes?”
“I do.” I checked my watch again. “Three more minutes.”
Gray nodded and opened the car door. Following, I locked the car and then, ensuring there were no casual observers in the street, I placed the car key on top of the tire out of sight. My phone lit up with a message from Ash telling us the back was clear, so we both jogged across the street and slipped undetected into the yard surrounding the house. Stealthily, we made our way around to the back and joined Ash, who was already at the back door, a small black folded-over case in his hand.
“You have five minutes,” I whispered to him.
Gray stood sentry at the bottom of the steps, pressed against the wall to keep out of sight but still able to watch.
As Ash started to pick the lock of the back door, I watched for any movement from inside the house. We had been watching the house for over a week. The routine was the same, the inhabitants very much keepers to the same schedule.
“I’m in,” Ash said as he stood and tested the handle. A low whistle to Gray, and my brother was coming up the steps.
“The study is the only thing we want,” I reminded them as Ash slowly pushed the door open.
When no answering alarm sounded, I felt a smug thrill of victory. I knew the people who lived here had an alarm system, and I had been fairly confident that they didn’t set it at nighttime.
Swiftly, the three of us crossed the kitchen, into the hall, and taking the second door on the left, we entered the study.
Pulling out my phone, I opened the note I had with the safe code. It was one of three, and my research told me that for the make of the safe these people had, you had three attempts before you were locked out.
Ash uncovered the safe, which was hidden behind a painting, and Gray snorted. “One time, I’d just like to come in and the fucking thing be on display.”
Three-five-one-seven-two, I punched the code in and waited. The safe beeped loudly in denial, and all three of us froze, waiting for the sound of movement to tell us that the occupant had been woken.
Seven-four-eight-nine-zero. The safe beeped as the lock clicked open, and I pushed the handle down. “Bullseye,” I told the others. The safe had the normal stack of cash, some boxes that would contain jewelry no doubt, and a few folders with paperwork. “Gray,” I instructed as Ash stayed by the door, watching.
Gray snapped a picture of the layout of the safe, and then we quickly took the contents out.
“Hurry,” I urged him as we divided the folders between us. We started searching. When I was almost through my search, I looked at my brother. His face was twisted in a scowl, and I knew he hadn’t found anything either.
“Anything?” Ash asked from the doorway.
“No,” Gray said as he stepped back and let out a long sigh. “Another fucking dead end.”
“Let’s put it back,” I said as I held back on my own sigh. Quickly, I checked the boxes and, with no interest in the contents, moved the diamonds, emeralds, and other precious stones aside as I checked for hidden compartments. Gray was doing the same to the inside of the safe, and I could almost feel his irritation before he stilled.
“What is it?” I asked, closing the boxes and stepping up beside him.
He said nothing, but his look of determination made me wait patiently. A creak sounded above us, and all three of us stilled. Ash had his finger to his lips as he slowly opened the door a fraction more.
The creak sounded again, and Gray looked at me. “Bathroom?”
I nodded, but we made no move as we heard a door close, and then a few moments later, a steady stream as someone relieved their bladder.
“They sleep with the bedroom door open,” Ash whispered. “We need to be extra quiet.”
Gray started pressing again, and then I heard the soft click. With a triumphant smirk, he pulled out two items. A USB stick and an envelope.
“Harry? Are you okay?”
The three of us stood still at the sound of the voice.
As quickly as we could, Gray and I put the contents of the safe back together, even as we heard the answering murmur from the bathroom.
“I can get you some painkillers?” Harry’s wife called, and we all looked up as we heard her feet hit the floor.
“Hurry,” Ash urged, and I snatched Gray’s phone off of him to check the layout before we hastily closed the safe. We replaced the painting, and then the three of us were at the study door, waiting.
