chapter 35
BAILEY LOCKED THE gold mine’s front door at straight-up six o’clock. Her red balloons were swaying under the current of the heater vent. She would be able to try only four codes before she would have to leave. Moon Pie and Levi would return at any moment. She knew Moon Pie would review the surveillance tapes after the money was discovered missing, and she could not justify going into the office too many times. Securing the gold and cash inside the office desk drawer took only a few minutes, allowing her time to try a round of codes. A security camera was focused on the office door but could not see inside. However, the video time stamps would reveal how long she was in the office. She didn’t want to be the focus of Moon Pie’s rage after the theft. Walter was crystal clear that she had to appear to be above reproach so she could start a new life without fear of retribution. Not knowing exactly when Moon Pie would be back added to Bailey’s anxiety. He seemed to have been purposely vague about where they were going and when they would return.
The back room was dimly lit, requiring Bailey to take extra care as she stepped around the full-body lion mount and the deer heads lying on the floor. When she opened the office door and flipped on the light, her mind raced as she stared at the safe. Inside that refrigerator-size hunk of metal was a small fortune, more than enough to get her out of trouble, out of town, and far away from Woody. She hurriedly secured the day’s gold purchases inside Moon Pie’s desk drawer and then stood for a moment in front of the safe with the cheat sheet of codes Sebastian had given her. She took a deep breath and punched in the next code on her list: 18, 16, 10, pound. Each time she typed a digit, an electronic beep chirped, giving her hope until she pressed the pound sign and nothing happened.
“Okay. Do you like sixteen, ten, eighteen, pound?” she quietly said aloud. “Awww. Well, okay, how ’bout ten, sixteen, eighteen, pound? Shit!”
There was a warning beep after this attempt, and when Bailey tried to press the fourth combination, the lock was frozen, stopping any more attempts for thirty minutes. She gathered her composure and flipped off the lights as she walked out of the office.
Bailey pulled her jacket tight and reached into her purse for her car keys. When she opened the back door, she could see clearly by the streetlight illuminating the parking lot. Glancing up at the doorframe, she saw where she would place the magnet tomorrow. The paint job matched perfectly, and she knew it wouldn’t be noticed. She didn’t know how it worked, but she trusted Mr. Walter. She punched the arming code into the alarm keypad—1-9-6-4 and then “exit.” It was the only code Moon Pie had shared with her. The alarm chirped twice, and then the tiny light turned red. She had sixty seconds to shut and lock the door.
As she drove out of the parking lot, she quickly looked at Sebastian and Bernard sitting across the street in an old Ford truck. She gave them a slight, inconspicuous nod as she went by. Thirty seconds later, a car that had been sitting about two buildings down pulled away from the curb and followed Bailey.
“Woody?” Bernard asked as the car went past.
“Gotta be,” Sebastian said between clenched teeth. He glanced at his watch—6:13. “Call Lucille and find out Bailey’s home address and her cell phone number.”
“This wasn’t in the plan,” Bernard said as he put on his bifocals and prepared to dial.
“Don’t blame me; it’s Woody’s fault.”