Sean, what you must have lived through—all for her.” He sits there, stunned.
“This isn’t open for discussion,” Sean states. “We have a job to do, so let’s get it done. The mother’s house first, then the main house. I’ll park around the block.” We’ve been sitting at the stop sign way too long.
Henry is speechless, as Sean rolls forward and then turns the wheel as he eases into a spot by the curb.
After a moment, Henry breathes, “Nothing has shocked me as much as you just did. I don’t know you at all, do I?”
Mel smacks Henry in the back of the head again, “No, you dumbass. You don’t, and since we’re not on Oprah, let's get moving. You two can kiss and make up later. That’d be something worth seeing, am I right?” Mel waggles her eyebrows at the tech guys, Marty, and me, while Sean presses his eyes closed, channeling enough patience not to kill her.
CHAPTER 3
T he tech guys ring the doorbell. When no one answers, they walk around back and pull open a panel on the side of the house. They put something on a wire and nod at Sean. Marty heads to the back of the property, watching to make sure we aren’t ambushed.
Sean, Henry, Mel and I enter the small, musty-smelling house through a back door. Twin beams of light cut through the darkness as Henry and Sean flip on flashlights at the same time. Something is beeping. Henry rushes off in the direction of the sound, Mel close behind him. I stay with Sean.
“What are we looking for?” I ask, sweeping my eyes around the room. This room has old lady furniture and smells like mothballs.
Sean drags the beam of light across the room and whispers over his shoulder, “Alarm system.”
Mel’s voice comes from around the corner, her head poking from behind a wall of yellow paint with stuffed birds sitting on branches that stick out of the wall. “Got it. Come this way.”
We walk into a small hallway closet that must have been a bathroom at some point. It’s now filled with security cameras and a hugeass computer humming quietly against the far wall.
Henry snaps at me. “Come here and place the bead on top of the unit.”
I hand him my bracelet, and he removes the bead, placing it on top of the enormous machine, but it doesn’t stay put. It rolls back. Henry frowns, glances around for tape, and pinches his hand across his brow when he doesn’t find any. “Design flaw. These should have an adhesive.”
Sean offers, “We can stop and grab tape before hitting the main house. For now, do this.” He grabs a pencil and then places the bead in front of it. It stays put. “You’ll have to stay in here to make sure it doesn’t slip and fall off.”
“Noted. I planned on it anyway.” Henry nods and points toward the screen showing the security feed. “Watch.”
The image on the screen plays backward, showing us leaving the house in reverse, while the timestamp continues forward. It’s surreal.
“It’ll look totally normal. We can walk around as we please, but the recording will show only the empty house.” Henry sits at the control panel, uses the keyboard to pull up the recorded video of us coming inside and deletes it. "The only proof we were here is now gone." He glances at Sean. “As long as no one comes around, this works fine.”
“Do I need to take the bead when I leave?”
Henry nods. “Yes, if it all possible. I only have two prototypes.”
“Can’t you make another?” Mel asks.
Henry rolls his eyes and gives her a contemptuous expression. “No, I can’t just make another. There’s not enough time or materials. Plus that little bead cost nearly a hundred grand to produce.”
Mel glances at her wrist and grins. “So what you’re saying is I should sell it?”
Henry walks over to her, lifts her wrist carefully and presses his finger to the bead. “If you sold it for six figures, you’d be a moron—as you so delicately put it. It’s worth millions.”
Their eyes meet, and he continues to hold her hand for
“This isn’t open for discussion,” Sean states. “We have a job to do, so let’s get it done. The mother’s house first, then the main house. I’ll park around the block.” We’ve been sitting at the stop sign way too long.
Henry is speechless, as Sean rolls forward and then turns the wheel as he eases into a spot by the curb.
After a moment, Henry breathes, “Nothing has shocked me as much as you just did. I don’t know you at all, do I?”
Mel smacks Henry in the back of the head again, “No, you dumbass. You don’t, and since we’re not on Oprah, let's get moving. You two can kiss and make up later. That’d be something worth seeing, am I right?” Mel waggles her eyebrows at the tech guys, Marty, and me, while Sean presses his eyes closed, channeling enough patience not to kill her.
CHAPTER 3
T he tech guys ring the doorbell. When no one answers, they walk around back and pull open a panel on the side of the house. They put something on a wire and nod at Sean. Marty heads to the back of the property, watching to make sure we aren’t ambushed.
Sean, Henry, Mel and I enter the small, musty-smelling house through a back door. Twin beams of light cut through the darkness as Henry and Sean flip on flashlights at the same time. Something is beeping. Henry rushes off in the direction of the sound, Mel close behind him. I stay with Sean.
“What are we looking for?” I ask, sweeping my eyes around the room. This room has old lady furniture and smells like mothballs.
Sean drags the beam of light across the room and whispers over his shoulder, “Alarm system.”
Mel’s voice comes from around the corner, her head poking from behind a wall of yellow paint with stuffed birds sitting on branches that stick out of the wall. “Got it. Come this way.”
We walk into a small hallway closet that must have been a bathroom at some point. It’s now filled with security cameras and a hugeass computer humming quietly against the far wall.
Henry snaps at me. “Come here and place the bead on top of the unit.”
I hand him my bracelet, and he removes the bead, placing it on top of the enormous machine, but it doesn’t stay put. It rolls back. Henry frowns, glances around for tape, and pinches his hand across his brow when he doesn’t find any. “Design flaw. These should have an adhesive.”
Sean offers, “We can stop and grab tape before hitting the main house. For now, do this.” He grabs a pencil and then places the bead in front of it. It stays put. “You’ll have to stay in here to make sure it doesn’t slip and fall off.”
“Noted. I planned on it anyway.” Henry nods and points toward the screen showing the security feed. “Watch.”
The image on the screen plays backward, showing us leaving the house in reverse, while the timestamp continues forward. It’s surreal.
“It’ll look totally normal. We can walk around as we please, but the recording will show only the empty house.” Henry sits at the control panel, uses the keyboard to pull up the recorded video of us coming inside and deletes it. "The only proof we were here is now gone." He glances at Sean. “As long as no one comes around, this works fine.”
“Do I need to take the bead when I leave?”
Henry nods. “Yes, if it all possible. I only have two prototypes.”
“Can’t you make another?” Mel asks.
Henry rolls his eyes and gives her a contemptuous expression. “No, I can’t just make another. There’s not enough time or materials. Plus that little bead cost nearly a hundred grand to produce.”
Mel glances at her wrist and grins. “So what you’re saying is I should sell it?”
Henry walks over to her, lifts her wrist carefully and presses his finger to the bead. “If you sold it for six figures, you’d be a moron—as you so delicately put it. It’s worth millions.”
Their eyes meet, and he continues to hold her hand for
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