Stone stared at him for a beat, then shifted his attention back to Carly. “And you said yes to this?”
“I did,” Carly replied.
“You do realize it’s a trap, don’t you? Once Lance pulls you in, he’s going to do all he can to keep you there.”
“Of course it’s a trap. I’m smart, remember?”
“I thought you were, but now I’m beginning to wonder.”
“You recall what I got on the bar exam, don’t you?” Leave it to Carly to take what he said literally. “Perfect score. Did you get a perfect score when you took the bar?”
“I know the answer to that one,” Dino said. “He did not.”
“Et tu, Brute?”
“What? It’s common knowledge.”
Stone took a breath, then said to Carly, “When does training start?”
“A new session starts in the morning. Luckily, a slot happened to free up,” Carly said.
“Tomorrow morning?”
“You seem to be having problems understanding what I’m saying. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Ignoring her, Stone glanced at Lance. “And I bet if I asked, you’d say you had nothing to do with opening a spot.”
“Do you really think so little of me?” Lance asked.
In unison, Stone and Dino said, “Yes.”
Lance shrugged. “I might have made a call.”
“What about the cases you’re working on?” Stone asked Carly.
“I talked to Bill Eggers already, and he’s agreed to let me take a two-month leave of absence. He said he thought it would be a good opportunity for me, and that you would handle reassigning everything.”
Bill was the firm’s managing partner. Stone made a mental note to have a word or two with him later.
Seeing that it was a fait accompli, he said, “Promise me one thing. When you finish, don’t accept any job offer until you and I have talked through all the options.”
She thought for a moment, then nodded. “I promise.”
“Well, then,” Lance said and stood. “If there are no more questions, we’ll be off.”
“We?” Stone asked, as Carly rose from her chair.
“Lance is heading back to Langley tonight and has offered me a seat in his helicopter.”
“Of course he has.”
“Now, now, Stone,” Lance said. “No one likes a sore loser.”
Stone ignored him. “What about dinner?”
“No time,” Carly said. “Besides, I’m too excited to eat.”
She waved goodbye and followed Lance out.
The waiter appeared and nodded at Stone’s empty glass. “Another?”
“Bring him the bottle,” Dino said.
Chapter 2
Benji Madigan eyed the Zurn estate through his binoculars. Decorative exterior lights spread throughout the property, illuminating pathways and entrances, while interior lights glowed from several of the mansion’s windows.
On his right, Devin Barnes scanned the property while Lenny “Sticks” Martin, settled on the other side of him, picked at his teeth with the sharpened end of a match.
“Looks the same to me,” Benji said. This was their fourth night in a row checking the place out. Like the other nights they’d cased the place, there was no sign of security guards.
Devin lowered his binoculars and nodded. “Good to go as far as I’m concerned.”
The mansion was located outside Aspen, Colorado, and was the vacation home of financier Gordon Zurn and his family. The Zurns used it mainly for winter ski trips and the occasional summer getaway, usually around the Fourth of July. The latter had been more than a month ago, and from the info Benji had obtained from a reliable source, they weren’t expected back for months.
When the family wasn’t in residence, the lodge was occupied by a middle-aged married couple who acted as the caretakers.
As for security, the property was woefully underprotected. While their alarm system was top-notch, given what was inside the house, Zurn really should have sprung for several full-time guards.
Sometimes rich people could be so stupid about what they did and didn’t spend their money on.
Benji glanced at the two other members of his crew. “Let’s do this.”
They returned to their Chevy Malibu. They’d stolen it in Denver and covered the outside in a preprinted vinyl wrap that made it look like it belonged to the local sheriff’s department. They’d even mounted an emergency light bar on the roof. To complete the charade, they wore uniforms similar to those worn by actual local sheriff’s deputies.
“Okay, Sticks, you’re up,” Benji said.
Grinning like a child on Christmas morning, Sticks put his phone on speaker and made a call. When it connected, three high-pitched tones sounded over the speaker. He tapped in a four-digit code, then the triple tone played again, triggering his devices to go off, and the line cut out.
Sticks looked up. “Done.”
Devin fired up a remote control and flew their drone high into the sky. Benji and Sticks leaned in on either side of him, so they both could see the drone’s camera feed on the screen.
The craft was high enough for the camera to take in the entirety of the Zurns’ property and much of the dark slope behind it. Everyone’s attention was on the latter.
After several seconds, Devin voiced what Benji was thinking, “They’re not working.”
“Relax,” Sticks said. “Just needs a little time.”
“It’s usually faster than this.”
“You saying I don’t know what I’m doing?”
“Relax,” Benji said. “That’s not what he meant.”
The last thing he wanted was to upset Sticks. The man was not right in the head even on the best of days.
Before anyone could say anything else, the yellow light of a flame flickered to life on the hillside. A beat later, two more appeared several feet away. Sticks’s igniters had indeed worked.
“See,” Sticks said. “What did I tell you?”
“Sorry,” Devin muttered.
Sticks grunted but let it go.
They watched the fire spread through the underbrush. When it began climbing up a few trees, Benji said, “All right, that looks good enough. Let’s get moving.”
They hopped into their faux sheriff’s car, with Benji behind the wheel. He waited until they reached the gate across the Zurns’ driveway before turning on the emergency lights and bathing the area in flickering red and blue light. Leaning out the window, Benji pressed the button on the intercom box over and over until the speaker finally crackled to life.
“Can I help you?” The man sounded sleepy yet surprisingly calm for someone woken in the middle of the night.
“Pitkin County Sheriff’s Department,” Benji said, sounding urgent. “There’s a wildfire nearby. We need you to open the gate for emergency services, then you need to evacuate immediately.”
“Fire? How close?”
“Too close to get into a conversation about it. Please open the gate, and then get everyone out of the house.”
“Oh, of course, of course.”
The gate swung open and Sticks laughed in delight.
“Quiet,” Benji hissed, hoping the man on the intercom hadn’t heard the outburst.
As soon as the gate was opened wide enough, Benji sped to the house.
“Radios on,” he said.
He activated the one in his ear, then jumped out and ran to the front door.
It only took a few knocks with his fist before it flew open. Both caretakers were there, eyes wide and hair disheveled. The woman was loaded with several shopping bags stuffed with who knew what, while the man carried a soft leather briefcase and a half-zipped duffel bag.
Benji put an arm across the door like he was holding it open for them and motioned for them to move. “Get in your car and head into town. Go, go!”