And then they waited. According to the tracking number Neil had gotten via email, the dress was scheduled to arrive sometime in the afternoon. There wasn't a lot they could do until then, so Noah went over the plan with them one more time.
“Once the skeleton is dressed and ready, Moose will load it into the van and take it to the Gomez house. We’ll put a card with it that indicates it was a gift from a friend of Duane Harris, asking them to pray for his release. Once they have accepted it and taken it inside, that's when we'll start watching for the nanny to take the children out. Immediately after that, Moose, you're going to go and steal us a car, something big but not too noticeable. Sarah and I will use that car to go and find the nanny and children, forcing them into the car and bringing them back here. Hopefully, we can do that without drawing any attention, but we'll stay away from the warehouse until we're sure we're not being followed. At that point, we'll need you to bring the Chrysler and pick us up somewhere, Moose. We don't want the stolen car connected to this location.”
“Right,” Moose said, “I'll be ready.”
“Noah,” Sarah said, “why don’t we just use the Chrysler? I can flip the plates and change the color, so no one would know it was the same car we’re driving now.”
Noah shook his head. “No, we don’t want to overuse what that car can do unless we absolutely have to. That’s a pretty powerful feature, and I can see how it could save our asses if we need it, but the last thing we need is someone saying they saw a car like that changing color as it went down the road. For this purpose, it’s better to use a completely different car.”
“Okay, I can see your point. I’m just dying to use it.”
“Hang on, and I’m sure you’ll get the chance sooner or later. Neil, when Moose leaves to come pick us up, I want you to call the Gomez house and use one of your computerized voices to deliver the message in Spanish that the kids have been kidnapped, and that we want ten million dollars in ransom. Tell them that we’ll be back in touch with instructions, then cut the call off. That should start the ball rolling.”
“Not a problem,” Neil said. “My Spanish is pretty good, and the computer can make me sound like somebody from their neck of the woods.”
“Good. As soon as we get the nanny and kids locked away here, I'll notify Queen Allison that they're ready for pickup. We'll wait about three hours after the abduction, give it time to let the news spread about it, and if nothing is happening, then the first load of flowers can be delivered. Neil, you be sure to use a similar voice to order flowers from two or three other flower shops around town, get them delivered as quickly as possible to the Gomez house. An hour or so later, Moose, you can take the last batch of flowers to them.”
“Got it, Boss.”
“Sarah, once we drop the nanny and kids off here, we get into the car and just start circling around that area of the city. The idea is to be as close as possible when the gathering begins. Neil, you'll be keeping tabs on who's going in and out of that house, I want to get as many of them as possible inside. If we miss any, Moose and I will have to track them down and take them out one by one.”
“They all got together when that one guy was killed,” Neil said, “so I figure they'll do it again over Mrs. Gomez losing her kids. They're all supposed to be pretty close, so it would make sense.”
Noah nodded in agreement. “I think you're right, but we have to prepare for contingencies. Keep your eye on as many of those cameras as you can, I need to know about any of the targets who manage not to get caught in the trap.”
“Will do.”
FIVE
The day dragged on, but finally a big brown delivery truck appeared. Noah had put Sarah at the reception desk in the front office of the warehouse, and she smiled at the driver as he carried a box inside.
“Is this Avalon Floral?”
“It sure is,” Sarah said cheerfully. “Got something for me?”
The driver smiled and set the box on the counter in front of her, then held out a device and asked her to use a stylus to sign for the package. She quickly scribbled “Rosemary Wingo” and handed it back. The driver smiled once more, winked at her and then headed back to his truck and drove away.
Sarah grabbed the box and headed out into the warehouse, where Moose took it from her and began to open it up. The wedding dress he lifted out of it was small, but very pretty.
“Wow,” Sarah said, “that's pretty nice. If it was a little bigger, I could wear it.”
Neil spun in his chair to look at her, his eyes wide. “You guys getting married?”
Sarah's eyes were suddenly even wider than his. “What? No! No, I just meant—I mean, I was just saying—oh, shut up, Neil!”
Moose started laughing. “I wish you could see your face, Sarah,” he said. “I don't think I've ever seen you turn quite so red before.”
“You shut up, too!”