The date was set for this coming Tuesday. Jack London was scheduled to be down in the city attending a gala affair honoring the mayor.
If James played his cards properly, Elena would have twenty minutes from when he deactivated the system to when the alarm company was alerted. Armed with the combination and already familiar with the house, she didn't anticipate any problems.
Nevertheless, when the evening came, Elena felt the usual jittering of nerves. While she did get a real thrill from the whole scene, imagining herself as a sort of criminal Emma Peal, the fear in the pit of her stomach was also very real.
"Keeps you on your toes," James had offered as he knelt in the dark of the backdoor, fiddling with the electronic lock with some complex little tools. "You get complacent, you get caught. There-the door's open. The alarm's disabled. Go!"
As he faded into the dark, Elena slipped into the house. London's staff did not live in and the place was quiet. The kitchen light was on, shining into the darkened living room. Quickly she edged her way toward the hall where the study was. The door was ajar and she slipped in, flicking on her little pencil flashlight as she knelt by the floorboards that hid the treasure.
She had memorized the combination and she squatted now in her black spandex pants, twirling the little metal dial-twenty-two, forty-eight, thirty-nine. The latex gloves felt hot on her hands, but of course, it wouldn't do to leave prints. Slowly she slid the dial to its appointed spot. Something didn't feel right. She couldn't feel the tumblers falling into place.
A tiny edge of panic cut its way across her smooth demeanor. Slow down. Try again. Carefully she turned the dial, once to the left, two times around to the right, back again to the left. Shit! James' connection had messed up! This wasn't right.
Taking a deep breath, she tried a third time. She was so absorbed in what she was doing that she didn't hear a sound until suddenly.
"Well, well, well. What have we here?"
