“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.”
