The Spy Is Cast by Diane Henders Page B

really
like to do.”
    “We already have all
the floor plans and the site plan,” he informed me after a short
pause. “Webb also managed to quietly obtain the installation
diagrams for the security system.” He grinned. “Don’t ever try to
hide anything from Webb. That kid can sniff out information you
don’t even know you have.”
    I laughed. “He’s
pretty amazing. Lucky he works for the good guys.”
    Kane sobered. “You can
say that again. But to answer your original question, I’m going to
be looking at the position and distribution of security personnel.
I’m also going to be watching for anything that looks like a
structural change from the registered floor plans. And I’ll check
to see if there’s any additional electronic or physical security
besides what we already know about.”
    “Do you have a copy of
the plans with you?” I asked. “I’d like to take a look, too.”
    “No, sorry. I should
have shown them to you earlier. I didn’t want to have anything with
us that could arouse suspicion, so I left them at home.”
    I shrugged. “Oh well.
So what’s your strategy for wandering through somebody’s private
residence without arousing suspicion?”
    “That’s where it gets
complicated,” he admitted. “It’s not just the private residence.
There’s a guest house and several other lavish buildings on the
property. It’s quite an ostentatious layout.”
    “Excellent. That
helps.”
    “Why do you say that?”
He eyed me with interest.
    “Ostentatious means
there’s somebody who just can’t wait to give the grand tour to
somebody who’s suitably impressed. Is Harchman married?”
    Kane nodded. “Twenty
years. His wife’s name is Maria. Not a happy marriage, from what we
can determine. Seems he’s got a roving eye.”
    “Perfect. Either he or
Maria will be looking for a bit of admiration for their property.
If it’s him, I’ll suck up. If it’s her, you can.”
    Kane chuckled. “I’m
pretty sure you’ll be the one doing the sucking up. Harchman likes
to be known as a high roller. Classic attention-seeker. His wife
keeps a low profile.”
    “It still might be
smart for you to show some attention to Maria,” I said slowly. “If
he’s that much of an asshole, she’d probably appreciate a little
gallantry. That could get you in some doors. If Harchman’s hiding
something, she might not know about it. She might let you in where
he wouldn’t.”
    Kane looked
thoughtful. “You’re right. That’s a good idea. We may not meet her
at all, though. According to what we’ve been able to find out, she
doesn’t often attend this type of affair.”
    “Okay. So, next
question, how the heck am I supposed to wander through all these
buildings looking for a network? I thought we were just going to a
dinner party. If I zone out for a few seconds while I’m sitting in
a chair, nobody will notice. But you know I fall down if I access
the network when I’m standing.” I grimaced. “And now I have to
balance on high heels at the same time.”
    We drove in silence
for a few minutes while I racked my brain for an idea.
    “We need to agree on
some sort of signal that you’re going to try to access the
network,” Kane said. “You give me the signal, and I’ll make sure
I’m holding you up. If you get in at all, it’ll only be for a
second or two. You might not even have time to fall down.”
    “Well, it’s not
perfect, but that’s probably about the best we can do,” I agreed.
“What’s the signal?”
    “Put your arm around
me and lean your head on my shoulder. That way if you go limp for a
second, I can hold you up without being too obvious.”
    I sighed. “Okay. It’s
a plan.”
    “I really don’t like
this,” Kane grumbled. “I know it needs to be done, but I just hate
to put you in the line of fire again.”
    “Well, I won’t be in
the line of fire.” I tried to reassure us both. “A short,
nondescript, dead man will be.”
    “You’re sure you can
do