James Patterson: Lifeguard

“So what the hell is that ?” Barney nudged him with the black satchel containing his tools. At the end of the long pebbled driveway, there was this huge, lit-up marble… bowl.

“Birdbath,” Mickey answered, and grinned.

“Birdbath?” Barney shrugged and adjusted the brim of his police cap. “More like a fucking pterodactyl!”

Mickey’s watch read 8:15. Dee had called in; Ned, as expected, had done his job. Cop cars were probably bouncing all over town right now. He knew there were cameras hidden in the trees, so they kept their faces hidden under their caps. In front of the oak doors, he took a last glance at Bobby and Barney. They were ready. They had waited a long time for this.

Mickey rang the bell, and a minute later a Latino housekeeper answered. Mickey knew there was no one else in the house. He explained how there were disturbances all over town, and an alarm had gone off there, and they were sent to check it out. Maybe she noticed Barney’s bag. Maybe she wondered where their car was. But a second later, Bobby whacked her with his Maglite and dragged her into a closet. She never got a decent look. He came back wearing a smirk as wide as the Charles River. A million-dollar smile.

They were in!

THE FIRST THING WAS to disable the interior alarm. The paintings and sculptures were wired to contact points that would go off if they were lifted. Motion detectors, too. Mickey unfolded a piece of paper he had stuffed in his uniform pocket.

He punched in the numbers on a digital plate: 10-02-85.

This better work. Everything depended on the… next… couple…of… seconds.

A green light flashed on. Systems clear ! For the first time, Mickey’s stomach actually relaxed. A grin came over his face. This was going to happen! He winked at Bobby and Barney. “Okay, fellas, the place is ours.”

In front of them, a carved mahogany archway led into the large vaulted living room. Spectacular stuff was just about everywhere. Art all over the walls. There was a large stone fireplace and some scene from Venice over the mantel. A Canaletto, but he’d been told to leave it. Blue and white Chinese urns, bronze Brancusis. A chandelier that looked as if it came from a czar. Six French doors led out to a patio overlooking the sea.

“I don’t know if this is what that guy meant when he said the rich were different from us,” Barney said, gawking, “but, uh… holy shit.”

“Forget it.” Mickey grinned excitedly. “This is cab fare compared with what we’ve come for!”

He knew where to go. The Cézanne was in the dining room. That was to the right. Barney took out a hammer and a file from his black case to pry the canvases out of their heavy antique frames.

The dining room had flocked red wallpaper and a long polished table with giant candelabra. It looked as though it could seat half the free world.

Mickey’s heart was pounding. Look for the Cézanne , he was saying to himself – apples and pears . On the right-hand wall.

But instead of the $5 million thrill he was expecting to feel, his insides turned to ice. Cold, right at the center of his chest.

The wall was empty. There was no still life. No Cézanne.

The painting wasn’t there !

Mickey felt a sharp stab through his heart. For a second, the three of them stood there, staring at the empty space. Then he took off, running to the other side of the house.

The library.

The Picasso was over the fireplace on the wall. Mickey’s blood was rushing and hot. Everything had been mapped out. He ran into the book-lined room.

Another chill. No, this was more like a freezer blast.

No Picasso ! This wall space was empty, too! Suddenly he felt like vomiting. “What the fuck -?”

Mickey ran like a madman back to the front of the house. He bounded up the large staircase to the second floor. This was their last chance. The bedroom. There was supposed to be a Jackson Pollock on the bedroom wall. They weren’t going to lose this. He’d worked too hard. This was their ticket out. He had no idea what the hell was going on.

Mickey got there first, Bobby and Barney right behind him. They stopped and stared at the wall, the same nauseated look on all their faces.

“Sonuvabitch!” Mickey shouted. He smashed his fist through a framed print on the wall, leaving his knuckles bloody.

The Pollock was gone. Just like the Picasso and the Cézanne. He wanted to kill whoever did this – whoever had stolen his dreams.

Someone had set them up!

SEEMS SILLY NOW…an orange martini…a sailboat drifting on a blue Caribbean sea…

That’s what I was thinking when I first got word something had gone wrong.

I was parked on South County Road, across from the Palm Beach firehouse, tracking the cop cars racing by me, lights and sirens blaring. I had done my job really, really well.

I was letting myself think about Tess lying next to me on the deck. In a tight little suit, all gorgeous and tanned. And we were sipping those martinis. Don’t know who was making them. Let’s throw in a skipper and a crew. But we were somewhere in the Caribbean. And they tasted soooo good.

That’s when Dee ’s voice crackled on the walkie-talkie. “Ned, where are you? Neddie !”

Just hearing her voice made me nervous all over again. I wasn’t supposed to hear from her until we met back at the house in Lake Worth at 9:30. She sounded scared. I think I knew right then that the scene on the sailboat was never going to happen.

“Ned, something’s gone wrong!” Dee shouted. “Get back here, right now!”

I picked up the receiver and pressed the TALK button. “ Dee, what do you mean, ‘gone wrong’?”

“The job’s busted,” she said. “It’s goddamn over, Ned.”

I had known Dee since we were kids. She was always cool. But disappointment and anger were exploding through her voice.

“What do you mean ‘busted’?” I said. “Bobby and Mickey, are they all right?”

“Just get back here,” she said. “Mickey’s contact… Gachet. The bastard set us up!”

My heart almost came to a full stop at that moment. What did Dee mean, ‘set us up’?

My head dropped to rest on the steering wheel. All I knew was a name – Gachet. Mickey never told us any more. But it was clear, the job was gone. My million dollars, too. Then I realized it could get worse. Much worse . Mickey, Bobby, and Barney could get nabbed.

I put the car in gear but I wasn’t sure where I should go. Back to the safe house? Or to my room at Sollie’s, and just stay clear? I suddenly realized that everything was in jeopardy. My job, my place at Sollie’s. My whole life. I flashed to Tess… Everything !

I started to drive. I made a right onto Royal Palm Way, heading toward the middle bridge over to West Palm.

Suddenly sirens blared all around me. I froze. I looked behind and there were cops cars gaining on me. My heart got a jolt as if I had touched a live wire. I was caught! I slowed, waiting for them to pull me over.

But, incredibly, they raced right by. Two black-andwhites. They weren’t looking for me, or even headed in the direction of Ocean House, or of any of the places I’d set off alarms. Weird .

Suddenly they turned down Cocoanut Row, the last major street before the bridge. They made a sharp left into traffic, sirens blaring, lights flashing. Didn’t make sense at all.

Where could they be headed with all the shit going on all over town? I followed, at least for a couple of blocks. The black-and-whites turned onto Australian Avenue. I saw them come to a stop halfway down the block.