Chapter 19

She only had to wait a couple of minutes until Keith and his partner drove off in a patrol car without noticing her van. Penny remained in the driver's seat. She couldn't execute her plan when everywhere was still so bright. By 6:30 pm a new patrol car came in.

Hmm. There was a two-hour interval for every shift which meant it must have taken 30 minutes to drive from town to the hillside, she noted to herself. This meant she only had thirty minutes after Frank's shift to get into the house, retrieve the jewelry and escape before the next set of security came around.

By 9 darkness had fallen over the hillside. As Penny watched from the rearview mirror another patrol car drove toward the mansion. She remained still. For the next two hours, she prepared herself for her mission. From the lockpicking kit, she took out a box of latex gloves and pulled them on, nylon gloves tore too easily, and while latex left a residue she still preferred them better. Taking off her face cap, she pulled h