“Thanks for offering, but at the moment, I’d like you two to stay in Ames. Our first order of business needs to be setting up these cameras. We'll also need to monitor any movement, not that we won’t be recording for twenty-four hours at a time.”
“Sounds good,” Alex said.
Rider took one more look at the complex below. It was well-lit, which meant scaling the wall and attacking that way probably wouldn’t work if they only had four of them. “Let’s head on back,” he said.
They piled into Grayson’s car and returned to the motel.
* * *
Paris kept checking her watch. Five o’clock couldn’t come around soon enough. She and Jenna had left for lunch for the express purpose of installing the camera on Doug Peterson’s bumper, but just her luck, his truck hadn’t been in the lot when they left or when they returned, which was unusual for him. Doug didn’t go out to lunch often.
In case he decided to take off early for a change, Paris wanted to head out slightly before five. If Doug happened to see them and ask why she was leaving so soon, Paris would tell him she wasn’t feeling well.
At ten of five, Paris’ phone pinged. Jenna, who was all of six feet away, had texted her:I’m going to check to see if Doug is still here. Be right back.Jenna pushed back her chair. The plan was for her to go to the bathroom. In order to do so, Jenna would have to pass Doug’s office.
The next three minutes were tense while Jenna was on her mission. To make good use of her time, Paris gathered her belongings, making sure that the tiny camera was still in her purse. There was nothing to be worried about. They’d come up with a foolproof plan. She and Jenna would walk by Doug’s truck. As soon as she was certain no one was looking, the two of them would stop in front of his vehicle, stick on the camera, and move on. No one would have a reason to question them.
Paris had even thought ahead this morning when she'd parked near Doug’s vehicle. Unfortunately, he left for lunch and probably parked in a different place upon his return. Hopefully, his spot wasn’t too remote.
Jenna returned, grabbed her gear, and headed out. Paris followed. While Paris had grown up to be independent, doing this cloak and dagger stuff was rather foreign to her.
“Hey, wait up,” Paris called.
Jenna turned around and smiled. “Hey. How are you feeling?”
Jenna knew what Paris was going to claim the reason was for her leaving early. For effect, Paris grabbed her stomach and rubbed it. “Not good. I think I ate something at lunch that didn’t agree with me,” she announced rather loudly.
Her friend wrapped an arm around Paris’ waist and led her out. They walked slowly, mostly because they needed to locate Doug’s truck.
“It’s in the fourth row,” Jenna whispered, despite being outside.
When Paris spotted it, she blew out a breath. Like most of the men, he’d backed into his spot so that the front was facing outward.Good.
“Are you ready to drop your purse in front of his car if anyone’s around?” Paris asked.
The five o'clock parking lot was always more crowded than at noon, so they'd come up with a new plan.
“I got this. Remember, I acted in high school.”
That made Paris smile. “I would have loved to have seen that.”
“If you’re good, I might show you a video of my three-minutes of fame.”
That image helped calm Paris’ nerves. “Let’s do this.”
Jenna released her hold on Paris. As they approached Doug’s truck, Jenna pretended to trip and drop her purse.
“You okay?” Once more, Paris asked loud enough for anyone nearby to hear.
“I think so.” Jenna bent down to pick up a few items that had rolled out.
Paris pretended that one item had disappeared under Doug’s vehicle. When she went to grab this non-existent item, she stuck her hand in her purse, pulled out the camera, as well as the decoy lipstick should she need it.
After taking a quick glance around and not spotting anyone, she affixed the camera on the passenger side front bumper. She then stood.
Jenna finished gathering her things.
Just then an angry Doug Peterson charged toward them. “What are you ladies doing?”