“Please.” Gabrielle gave a dismissive wave, and crossed her long legs. “What else?”
But the final thing, Kat seemed almost afraid to say.
“Time.” She swallowed hard. “There is no way to steal the prototype before the launch—not if it’s at the Superior Bank of Manhattan. Their security is too good and…it’s the Superior Bank of Manhattan. No one has ever done it.”
“That’s what they said last time.…” Hamish said.
“And the time before,” Angus added.
“The Cleopatra Emerald was being moved, and that made it vulnerable. We had two weeks for the Henley,” Kat countered. “The launch is in three days. I don’t know…”
“So we steal time,” Hale said. His words had a force to them. And for a second, they scared her. Then Hale softened, retreated. “So what do you say, Kat?”
She nodded, but it took her a moment to mutter, “Okay. We just have to delay the launch, right? We can do that. We just have to…” But she let her voice trail off, absolutely unsure what to say.
“I don’t see what the problem is.” Gabrielle stretched out on a bench. “We can find Garrett, right? And he can’t sell the prototype if he is…shall we say…tied up?” She gave a self-satisfied smirk.
“Gabrielle!” Kat rolled her eyes.
“What?” Her cousin looked as innocent as she could possibly be. “We could keep him someplace nice. It will be like a vacation. Or rehab. He might even thank us.”
“Yeah,” Kat mocked. “Thank us…have us arrested for kidnapping…really, they’re practically the same thing.”
Gabrielle huffed. “You have obviously never conned anyone in rehab.”
On the other side of the car, Hamish slapped his thigh and proclaimed, “I like it!”
“Of course you do,” Kat said.
“Now, now, hear me out,” Hamish went on. “We don’t have to kidnap Garrett. Not if we kidnap the buyer.”
“Or distract him,” Angus added.
“Like the Bulgari job,” Hamish said.
“You mean the job that landed half the DiMarco family in a South African prison?” Kat said.
Angus shrugged. “Nobody said it was perfect.”
“You’re missing the point, guys,” Kat told them. “We have to get the prototype back before the launch. If the investors and stockholders see the faulty model…”
“Hale Industries is finished,” Hale said.
“The Princess and the Pea?” Gabrielle suggested.
“Not enough time,” Kat said.
“Where’s Waldo?” Gabrielle went on.
“No.” Hamish recoiled. “I am still not allowed back in Morocco.”
“Three Blind Mice?” Simon said.
Everyone looked at Kat, who shivered. “I don’t do rodents.”
The train kept going and the suggestions kept flying, but none found their mark, and finally silence descended on the crew.
“Maybe we’re making it too hard,” Simon said. “Simple is good, right?”
“As long as we’re not kidnapping anyone,” Kat said.
Gabrielle blushed. “It was only a suggestion.”
“What do we know about Garrett?” Kat asked. “Hale, does he gamble?”
“I don’t think so,” Hale said with a shake of his head.
“Drink?” Kat asked.
“No more than any of the other people from my childhood.”
“Chase the ladies?” Hamish asked.
“No. He’s just…a lawyer. He was always there. Briefcase. Suit. Hat. The guy is seriously boring. There is nothing scandalous or even interesting about him.”
“Well, that’s not exactly true.” Kat spoke softly, carefully. She forced herself to meet Hale’s gaze. “He does have an ex-wife. And a daughter.”
“Natalie isn’t a part of this. She isn’t,” Hale insisted even when Kat didn’t protest.
“Okay. I believe you,” Kat said. “But she might be useful.”
“We’re not going to use her.” Hale’s voice was like stone, unmoving. “And besides, it’s not like she and her dad are exactly close. Natalie went away to boarding school when her parents divorced. She hardly ever came home after that.”
“How long has Garrett worked for the company?” Gabrielle asked.
“That’s the thing.” Hale shrugged. “There’s always been a Garrett working for us. His dad had the job before him, and so he was always…around.”
“Okay, so we go farther back.” Kat felt herself swaying, rocking like the train. “Tell us about your grandfather.”
“What can I say, Kat? He’s dead. They’re all dead. My grandmother. My grandfather. My grandfather’s brother—”
“Wait,” Kat said. “Was this the brother who was supposed to run the company with your grandfather?”
“Yeah. He died way before I was born. He was supposed to be a real character, but then he died, and my grandfather got it all—all the money, but all the pressure and responsibility too. He was a workaholic. And—”
“When did your great-uncle die?” Kat asked.
“Maybe fifty years ago. Like I said, I never knew him. No one ever talked about him. It was like the whole family thought he was cursed or something.”
“No more curses.” Gabrielle’s whole body shivered. “Please no more curses.”
“And that’s why”—she took a deep breath—“we’re going to run a con. It hasn’t been done in a long time, but that’s okay, because we have the talent to pull it off.” She felt her hands shake, so she gripped one in the other. “Have you ever heard the story of the Grand Duchess Anastasia?”
“Well, of course,” Marcus said. “She was Russian royalty, killed in the uprising. Now, some people said that she had survived, but that was a conspiracy. A…”
“Con,” Hale filled in.
Silas was shaking his head. “But what does this have to do with—”
“Reginald.” Marianne’s voice was solid and sure. “It is because of Reginald, isn’t it? But…how? Who could possibly…” She let the words trail off, and Kat felt the room shift, all eyes turning to Uncle Eddie.