Sweet Revenge

romantic than she wanted to admit.
    Philip questioned her, point by point, moving forward, backtracking, overlapping while the snow fell steadily outside. When dusk came early, they switched on the lights and reheated coffee. The files and ledgers, the occasional click of a calculator gave their plotting the atmosphere of a business meeting. He made his own notes while they picked at an evening meal of cold sandwiches.
    “How can you be sure the security system hasn’t been updated?”
    “I still have contacts inside.” Adrianne wrinkled hernose.
The
dregs of the coffee were bitten “Cousins, aunts. When Abdu’s son—”
    “Your brother?”
    “Abdu’s son,” she repeated. She wanted no emotion there. It would hurt too much to think of the little boy and how terribly she had loved him. “When he attended college in California, we spent a little time together. I washable to finesse some information. Like most members of the House of Jaquir who travel abroad, Fahid considered himself very Americanized very progressive. At least while he was wearing Levis and driving a Porsche. He wanted to see Abdu make some changes politically and culturally. One of his complaints was that the palace re
main
much the same as it has for centuries. The guards still carry arms, when a modern electronic security system would make it unnecessary.”
    “That’s outside.”
    “Yes. The guards and the palace’s position are enough to insure security. Particularly since no one in Jaquir would consider challenging it. There are ramparts and battlements on this side, the sea on that, making a clandestine approach from the outside difficult. Which is why I will exercise my right to be housed inside.”
    “Give me the rundown on the vault one more time.” He touched a finger to the blueprints.
    “The vault is more than a hundred years old. It’s twenty feet square, airtight, soundproof. Shortly after the turn of the century, an adulterous wife was locked inside so that she could die slowly, and alone, among a mountain of jewels. It was once called the treasure room, but since then has been known as Berina’s Tomb.” She rubbed eyes gritty with strain. “Sometime after World War Two the door of the vault was modernized. It has three locks, two combinations, and one key. The key is traditional. The ruler of Jaquir carries it on his person as a symbol of his power to open, or to close.”
    “And the alarms?”
    She sighed and pushed her empty cup aside. “Installed in the seventies, when the oil boom brought so many infidels to Jaquir and the Middle East.”
    “Infidels?”
    She ignored the amusement in his tone. “American businessmen in particular. As in most Arab countries, theywere both used and despised. Their technology was needed, and needed desperately to allow Jaquir to profit from its oil. Money flowed, progress in certain areas was made. Electricity, modern roads, an upswing in education and health care. But foreigners were never trusted. In order to insure that none of them entered the palace without supervision, or that no one in the palace left to fraternize, the alarms were installed. Again, they are mainly to guard against break-in. There was, however, a system installed on the vault.” She pushed the specs toward him. “Very basic, really. The wires can be clamped and deactivated, here and here at the source.” She indicated the points. “I prefer that to cutting in this case, as it may be some time after the theft before I can leave the country.”
    “That takes care of the alarm when you unlock the door, not when it’s opened.”
    “I’ve had to rig a remote control for the secondary alarm. It’s very similar to the device used to control stereo components or a television from across the room. It’s taken me nearly a year to perfect it.”
    “And you’re quite sure you’ve succeeded?”
    “I used it on the Barnsworth job last fall.” She gave him a bland smile. “Electronics are rather a speciality of mine.”
    “I’ve noticed.”
    “With it, I’ll be able to shut off the alarm from a distance of one hundred and twenty feet. The tricky part comes from a more human element. Guards patrol the palace inside as well. Until I’m in, I won’t be able to learn the timetable.”
    “Security cameras?”
    “None. Abdu abhors cameras.”
    “What’s this?”
    “The old tunnel into the harem from the king’s rooms. A woman could be sent for and leave the harem without risking showing