The Heist

downloads.”
    “I’m on Social Security, honey,” Janice said. “It barely covers the price of cigarettes.”
    “You’re still smoking?” Sharon said. “You’re using an oxygen tank.”
    “Oh, relax,” Janice said. “You don’t have to make a federal case out of it.”
    “
This
is the federal case,” Sharon said, holding up a DVD. “What you’re doing is criminal copyright infringement.”
    Janice dismissed Sharon with a wave of her bony hand. “That movie sucked.”
    The other woman spoke up. “I wish they’d make more musicals.”
    Kate’s phone rang. The caller was Jessup.
    “Nick Fox escaped on his way to court,” he said.
    Thank God
, Kate thought.
    “Damn,” she said, trying to sound suitably angry, which she knew she should be, instead of joyously relieved. “Un-friggin’-believable. How could that have happened?”
    “Smoke and mirrors,” Jessup said. “I’ll fill you in on the details later.”
    “I’ll be back in the office in an hour.”
    “There’s no rush,” Jessup said. “I just didn’t want you hearing about the escape on the news. Special Agent Ryerson is handling the case.”
    “Ryerson? He couldn’t find the fortune in a fortune cookie,” Kate said. “Nobody knows Nick Fox better than I do.”
    “The feeling upstairs is that we need a fresh perspective.”
    “By the time someone else gets up to speed on Nick Fox, the
Mona Lisa
will be gone and Donald Trump will be broke, and everybody will be wondering how the heck he did it.”
    “You think Fox is going after the
Mona Lisa
and Donald Trump?”
    “I don’t know what he’s going after,” Kate said. “But I know I’m the only one who can catch him.”
    “You had your shot,” Jessup said.
    “And I got him,” Kate said. “Someone else lost him.”
    “I’m sorry,” Jessup said. “But this is the way it’s got to be.”

Kate had several weeks of vacation time banked, so two days after her conversation with Jessup she cashed her days in and showed up at the door of her father’s
casita
. It was lunchtime, and she’d brought her MacBook, a six-pack of beer, and a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. She knew that her sister would be at a Mommy and Me gym class with her kids and that Roger would be at work.
    Her father greeted her in a polo shirt and chinos and immediately relieved her of the bucket and the six-pack.
    “You are the perfect daughter,” Jake said, stepping aside and beckoning her in. “But I will deny it if you ever tell Megan.”
    His
casita
was like a large hotel room and just about as clean and impersonal. There was one bedroom, Jake’s bed always made up as tight as a sarcophagus, and a tiny bath and a kitchenette that opened onto a front room barely large enough for a small table, a love seat, and a flat-screen TV. Jake hadn’t kept any mementosfrom his career and world travels, except for his medals, which included a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star. He kept the medals tucked away in his nightstand drawer with his spare change and antacids. The only personal items on display were pictures of Kate, Megan, and their mother in small frames on the nightstand.
    Kate put her laptop on the table. “I’m sure you tell Megan the same thing.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” Jake said, pulling plates from the cupboard and setting them on the table.
    “She says you tell her that she’s the perfect daughter all the time.”
    “That’s absolutely not true,” Jake said, opening the bucket and helping himself to the biggest, greasiest piece of chicken he could find.
    “That’s a pro forma denial.” Kate got a piece of chicken for herself and cracked open a beer. “I bet she’s never brought you a bucket of chicken.”
    “She’s worried about my heart,” Jake said.
    “Your heart is fine. It’s cast-iron and wrapped in Kevlar. Just like mine.”
    “I’m not sure that’s such a good thing for you. Have you heard about the pilot Megan met? He’s traveling half the time, so if you’re worried about some guy clinging to you, then he’s perfect.”
    “Please, not you too,” Kate said. “The last thing I need is my family meddling in my love life.”
    “We just want you to be happy.”
    “I am.”
    “Really?” He studied his enormous chicken breast, as if trying to determine the best angle of attack. “It’s great that you’re here,but it’s the last thing I expected, not with Nick Fox on the loose again.”
    Of course Jake knew all about that.