Show Me the Money

by Connie Shelton

  Pen had suggested they all meet at ten o’clock at her house where they could talk privately. Sandy made up a client meeting to explain her absence from the bank; Gracie was nearly always free at that time of day; Mary said she’d handed off her spinning class to another instructor, a guy who frequented the gym often, one whose name seemed to make Mary blush. The Heist Ladies were ready to plan their next actions.

  Amber drove the short distance to Pen’s, amazed that the city streets weren’t always jammed with bumper-to-bumper traffic. Yes, there were definite benefits to being unemployed.

  The other vehicles were already there, arrayed around the circular drive near Pen’s front door. Amber pulled her Prius in behind Gracie’s minivan and walked up; Sandy opened the door before she had a chance to reach for the bell.

  “Saw you coming,” Sandy said. “Come in. There are some wonderful smells coming from the kitchen.”

  “The frittata is a recipe I picked up from an author friend,” Pen said, pulling a fragrant pan from the oven. “I’m testing it on you before I make it for Benton next week. The muffins came from Mimi’s.”

  Gracie gave a swooning expression at that news. They followed Pen’s invitation and took seats in the dining room.

  “We can talk while we eat. I know most of you have commitments.” Pen sliced the frittata and carried the hot pan to a trivet she’d set in the middle of the table. “Amber, perhaps you should lead off with the question you wanted to pose to all of us.”

  Taking a swig of her cranberry juice, Amber looked around the table at her friends. “Sandy and I have discussed this a little. I am all set to move the money away from Cody’s accounts. The problem now is that he’ll see pending transactions if he checks them, and it’s possible he could notify the various banks that he didn’t make those transfers and could get them stopped before they go through. Sandy says it can take two or three days for it to happen.”

  “And we need a way to keep him from checking during that time,” Mary said.

  “Exactly. You get the picture. Cody is a guy who lives on his phone, and checking his bank balances with apps is super easy for him.”

  “We need to get his phone away from him,” Pen suggested.

  “How?” Gracie asked. “If he’s anything like my kids, he knows where that thing is all the time.”

  “It’ll be a challenge.”

  “One of us could go to his house, wait until he’s in the shower, and grab it off the dresser or something,” Mary said.

  “We don’t know where he lives,” Sandy said. “I did a little searching and can’t find an address for him here in the metro area. His address of record, both at his employer and on his driver’s license, is still the one in New Jersey, which we believe is his father’s residence.”

  “So we go there?” Gracie looked eager as she said it.

  “You just want an excuse to travel somewhere,” Sandy said with a laugh. “Sorry, but he obviously can’t be living there while working here. He’s got to have somewhere local to stay.”

  “Maybe I can find out who he hangs out with at work, see if he has mentioned where he lives,” Amber suggested. “I know a lot of the after-work hangouts downtown.”

  “Yeah, but won’t you be taking a chance on him knowing you’re asking questions?” Mary asked.

  “Well … he’s been hinting that we see each other. I could meet with him and come right out and ask.”

  “Or meet with him and just steal the phone right then. It doesn’t matter whether we get into his house, if that happens.”

  “So, trailing Cody and getting his phone away from him is the first priority,” Pen said. “Then we must address the issue of his simply walking into the nearest phone store and buying another.”

  “You’re right. We can’t let that happen,” Amber said. “These new phones store everything in the cloud, so if he can get a new phone and log in with his user credentials he’ll be back online with all of his apps, in less than an hour. We need several days.”

  Gracie peeled the wrapper off a blueberry muffin, giving it an appraising look. “Back to square one—how do we get anywhere close to him?”

  “I guess that’s up to me,” Amber said. “I have his phone number and he wouldn’t be surprised to get a call or text from me. Shall I give it a try?”

  “Give his number to the rest of us, as a start,” Sandy suggested. “That way, we can implement plans, and he won’t recognize any of our other numbers.”

  In less time than it took anyone to pull out her own phone, Amber had gone into her contacts and shared the number with all of them.

  “Looks like you’re up, girl,” Mary said.

  Amber took a deep breath and called Cody’s number, expecting to leave a voice mail. He came on right away.

  “Hey, I’ve been thinking about you,” he said, his voice seeming wistful.

  “Yeah, me too. Cody, I know you’re here in Phoenix.”

  An uneasy pause.

  “It’s okay. Actually, I’m happy about it. And I was thinking … want to get together after work this afternoon?”

  “I can do better than that. My boss gave me the day off and I’m downtown anyway. How about lunch? Thirty minutes?”

  Amber looked at her empty plate and her full stomach groaned, but there was no time like the present. “Sure. Name the place.”

  The call ended and she looked around at the rest of the Ladies. “Well, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

  Chapter 64

  She ordered the smallest salad on the menu and still could barely look at it, her stomach was so full. But one thing about salad, you can push it around the plate a lot and somewhat make it look like it’s disappearing.

  Cody was already at the table when she walked into the place, and he ordered a burrito that looked like it could choke a horse. He dug into it and didn’t seem to notice Amber was barely eating.

  “So that’s cool, that your boss gave you the day off.” She watched his expression for any sign that he knew she had been working all these months in the same building, not two blocks from here.

  “Yeah, we’re pretty much caught up right now, so it was no problem.” Expression as bland as they come.

  She wanted to kick him under the table, but refrained.

  “So, big plans for your afternoon?”

  “What did you have in mind? Maybe I come to your place?” He sent the gorgeous smile toward her.

  Uh, that would be a big no. But she smiled back. “Afraid I can’t. Some of us have to work.”

  “Oh, I thought you said you were taking some time—” He nearly stuttered. “—but I guess that was last week.”

  She glanced down at his phone, sitting next to his water glass. He had set it down the moment she joined him, and hadn’t touched it since. But there was no way she could reach across the table and pick it up. What could she use as a distraction? She signaled the waitress for more water, but realized as long as Cody sat in that chair he would know the moment his phone moved a centimeter.

  “My dad’s coming for a visit,” he told her. “So I’m thinking I might take the rest of the week, spend a little time with him. He’s only been out here once and we didn’t really get time to explore the city at all.”

  “Oh? What does he want to do? There are all the museums and the zoo is really cool.”

  A flicker across Cody’s face told her those were not his father’s cup of tea.

  “A hike in the Superstitions is great this time of year.” No reaction.

  “He’s really more into … Well, he loves to gamble.”

  “Oh, one of the Indian casinos then. Sure, those can be fun.” Personally, Amber would rather stab her eyeball out than spend hours in a smoky, noisy place like that, but the full parking lots at the casinos attested that plenty of others felt differently.

  “He likes the ponies. Dog races, too, but I guess those are getting less popular. I don’t know if they even have them here now.” He set his napkin down. �
��I gotta run to the—” a nod toward the restrooms at the back “—don’t let them take my plate. I might finish my burrito.”

  Finally, a chance. But he automatically picked up his phone and stuck it into his pocket when he stood up.

  Rats!

  He was back in three minutes. “Got a text from Pop. His flight just landed, so I need to get going.”

  “Oh sure, not a problem. I guess you’ll be driving him to his hotel, or is he staying at your place?”

  “Hotel. And a rental car. That’s another thing I gotta help him with.” Cody put enough cash on the table to cover both their meals. “Sorry to skip out like this. I didn’t realize how late it was getting.”

  “Well, I hope I get to meet your dad. What’s his name?”

  “Woody. He’d get a kick out of you.” His eyes darted to the right. “But we’ll have to see. It’s looking like we’ll be pretty busy.”

  He still had a grip on his phone, and Amber felt discouraged that her mission had failed. However, even though she didn’t have the phone in hand and had no idea how she could keep Cody from noticing the money movement, she’d gained some valuable intel. The moment he was out of the restaurant, she followed.

  A half-block away she saw him get on a city bus. The lit banner above the back window said AIRPORT.

  It seemed possible he’d been truthful about one thing.

  She rushed to where she’d parked her car, sat inside, and called Pen.

  “We have to figure out where the horse races take place,” she said. “Also, the car rental agencies at the airport—is there any way we can learn what make and model car is being rented by Cody Brennan, Cody Baker, or Woody Baker. I’m assuming that last—he just told me his dad’s first name.”

  “It sounds like a nickname,” Pen said, “but I have an idea about that. Are you planning to follow him?”

  “I’ll try. You know how the traffic is around the airport.”

  It wasn’t hard to follow the bus. Amber trailed the lumbering vehicle, fairly confident Cody had no idea she was behind him. The problem came once she reached the airport where she didn’t get a clear view of the passengers who disembarked, and the busy curbside was carefully monitored by security for anyone who didn’t seem like they were there to pick up someone. There was no way they were going to let her leave her vehicle to pop inside and get an idea where Cody went. And driving out to the parking lots was out of the question—she would lose him for sure.

  The constantly moving stream of traffic gave her no chance to make a decision. She spotted the sign for the cellphone waiting area and made a dangerous move across two lanes to get there. It was as close as she could come to waiting around anywhere near the terminal.

  Ten painfully slow minutes dragged by. Fifteen.

  Amber practically jumped out of her seat when her phone rang.

  “The rental car is coming from Alamo,” Pen said. “Apparently he has just now completed the paperwork. Cody rented it in his name, using his New Jersey driver’s license. A shuttle will take them to the lot to pick up the car. It’s a Ford Taurus, but the woman didn’t say what color.”

  Amber had no clue where on the vast airport complex the rental car lots were located.

  “Of more use to you,” Pen was saying, “is that they gave the Skyliner Motel in Deer Valley as their address while in the city.”

  “I’ll find it. I can probably beat them there if I leave right now,” Amber said. “Thanks, Pen, you’re the best.”

  She ended the call and flipped over to the maps app, finding the address and directions to the motel without any problem. It looked like a slightly fancier version of a Super 8. Why wouldn’t a guy who’d just come into a half million dollars pick a more upscale place?

  When she zoomed the map out to a wider view she figured it out. The Skyliner was only a mile or so from the racetrack.

  Chapter 65

  “What time do the races start?” Woody asked, before they’d even cleared the airport property.

  “I don’t know, Pop. Let me get my bearings here, okay?” Cody frantically scanned the dozens of signs all around them as he steered the unfamiliar car off the lot.

  Damn. He should have gotten a car while he lived here, should have driven around more in the city instead of using the convenience of Uber and the city buses. The tangle of overpasses and freeway entrances was mind boggling. All he knew was that he needed to get to I-17 northbound, and the stupid rental didn’t have a GPS.

  He finally found a spot where he could pull over, so he picked up his phone and studied the map. Clearly he was going about this all wrong. Who the hell puts a major airport smack in the middle of a huge city and surrounds it with a bazillion freeways? He activated the voice directions and let the phone tell him the turns to make.

  An hour later, in a foul mood, he spotted the motel ahead. Finally! He whipped into the lot. The tires chirped a little when he stopped in front of the small office.

  “I’ll be right back,” he told his dad.

  Inside, the girl behind the desk asked how many keys he wanted. Until this moment, he’d thought he would let Pop have the motel and he would go back to his own room whenever they weren’t together. But this city traffic was crap, and he wasn’t about to drive back and forth in it, just to shuttle his father around.

  “Two keys. Thanks.”

  She was cute and looked a little like Amber, with dark skin and curly hair. But he could already tell she didn’t have Amber’s smarts or that sparkle in her eye. And what would be the point? There was no money potential in this one. Pop always said you choose your marks for one reason—profit—not for their looks.

  The girl handed over the keys and explained where the breakfast room was. She flashed him a smile as she handed back Pop’s credit card. “I see you’ll be with us for five days? I’m off tomorrow but I’ll be back the day after. In case you need anything.”

  Cody merely smiled.

  He drove past a fenced swimming pool and pulled the Taurus to a stop in front of room 16. Right now, mid-afternoon there were only three other cars in the lot. The place felt like one-night stays. Just off the interstate, it was the kind of place tired travelers would pull off at dark and leave in the early morning. The landscaping had a dry, untended feel, and the pool didn’t seem very inviting. But those weren’t the amenities his father wanted anyway.

  They got out and he pulled Pop’s large suitcase and his own backpack from the trunk.

  Five days. It was easy to see what Pop would do to stay busy, but Cody wondered how he would spend his time. No job to report to, no travel on the calendar, no plans with Amber. And he’d just now realized he had left his laptop in his room at TV-lady’s house. Well, he could drop Pop off at the racetrack later and then he’d drive out to Mesa to get it.

  Or not. The thought of getting back out in the traffic held no appeal at all. Maybe tomorrow. He had a clean shirt with him and his basic shaving gear. He could delay having to make the drive.

  “So, you think there’s any action at the track right now?” Pop asked, the moment he’d dropped his suitcase on the bed.

  Seriously? Cody sighed. “I suppose we’d better check it out.”

  Chapter 66

  Amber zoomed her phone camera toward the Taurus and snapped several quick shots of Cody and his father. The older man was a skinnier, slighter version of his son with thick gray hair. The thought flashed through her mind that Cody seemed safe from inheriting male pattern baldness. Forget it. Not important, she told herself.

  She slid farther down in her seat to look at the photos. She’d only caught Cody in profile, but there was a good face image of his dad while he stood at the door to their room, waiting for Cody to insert the keycard into the lock. She noted other details. A suitcase for the father, only his normal backpack for Cody. Was he planning to stay, or would he leave his father there and go to his own place?

  Quickly, she selected the best three pictures and forwarded them to all the Ladies, alon
g with the name and address of the motel. Now, any of them could take over the mission. She debated going back to her condo, but she still needed to know that Cody couldn’t check his bank accounts before she initiated the money movement.

  Patience, she coached herself.

  Five minutes after they walked into the motel room, Cody and his father emerged. Amber slid even farther down, completely out of sight, until she heard their car start. A peek told her they were backing out, and she quickly started the quiet Prius. When they made a right turn onto Bell Road, she followed.

  Bell, one of the busier main arteries through this part of the city, was an easy place for her to remain off their radar. They passed some car dealerships and a Walmart, and then turned right. She saw a sign for Turf Paradise with a running horse on the logo; she knew exactly where they were going. She followed them into the parking lot, staying well behind until Cody pulled the Taurus into a spot near the entrance.

  She cruised down a parallel row of parking spaces and watched the two men walk up to the entrance and enter the tan stucco building with its long row of tall windows. There was a lot of open space surrounding the grounds and track, with nice views of the mountains in the distance. It seemed like the type of place that probably once sat out in the middle of nowhere for a long time before the city grew up around it. She pulled into a parking slot at the east end of the lot.

  What now? She pulled up the racetrack’s website. The peak times of day were from noon to about six p.m. so they were nearing the end of the racing day now. Amber had no idea how these things worked, but it might be fair to assume the men were here to check out the facility, maybe take a look at tomorrow’s lineup. A diehard race fan, as Cody described his dad, wouldn’t be content to travel all this way just to watch for an hour or so.

  She phoned Mary to run her theory by.

  “That’s what I would think,” Mary told her. “I’d bet they’ll be back tomorrow. And hey, since we need someone neither man has ever seen, I could do it. I’m not a gambler, but it’s fun to watch the horses and see how wound up people get over their bets.”