Wicked Business (Lizzy and Diesel 2)

“Maybe the message will be revealed to us if we set the ball in motion,” I said to Diesel. “Can you get it to move? You know, think it to move or something?”

“That’s not in my skill set. I can’t make a cow fly, either.”

We stared at the display some more. The Motion Machine looked like something you might find in Sharper Image. One of those desktop gizmo presents for people who have everything.

“Unlocking things is in your skill set,” I said. “Can you open the case?”

“Yep. It has a little lock on the bottom where it’s attached to the pedestal. It’s similar to the kind of lock you find on jewelry cases in department stores. Problem is, what happens when I get it unlocked?”

“I guess you steal it.”

“Do you have a plan for that, too?”

“Carl and I will create a diversion, you put the Motion Machine in your backpack and walk out with it.”

“And what happens if I get caught?”

“I’ll swear I never saw you before in my life.”

“I guess it could work,” Diesel said.

“And if not, you can let yourself out of prison.”

“That’s cold,” Diesel said.

I smiled at him. “If you don’t get caught, I’ll be nice to you tonight.”

His eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

“How nice?” he asked.

“Very nice.”

“Will you come to bed naked?”

“No, but I’ll make you cookies.”

He grinned back at me. “No deal. If I pull this off, you have to come to bed naked.”

“That might encourage me to make sure you get caught.”

He shook his head. “You can’t do that. We have responsibilities.”

“Wouldn’t it be frustrating for me to come to bed naked?”

“I can deal.”

Yeah, I thought, but what about me? I could barely deal with all my clothes on.

“We’ll see,” I told him. “Try not to get caught.”

Diesel put his hand to the bottom of the case and moved his fingers across the little silver lock. “Done. Your turn.”

I looked down at Carl. “You need to create havoc in here,” I said. “We don’t want anyone looking at Diesel. And when I whistle, I want you to get out of the building and go to the car in the parking lot.”

“Chee,” Carl said. And he gave me a thumbs-up.

There were about twenty people in the area, plus the docent. Carl scampered across the room, snatched a woman’s purse, and ran off with it.