To Have and to Heist(57)

“You’re our inside man,” I said. “You understand these people and how they work. I need suggestions, not problems.”

Cristian twisted his lips to the side, considering. “I played a trivia game at a party one time, and we all had to put our phones in a basket on the table so we couldn’t look up the answers. I think that might work. Mr. Angelini could see his phone so he wouldn’t be worried that someone is trying to get into it, and he’d look like a bad sport if he refused to participate at his own daughter’s rehearsal dinner.”

“That sounds like a plan,” I said. “You’ll need to play the game again when we leave the house because the system will send out another jam alert. After we’re out, we’ll wait in the van for Emma to bring everyone home then slip back into the limo when they are inside, and bingo! They’ll never know we were there.”

“Except they’ll be a missing a $25 million necklace,” Emma said.

“They won’t know it’s missing because Anil is going to make a fake.”

Anil’s head jerked up from his phone. “I am?”

“Yes, you are,” I said. “I’d never really thought about the bracelet you gave me in the context of the heist, but I was talking to Detective Garcia, and he said you can’t tell a 3D-printed fake from an original. If I give you a picture, can you make a 3D replica?”

Anil grimaced. “I might lose my job.”

“You don’t like your job,” Chloe reminded him. “You said you wanted to move out of your parents’ home and pursue an MMA career far, far away. What would The Butcher do to win?”

“Anything.”

“Go, Butcher!” Chloe pumped a fist in the air.

Anil pumped his fist, too. “It’s ‘The Butcher.’？”

“It sounds better the other way,” she said. “You might want to reconsider your ring name so people don’t get confused.”

“What do we do after we get the necklace and claim our reward?” Cristian asked. “We’ll need to disappear in case they suspect us. I vote for a tropical island until the heat dies down.” He raised his beer bottle in a mock toast. “Bikinis are on me.”

“No bikinis. No tropical getaway.” I folded my arms across my chest, hoping Cristian didn’t get the wrong message from my “stern teacher” pose. “It will look suspicious if we all suddenly disappear. Also, I can’t do that to Bella. The wedding goes ahead as planned two days later on Saturday.”

“And DJ Ka-Poor is ready to rock!” Anil pulled a stack of business cards from his pocket. “I thought I should have a name and proper brand so people who love my musical stylings know who to call for their weddings.” He handed the cards around. “There’s a hyphen between Ka and Poor so when you say it, leave a pause. Ka Poor.”

“Jesus Christ.” Gage stared at the card with DJ Ka-Poor written in gold script on a background of colorful music notes.

“I’ve got the playlist all ready to go.” Anil was not put off in the least by Gage’s muttering. “Lots of highs and upbeat tunes, but then every ten to twelve songs, I’ll throw in a slower one to keep the flow going. People want them . . . just not as much as the fast ones. I’m starting with ‘Yeah!’ by Usher, then ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ by The Weeknd, ‘Shut Up and Dance’ by Walk the Moon—”

“Are earplugs part of our heist comp package?” Gage asked.

“Gage.” Chloe put a gentle warning hand on his arm. “We’re lucky to have Anil. He sacrificed his drone to get some amazing surveillance pictures. He’s risking his job to get us a replica necklace, and he’s putting in a lot of effort to make sure Bella is going to have a great wedding. I think a little support and gratitude are warranted.”

Gage stared at Chloe’s hand. She flushed and moved to pull it away, but he covered it with his own, holding it in place. I made a mental note to have a serious conversation with her about former priests who carried guns and hid in the shadows.

“What’s Jack doing in all this?” Rose asked. She’d been so quiet, I’d almost forgotten she was there.

“Having a good time,” he said from the doorway.

“How long have you been there?” I’d been so caught up in the plan, I hadn’t even noticed he’d arrived.

“Long enough,” he said. “I’m your man for opening the safe and picking locks. I also know a guy who can get the equipment you need to hack the security system. He might also be able to find us a place for a dry run to make sure there are no problems with the plan.”

“My plan is solid.” I gave an affronted sniff. “Chloe and I have run through it dozens of times.”

“You should probably take him up on the offer,” Rose said. “In the movies, the crew always practices before the big day. It’s the most important part of the heist.”

I looked to Chloe, and she gave an apologetic shrug. “It can’t hurt.”

“Fine. We’ll do the run-through. Meeting dismissed.” I crossed the room to join Chloe by the table of snacks. I didn’t want to talk to Jack, not after my conversation with Garcia. I would have to ask him if he knew anything about Simone’s necklace, and I didn’t know if I wanted the answer.