Page 41 of Third Crime's A Charm
“When you put it like that… It sounds terrible but it would be a lot worse if this got out and some real criminals got involved. Give me until next week and the deal is done,” Truman pleaded gently as he kissed Matteo’s hair and stroked his back. “I’ll tell you everything once it’s on its way back to Austria and I knowhecan’t touch you. Once it’s out of our hands and he’s been exposed as a rat, no one will care about what he says or help him.”
“I want to believe you, Truman,” Matteo said sadly. “But you’ll say anything to keep me happy because you can’t do this without me. What happens when the job is done and you don’t need me anymore?”
“That’s just it!” Truman gave Matteo a shake. “I won’t stop needing you! I can’t! You’re all I think about and I’d run away with you right now if I could. I don’t give a fuck about this job anymore!” He kissed Matteo and tried to back him toward the bed but was halted by a hand in the middle of his chest.
“We’ll see what happens after the job is done. I assume Neville’s still getting me that maintenance key and has found a delivery truck to block the camera in the back alley. Or has he been too busy following me?” Matteo asked with a testy hum.
“Yes. He has everything ready, just like you laid out in your very clever andthoroughplan,” Truman said and attempted to placate Matteo. Complimenting Matteo and making him feel like he was in charge usually worked.
“Has he left Chicago yet?” Matteo asked quietly, switching to Mastermind Mode.
No one would dream of coming up to the fourth floor while they were both home but Truman dashed to the door and quietly closed it. “My contacts in his entourage said the RV left an hour ago. They’ll take the scenic route, avoiding major cities and stations with lots of cameras, so it’ll take them two days. We’ll check in Friday evening, giving us a day to set up and for you to explore the hotel without looking suspicious,” Truman said and began running through the plan. “When he arrives, I’ll stay on him so we know exactly who’s with him and if anything changes inside that suite.”
“I’ll know where the blind spots are within the hotel’s security and have my route back to the room picked before the party.”
“Are you sure you’ll be able to do this without anyone getting suspicious?” Truman asked, despite having every confidence in Matteo.
“Yes, Truman,” he said with an irritated eye roll. “I don’t like to smoke, it irritates my allergies. But it gives me an excuse to mingle where the employees take their breaks.”
“That’s very smart.”
“Thank you,” Matteo swatted and beat a knuckle against his chin. “When it’s time, we’ll head down to the party together and make sure we’re seen by enough of the right people. We want to look like we’re just there to congratulate the birthday boy and in a hurry to get back to our room. You’ll introduce us and as soon as you’re sure the entire entourage is there, you’ll give me the signal,” he said, then pointed at Truman to see if he knew what the signal was.
“I’ll tell Marty I need a quick word, that I received a call just before we came down. You’ll excuse yourself and pretend you’re sneaking out for a smoke. I’ll tell Marty that the expert fromSotheby’s has confirmed and that I’m paying for the appraisal as a birthday gift and show of confidence.”
“Perfect,” Matteo said with a soft smile. “That’s when I’ll be opening the safe in his room and switching it for the replica. I’ll sneak back down and we’ll rendezvous in the bar so we can be seen there and at the elevator together when we head up for the night. We’ll make sure plenty of guests and the cameras catch us behaving…amorously so there isn’t any question about how we spent our night.”
Truman clapped. “We’ll have alibis for the entire evening, if he can even figure out when he was hit. The miserable, old asshole can barely see and he’s the only one who’s seen it since he bought it. Aside from me,” he added, holding out his hand so Matteo could slap it.
He slapped it and allowed Truman to hold onto his hand. “We’ll stay at the hotel until checkout time but lay low and keep an eye on him to see if he notices.”
“I’ll check on him before we leave and let him know I’m right around the corner if anything comes up,” Truman said but Matteo cleared his throat loudly.
“We stay in on Sunday and Neville will monitor him and his friends closely until your meeting on Monday. Neither of us wants to be anywhere near him after we leave the hotel, unless he sends for you. If he doesn’t find out until the meeting, anyone who’s been near him since he left Chicago could be a suspect so we want to be in that pool as little as possible,” he advised.
“Got it. We stay in bed all day Sunday,” Truman said with a teasing wink. “I’ve been thinking of other ways I can reward you for being so brilliant,” he said and attempted to pull Matteo closer for a kiss.
“Ha! Not this time!” Matteo said as he danced around Truman. “I need my notepad and I want that card, Truman. It does me no good if Neville has it.”
“Of course! Anything you wish, Matteo!” Truman answered cheerfully but pinched the bridge of his nose, listening as Matteo headed down the stairs. “I’d ask what I’ve done to deserve this but the list is extensive.”
Seventeen
Showtime.
Martin Lonsdale’s birthday party was just getting started and Truman was waiting in the hallway of their suite at the St. Regis. He was dressed in a crisp, black tuxedo and ready to escort Matteo downstairs.
“That looks…” Matteo stepped back from the bathroom mirror, inspecting his bow tie and grinning at his reflection. “Flawless.”
Dressed in a vintage Tom Ford tuxedo, Matteo looked flawless, but he was delighted at how flawlessly he’d executedhissuper secret plan.
Sisi’s star wasalreadyin his pocket and Matteo had reservations for a nonstop flight that left for Paris in a little over two hours. He made it while Truman and Neville were scrambling after Matteo’s “test” earlier. They wouldn’t think to check the airlines until after Matteo had disappeared and by then, it would be too late.
How had Matteo done it?
With plenty of preparation and a full day to befriend the staff and get valuable “behind the scenes” glimpses at how thehotel was run. As Matteo had predicted, one of the porters had confided that it was safe to vape in the service stairwell because there were no security cameras. Figuring out the override code for the hotel’s guest safes was tricky but Matteo practiced on the one in their suite and finally had success with the manager’s birthday. Once it was “go” time, all he had to do was sneak out of the butler’s service door and into the nearby stairwell while Truman was getting ready in the suite’s other bathroom.
With Neville already in position downstairs, Matteo jogged up a flight of stairs in his tuxedo, sans tie, and lit and tossed a smoke bomb onto the 16th floor. He quickly headed back down to their floor and threw another, then down to the 14th floor and released a final smoke bomb. After that, Matteo waited behind the stairwell’s door as the fire alarms went off and people rushed from their rooms.
