‘Of course I do.’
‘And you’re still laser sharp,’ Denise continued. ‘No routine, even with your runs… no car, so I assume no driver’s license… no social media accounts… even the name registered to this apartment isn’t yours – Wendy something – how did you manage that?’
‘Not important right now,’ Mary said back. ‘What’s important is you telling me how the hell you found me. If I’m still laser sharp, how did you get to me?’
‘C’mon, think about it,’ Denise urged Mary, giving her a few seconds before helping her. ‘The code? Your new phone number?’
Mary’s eyes widened at the same time as her jaw dropped. ‘You tracked it?’
Denise nodded.
Mary and Denise had developed their own messaging code system years ago – after they ran their second wedding con. The code was simple, but very effective. Every time a message was left, it had to start and finish with two different code words, which changed with every month of the year. Once the message had been delivered, the person who had left the message would destroy the SIM card and the phone that she had used, but a new phone, with a new number, would already be in place. That new number would be coded into the message – a code that was practically unbreakable without knowing the key, which only the two of them knew – so that at any one time, they knew how to get in contact with each other.
‘How?’ Mary asked. ‘How did you track my burner phone?’
‘It’s not that hard,’ Denise explained. ‘If the phone that you want to track is live and “pinging”, all you need is the right equipment.’ She immediately lifted a hand at Mary. ‘Relax. For it to work, you need to know the target’s phone number, which no one else other than me would know because no one else can crack our code.’ She paused for a moment. ‘You haven’t given the new number to anyone else, have you?’
‘Of course not.’ Mary got up and started pacing the room. ‘And did you do the tracking yourself, or did you have help? Does anyone else know that you’re here, Denise? Anyone else have my burner phone number?’
‘No,’ Denise replied. ‘No one knows. I did the phone tracking myself and then destroyed the equipment. The phone was “pinging” from this building. From there, all I needed to do was watch and wait.’ She pulled a funny face at Mary. ‘And it took me three days to finally find you. You don’t come back here that often, do you?’
Mary stopped pacing. ‘You’re sure that no one else knows, Denise?’
‘Yes, I’m sure. Jeez, relax. We’re good. I promise you – there’s no trail.’
Denise could be a lot of things, but she was never careless… Mary knew that very well.
‘So,’ Denise asked, changing the subject. ‘Is this new guy at least good in bed?’
Mary’s eyebrows arched as she nodded, while biting her bottom lip.
Denise chuckled. ‘That face… really?’
Mary just carried on nodding.
‘Well, I guess I’m going to find out soon enough, aren’t I?’ The pause was deliberate, accompanied by a cheesy smile. ‘So, when do you want me to start fucking your future husband?’
Sixty-Two
Even at the crack of dawn and with the early morning breeze blowing in from the west, the temperatures outside were already getting close to 65°F. Before answering Denise’s question, Mary reached for the aircon remote control and switched it on to ‘low’.
‘That’s why the message said – “give me three to four months to solidify things and I’ll get back to you”, Denise. Everything is in motion, but it’s still very early days. It will be months until you’re able to meet him and start working your magic.’
Denise sat back on the sofa and crossed one leg over the other. ‘Before we go into any details about the wheels in motion and all that, I just need to know – what changed?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘What I mean is that you said…’ Denise paused and corrected herself. ‘No, you swore that Nelson would be our last job, remember? No more “wedding” cons after Massachusetts because the more we do them, the more dangerous it gets for us afterwards. We’re not stealing lunch money here, sis. We’re taking almost everything they’ve got and sending them to prison for something that they didn’t really do, and to be honest, I’m getting really tired of running and hiding away like a fugitive.’
Mary nodded. ‘Me too, and that’s why we need to do this one last job – because this isTHEjob… this is life-changing. Wedo this and we’ll never have to do another con again… ever. I promise you.’
‘Umm… funny!’ Denise couldn’t sound any more sarcastic if she tried. ‘Where have I heard that before?’
‘OK.’ Mary tried a different approach. ‘Let me ask you this – how much do you still have left?’
‘What?’ Denise frowned at Mary.
‘We’ve done three jobs in fourteen years, Denise,’ Mary reminded her. ‘I married Phillip back in the UK.’ She lifted her hands at Denise. ‘Fine, that was our first job. We were both very green and didn’t really pick the best target. He got us what? About four hundred and fifty grand each?’