Vanishing Act Read online

  Jack looked over at the cardboard box that held Harry’s old mail, the box that he’d dumped by the kitchen door. He pointed to it. “I bet we find something in that box that’s a clue.”

  Both men dived for the box at the same time. Before they could go through the contents, however, both men’s cell phones rang. Jack looked at the ID. Maggie.

  Harry looked at his ID. Yoko. His shoulders sagged as he got to his feet and walked out of the kitchen to take his call, leaving Jack to talk with Maggie.

  “Jack, Lizzie just called me. I’ve had my people on this for almost three months, and we’ve come up dry. Identity theft is a big thing these days. It’s the new way for the computer super-literate to fund their retirements. I’m leaving tomorrow, and we’ll all meet for dinner with you and Harry. Lizzie said she’d cook dinner for us. I didn’t know she knew how to cook, but she volunteered. I think Cosmo must like home cooking. If it was just us, we’d probably get Chinese takeout.”

  Jack groaned. He wasn’t the least bit interested in Lizzie’s culinary expertise. “Maggie, tell me there’s something we can do. Harry’s beside himself, and so am I because I bank at that goddamn place myself.”

  “It’s an identity theft ring, Jack. If you’d read my paper, you’d know we’ve been doing a series on this for months, but it’s been mostly profiles of people and what’s happened to their lives since their identities were stolen. It’s heartbreaking, and there’s no one out there to help them. They don’t have the funds to hire lawyers. They try on their own, but in most cases, it’s taking YEARS, Jack.”

  “I want you to ratchet this up and go full bore. I haven’t called the mountain yet. I’ve been kind of busy trying to get Harry into a better mind-set. We were just going to go through his box. You know, that box where he throws all his mail that he considers junk mail. Harry definitely has a thing about getting mail. We might find a clue in the box somewhere. So, I guess I’ll see you at Lizzie’s tomorrow. Did she say what time?”

  “Yes, seven o’clock, but she said to come early if we want. Ted wants to leave tonight, so we might do that. I’m not sure yet. You know Ted, he worries about Mickey and Minnie if he’s away too long. Espinosa will be back by noon tomorrow. I’m on it, Jack. Call the mountain.”

  “Harry is on the phone with Yoko right now. I have a feeling he’s not going to tell her. He really is an odd duck when it comes to Yoko. He thinks she might think he’s stupid or something dumb like that. I’ll call Nikki when I hang up. What do you think about Charles coming back to the mountain?”

  “I think with all this going on, we can use all the help we can get. I’m going to call Abner Tookus and have him hack into the bank’s accounts. You didn’t hear me say that, right, Jack?”

  “I absolutely did not hear you say you were going to call Abner Tookus to crack into the bank’s accounts. Absolutely I did not hear that.”

  “If Harry doesn’t kill you, I will. Night, Jack. See you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, tomorrow,” Jack said, his eyes on the huge cardboard carton.

  Chapter 5

  Myra stopped watering the potted plants on the porch to watch Yoko, who was across the compound sitting on a bench under a fragrant pine tree. Something was wrong, she could tell by the set of Yoko’s shoulders, the way she was clenching the cell phone to her ear. She looked behind her to see if the others were anywhere near, but she had the porch to herself.

  Myra dropped to her knees and started plucking the yellow leaves from a vibrant scarlet geranium, but her eyes never left the little Asian girl sitting on the bench. Myra stood up when she saw Yoko get up and run to the bell. Yoko reached for the round ball, pulled back, and gave it a resounding smack against the side of the huge bell. As the sound reverberated over the mountain, she stepped back and threw her arms wide. Myra had seen Yoko do that on other occasions, and when asked what she was doing, she’d calmly said, “I’m throwing my concerns out to the universe.”

  The Sisters came from all directions, with Murphy and Grady leading the way.

  Breathless from their sprint to the compound, Kathryn bellowed the loudest. “What’s wrong?”

  The dogs barked, then howled to show they wanted to know what was wrong, too. Their afternoon swim had just been interrupted. Both dogs shook their shaggy bodies to get rid of the excess water dripping from their coats.

  The drumming hum of the sound from the bell could still be heard.

  “Harry’s in trouble!” Yoko shouted.

  The Sisters clustered around Yoko.

  Myra looked at Annie, and whispered, “It must be serious for Yoko to ring the bell.”

  Annie nodded as she led the way to the war room. They were all surprised to see Charles at his usual position behind the bank of computers. It looked like old times.

  The women all rushed to their respective chairs and waited for Charles to join them. When he did, he simply asked, “What happened?”

  Yoko stood up, her slim body quivering. Kathryn reached out and placed a steady hand on her arm.

  “I called Harry a little while ago. Jack told him to call me, but Harry didn’t want to because of the shame involved. He needs our help. Someone stole his identity. He was evicted from his dojo. He is with Jack right now. He is homeless and destitute. We have to help him. Like right now. Immediately. If you all won’t help, then I am leaving.”

  “Darling girl, no one said we won’t help,” Myra told her. “Relax, tell us everything you know. Give us something to go on, and we will act at the speed of light. Isn’t that right, Charles?” she asked briskly.

  “Myra is right. Tell us everything you know. Everything, Yoko,” Charles said.

  Yoko took a deep breath and rattled off everything Harry had grudgingly told her. She ended with, “I’m sure he left out as much as he told me. It is that shame factor, saving-face thing my people cannot let go of. He did tell me he thought Jack probably told Nikki because he thought Jack was talking to her.”

  All eyes turned to Nikki. “I was talking to Jack, but he didn’t get a chance to tell me anything because he had to talk to Lizzie. This is the first I’m hearing about Harry. If we need to vote, you have mine, Yoko.”

  Yoko nodded. “Lizzie is leaving Vegas first thing in the morning, Maggie and Ted are leaving Nantucket. Joe Espinosa is currently in Baltimore but will be back in the District by noon tomorrow. Judge Easter and Elias are in Virginia and are on the way back. I don’t know about Pearl. Harry didn’t say anything about her. All of them—well, actually, I’m not sure about Judge Easter and Elias—are going to Lizzie’s house for dinner and to talk. What can we do?”

  “First, I need to talk to Jack and Harry,” Charles said. “Harry’s bank is a good place to start, but I’m going to need other information. The person or persons who stole Harry’s identity didn’t just pop up out of nowhere and ask Harry for it. It’s possible that Harry was lax in some way and, Yoko, everyone is careless at one time or another. It’s also possible someone hacked into the bank’s records and got it that way.

  “I’ll get on it right now and position my people. In the meantime, go on the Internet and get every tidbit of information you can on identity theft. We’ll reconvene after dinner, which, by the way, will be delicious.” Without another word, Charles backed up and went to his position at his special computers.

  “Business as usual,” Isabelle said as she got up.

  The Sisters surrounded Yoko and led her back out to the compound, where they started to chatter like magpies, each voice assuring her that they would make it right for Harry. Yoko smiled through her tears and allowed herself to be smothered with affection from her Sisters.

  “I think I’m going to like taking on the person who dared to steal Harry’s life,” Annie said, her eyes sparking dangerously. “The way Harry’s life was looted makes me think it’s not a person but a ring of people. Maggie did a series of articles in the paper about the subject a few months ago. Actually, she profiled the victims because no one was able to
come up with anything that would lead to the capture of the culprits. That has to mean it’s an organized group with a leader who has some savvy and a bankroll.”

  “I think you’re right, Annie. Oh, I do relish going after whoever it is,” Myra said gleefully.

  Yoko giggled as the other Sisters hooted and hollered and stomped their feet.

  “And, dear, call Harry now and tell him he’s in good hands. Tell him the vigilantes are on it.”

  Yoko grinned at the vehemence in Myra’s tone.

  “I know I say this all the time, but, Myra, you absolutely rock,” Annie said happily.

  That’s just what Yoko needed to hear.

  “Let’s just hope we can deliver on my promise,” Myra whispered.

  Annie waved her hands in the air. “Myra, if you were a betting woman, who would you bet on? Us or those people who stole Harry’s identity?”

  “Annie, that is absolutely a no-brainer. Us, of course. I already feel sorry for the people who dared to invade and steal Harry’s life and his life savings. They picked the wrong mark this time, and we are going to teach them a serious lesson, one they’ll never forget. They might as well kiss their lives good-bye, because they will never recover from what is about to happen to them. Never. I guarantee it.”

  Annie looked down at her watch, thrilled at the fierceness in Myra’s attitude. It had been hard watching the suffering her friend had gone through since she had come back from England without Charles. “It’s almost time for dinner. I can’t wait to see what Charles has made for us.”

  “What do you think, Annie? Is it going to work or not?” she whispered.

  Annie smiled. “You know, Myra, I think it is going to work. Charles wasn’t sure what our reaction was going to be. I think he’s so relieved, he’s positively giddy. Having said that, I think dinner will be spectacular. Women are so forgiving. Maybe we need to harden up or something.”

  “No, Annie, we are what we are. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. It really is.”

  “Then why are you still living in the other building?”

  Myra actually giggled. “Because I’m working on that forgiveness thing. I’m not quite there yet. In other words, Charles has to sweat a little more. I earned the right to see him squirm.”

  Both women laughed as they made their way to the dining hall to set the table for dinner.

  Maggie Spritzer rubbed the grit from her eyes. Even though she’d slept the last hundred miles into the District, she was tired and cranky, and she couldn’t see any food anywhere in the office. That only made her more irritated. “I need some food,” she bellowed to Ted, who was standing in the doorway waiting for his marching orders.

  “Maggie, it’s four o’clock in the morning. Where do you think I’m going to get food at this hour? No one is in yet, so there are no donuts. Nothing in this area opens till six o’clock. You know no one replaces the fruit and snacks over the weekend. Plus, I have to go home to check on Mickey and Minnie. I can bring you some stuff from home if you can wait. You do know that you are obsessed with food, right?”

  Maggie bristled. Ted was right, she did obsess about food, but she also obsessed about sex. She said so, to Ted’s chagrin.

  Ted hopped from one foot to the other. “So what you’re saying is if I don’t get you some food, then there won’t be any sex.”

  “Right!” Maggie said, pulling up her e-mails. “It was your idea to drive through the night. We could be in bed right now back on Nantucket, possibly having sex, possibly eating strawberries dipped in chocolate. Strawberries dipped in sweet cream. Instead, I’m sitting here looking at e-mails while I’m starving, and you aren’t helping matters.”

  “Okay, I’m gone. I’ll be back. I want to make sure I understand something. If I fetch food back, we can have sex, maybe tonight?”

  Maggie looked up from the computer. She loved to devil Ted. “Depends on what you bring back, Teddie.”

  Ted groaned as he hotfooted it to the elevator.

  Maggie mumbled something to herself that sounded like, “Maggie, you are shameless,” as she scanned her e-mails, which were hardly earth-shattering. She reached over for her Rolodex and punched in the number for Abner Tookus.

  Maggie sighed and nibbled on her thumbnail while she waited for her old friend to pick up the phone. She was so hungry. Seven rings, eight rings. “C’mon, Abner, pick up. I know you’re there.” When the hacker’s voice mail came on, Maggie disconnected and dialed the number again.

  Finally, the phone was picked up, dropped, then picked up again. “The answer is no. It’s four o’clock in the morning. People only call other people at this hour when there is an emergency. No. Take my name out of your Rolodex and forget you know me.”

  “Abner, sweetie, I’m just as cranky as you are. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be calling you. Do you think for one minute that I like waking people up at four o’clock in the morning?” When there was no response, Maggie tried wheedling. “I hate to wake people up at this hour, but I am up, so you need to get up, too. The early bird gets the worm. C’mon, Abner, I need some help.”

  Maggie heard her old friend sigh. She almost had him.

  “I don’t do that kind of stuff anymore. I’m on the straight and narrow. I even have a full-time if slightly unusual job working for Big Blue, and I’m getting married. So, hang up and let me go back to sleep.”

  “What do you mean you’re getting married? You said you would wait for me forever. Well, that sucks, Abner. When did you get a job with IBM? If you’re lying to me, I’m going to sic the vigilantes on you. Who are you marrying?” Maggie asked, suspicion ringing in her voice.

  “Just you never mind who I’m marrying. Big Blue recruited me. I didn’t go looking for a job, and they pay a hell of a lot better than you do.”

  “Yeah, but are they going to give you a smashing wedding present like I’m going to give you? No, they are not. I’m willing to quadruple your usual fee. Furthermore, you and I both know you could retire on what you charge me. All IBM will do is drain your blood, make you work around-the-clock, then what’s-her-name will get sick and tired of sitting home alone and divorce you. I rest my case, Abner.”

  “Jesus, Maggie, it’s too early in the morning for this kind of discussion. I have to be in the office at six, and you’re eating into my sleep time. Quadruple my fee? What kind of smashing wedding present?”

  “How about I pay for your honeymoon to Hawaii, or maybe Paris?”

  “Plus quadrupling my fee?”

  Maggie sighed, and she was getting hungrier by the moment. She sighed again. “Yeah. That’s how special you are to me.”

  “That’s bullshit. You’re desperate. I want it in writing, and I want the check in my hands before I do whatever it is you want me to do. And I want to see those airline tickets, too.”

  “It’s four o’clock in the morning, Abner. At nine o’clock I will have it going. That’s when the business day starts. Stop by the office later in the morning, and I will have everything ready to put into your hot little hand.”

  “No can do, Maggie. I’m working, remember. Now, if you want to hand-deliver it to me, that’s okay, too. And just for the record, this whole conversation might very well be moot since you haven’t told me what the job is.”

  “Okay, here it is. Listen up. A friend of mine had his identity stolen, and he is now homeless and penniless. I want you to hack into East Coast Savings. Whoever it was that stole his ID took out an equity loan on his property as well as a second mortgage. I want to see the bank records. I also want you to find out if any of the bank’s other customers had their identities stolen. In other words, I want it all, Abner. C’mon, you and I both know you’re the best in the business. Are you telling me this is above your pay grade? For shame, Abner. I really looked up to you. Don’t tell me you’re wussing out.”

  “And if I get caught?”

  “I’ll get you the best lawyer in town: Lizzie Fox. For free. Free, Abner!”

  “If, and I’m saying I
F, I agree to this, when do you need it?”

  “Like yesterday.”

  “Ha-ha! Even though it’s Saturday, I have to go to work, and when I get there, I actually have to work. W-O-R-K!”

  “Call in sick.”

  “I just started last week; I can’t call in sick.”

  “Sure you can. Say you have the crud. Guys get the crud all the time. You said they recruited you, not the other way around. That means they’ll cut you some slack. I need this ASAP, Abby.”

  “Ten grand bonus on top of the quadruple, and we have a deal.”

  Maggie pretended to think about it. She was a hundred percent sure Annie would approve this outlandish expenditure. “When can you have it for me?”

  Instead of answering the question, Abner asked another one. “How many days in Hawaii? And don’t count the two travel days. And an extra day for jet lag. Vouchers for the local airlines to visit the other islands. The only hotel I’ll consider is the Fairmont Orchid.”

  Maggie’s antenna went up. “You skunk, that’s where you were going all along on your honeymoon, and you just want me to pay for it.”

  “Hey, you called me, I didn’t call you. So, what’s it going to be, Miz Spritzer? I’ll even bring you back a souvenir.”

  “Okay, okay! Three full weeks, and that’s my last offer. Agree to that, and we have a deal. And you better get me what I need.”

  “If it’s there, I’ll get it. See you at nine o’clock. Don’t make me wait.”

  “Screw you, Abner. What’s her name?”

  Maggie could hear Abner’s laughter as he hung up. She looked around to see if anyone had magically appeared with food while she was talking to Abner. She was as alone as before she made the call. She thought about taking a nap but knew she would never be able to sleep if she was hungry. With nothing else to occupy her time, she meandered out of the office, down the hall to the kitchen, where she made the first pot of coffee of the day. While she waited for the coffee to drip into the pot she daydreamed about Eggs Benedict, waffles with cream and blueberries, eggs and bacon, cinnamon applesauce on the side, buttery toast, fresh melon, a stack of pancakes with warm butter and syrup. “Oh, God, I’m going to die if I don’t get some food.” She was so pitiful she couldn’t stand herself.