he continued to show us around: the kitchen with its marble counters and stainless steel appliances, the formal sitting room with antique chairs, the dining room with a long rectangular table that seated twelve people. Whoever decorated this place must have done so with an unlimited budget. Still, I wondered why he was giving us a tour when our time would be better spent discussing the job at hand.
“Next weekend my family is returning for Josephine’s memorial service.” His voice cracked slightly but he quickly recovered. “I realize this doesn’t give you much time to prepare, but I’d like you to install hidden surveillance in each room of the house, including the basement. 13 rooms total. Can you do that in time?”
“That depends,” Carter said. “What kind of surveillance are you talking about?”
“Just audio. I’m only interested in conversations.”
“I see.” Carter nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I can order the equipment today and have it shipped overnight.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” George said, patting Carter on the shoulder. He then turned to face me. “Sarah, your part is going to be a little more involved. How good an actress are you?”
I gulped. “What do you mean?”
“I’d like you to stay here that weekend as my special guest. You will have your own bedroom.”
“What about Carter?” I asked.
“Carter will stay in the carriage house, keeping an ear on the audio surveillance. I’ll tell my family and Lucita that he’s doing some work on the property if they ask.”
“Okay,” I chuckled. “Who will I pretend to be?”
“Tina Hayes, Josephine’s daughter.”
I paused, not sure if I’d heard him correctly. “Pretend to be Josephine’s daughter? Why?”
“I want you to stir things up by telling my family that you suspect your mother’s death was not an accident. It'll create some drama and get them talking behind closed doors.”
“This is risky,” I said. “What'll happen if one of your family members discovers I’m lying? This whole plan could backfire.”
“There’s no reason for them not to believe you are Tina Hayes. They’ve never met her and Josephine rarely talked about her. Trust me, this will work.”
“If they find out you hired me to impersonate Josephine’s daughter, they will never trust you again.”
He shrugged with a sigh of remorse. “I guess that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Chapter 3
George offered us a lump sum of ten thousand dollars to do the job, and wrote out a check for the full amount.
When he handed the check to Carter, he said, “My family will begin to arrive Friday evening around four. I expect you will have the audio surveillance in place before then?”
“Yes.” Carter didn’t bother glancing at the check. He folded it, then placed it in the back pocket of his jeans. “There’s plenty of time.”
George handed me a photograph. “I found this in Josephine’s photo album. It’s the most recent picture I could find of her and her daughter. This was probably taken at least ten years ago.”
The two females in the picture had similar brown eyes and toothy smiles. Josephine had short curly brown hair, her daughter had shoulder-length reddish brown hair with tortoise-shell glasses. Both were attractive and feminine. “How old is Tina now?”
“I believe she’d be in her late thirties.”
“I’m forty-four,” I said.
“You could certainly pass for late thirties. Besides, it won’t matter. My family will have no reason not to believe that you are Josephine’s daughter.”
“May I keep this photo? I’ll return it after the job.”
“Of course,” he said.
“I’ll spend the next few days doing research on Tina. I’d like to know as much as I can about her before the memorial weekend. This is going to be a challenge, but I’m up for it.”
“Thank you.” George let out a sigh of relief. “Well then, if you have no further questions, I need to make some calls to
“Next weekend my family is returning for Josephine’s memorial service.” His voice cracked slightly but he quickly recovered. “I realize this doesn’t give you much time to prepare, but I’d like you to install hidden surveillance in each room of the house, including the basement. 13 rooms total. Can you do that in time?”
“That depends,” Carter said. “What kind of surveillance are you talking about?”
“Just audio. I’m only interested in conversations.”
“I see.” Carter nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I can order the equipment today and have it shipped overnight.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” George said, patting Carter on the shoulder. He then turned to face me. “Sarah, your part is going to be a little more involved. How good an actress are you?”
I gulped. “What do you mean?”
“I’d like you to stay here that weekend as my special guest. You will have your own bedroom.”
“What about Carter?” I asked.
“Carter will stay in the carriage house, keeping an ear on the audio surveillance. I’ll tell my family and Lucita that he’s doing some work on the property if they ask.”
“Okay,” I chuckled. “Who will I pretend to be?”
“Tina Hayes, Josephine’s daughter.”
I paused, not sure if I’d heard him correctly. “Pretend to be Josephine’s daughter? Why?”
“I want you to stir things up by telling my family that you suspect your mother’s death was not an accident. It'll create some drama and get them talking behind closed doors.”
“This is risky,” I said. “What'll happen if one of your family members discovers I’m lying? This whole plan could backfire.”
“There’s no reason for them not to believe you are Tina Hayes. They’ve never met her and Josephine rarely talked about her. Trust me, this will work.”
“If they find out you hired me to impersonate Josephine’s daughter, they will never trust you again.”
He shrugged with a sigh of remorse. “I guess that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Chapter 3
George offered us a lump sum of ten thousand dollars to do the job, and wrote out a check for the full amount.
When he handed the check to Carter, he said, “My family will begin to arrive Friday evening around four. I expect you will have the audio surveillance in place before then?”
“Yes.” Carter didn’t bother glancing at the check. He folded it, then placed it in the back pocket of his jeans. “There’s plenty of time.”
George handed me a photograph. “I found this in Josephine’s photo album. It’s the most recent picture I could find of her and her daughter. This was probably taken at least ten years ago.”
The two females in the picture had similar brown eyes and toothy smiles. Josephine had short curly brown hair, her daughter had shoulder-length reddish brown hair with tortoise-shell glasses. Both were attractive and feminine. “How old is Tina now?”
“I believe she’d be in her late thirties.”
“I’m forty-four,” I said.
“You could certainly pass for late thirties. Besides, it won’t matter. My family will have no reason not to believe that you are Josephine’s daughter.”
“May I keep this photo? I’ll return it after the job.”
“Of course,” he said.
“I’ll spend the next few days doing research on Tina. I’d like to know as much as I can about her before the memorial weekend. This is going to be a challenge, but I’m up for it.”
“Thank you.” George let out a sigh of relief. “Well then, if you have no further questions, I need to make some calls to
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