Girls Got Rhythm

A Chapter by Serge Wlodarski

Once they were out of sight, the women would stay in communication via a Morse code app Candy had found on the internet. Pushing “1” on the keypad would send a brief vibration to each of our phones. The plan had numbered steps. When Barbie sent a single pulse, that meant step one was complete. Barbie and Jozefien are in the bedroom.

Barbie had been a gymnast starting in the first grade, and was a star on her college team. She’d taken up rock climbing when we began planning the robbery. I had no doubt she would be able to get down from the third floor window, then scale back up again after she retrieved the tasers from the car. There were a couple of things to be done first.

Jozefien worked on the window. The security sensor consisted of a magnet attached to the sash, and a proximity detector on the frame. The magnet would move away from the proximity detector when the window opened and trigger the alarm.

To prevent this, she applied cyanocrylate glue to one side of a thin piece of plastic. The same fast-drying glue she used on her artificial fingernails. She counted to thirty as she pressed the plastic strip in place, over the edges of the magnet and the detector. She pulled gently on the plastic. It stayed.

She took a lipstick tube from her purse. One she had worked on in her shop. The bottom pulled out to reveal a ceramic screwdriver bit. It was non-magnetic and went through the metal detector unnoticed. After turning the bit around, and sliding it back into the tube, she had a functional screwdriver. She removed the screws holding the magnet in place.

Jozefien carefully pried the magnet away from the sash. Just to be sure, she grasped it with her fingers while Barbie raised the window. The glue held.

Downstairs, where the party was still going strong, I felt two short vibrations on my phone. Step two, open window, was complete. If the security system had been triggered, the system would be alarming in the office. It wasn’t. So far, so good.

One more thing before Barbie could climb down. A rope. Sasha’s skills as an artist came into play. She could do anything from painting and makeup to knitting and sewing. The tote bag she made was a popular design for hobbyists. She wrapped an inner lining with decorative rope, in a spiral from the bottom to the top. Jozefien was using it as a purse and had carried it with her.

Sasha’s design differed from the instructions in one important way. She used light duty cotton thread when she sewed the rope to the liner. When Barbie bit into the end of the rope with her teeth and yanked, it tore away. Jozefien put her hands inside the purse and held it in place while Barbie pulled the rope loose. It had looked nice when it was wrapped around the purse, and was strong enough to support Barbie’s weight.

I felt three pulses on my phone. Rope is ready. Jozefien tied one end to the heavy wooden post on the bed frame. Barbie removed her outer clothing and began limbering up. The leotard she wore would allow for easy movement, and it was the same color as the outside of the house.

She would have to climb down from the third floor, make her way to the car, and retrieve the tasers. Then make the reverse trip and scale back up to the bedroom. Without being noticed on the security cameras.

In the office, Carla and Sasha were playing poker with Rojas and the Lumberjack. The girls were laughing, flirting, and losing money. The rum continued to flow. I played guitar on the couch and kept an eye on the game. The men were not paying attention to the monitors.

The three stationary guards were supposed to be paying attention. But their desktop monitors would only show one set of camera images at a time. For 50 seconds out of each minute, they would not see any of the views that might show Barbie.

Diego was also part of the equation. For three of the five minutes during each loop around the property, the house would shield Barbie from him and the dogs. The cameras mounted on the perimeter fence made it easy to track his movement.

The pulse I sent let Barbie know she had 50 seconds. She opened the window, tossed out the rope, and climbed down. Jozefien reeled in the rope and closed the window. Barbie snuck behind the vegetation, around to the front of the house, where the Expedition was parked.

A line drawn from Hector’s guard booth to Barbie’s hiding spot would go through the large SUV. While Diego and the dogs passed the front gate, the guards’ line of sight would be blocked.

Barbie waited. I kept an eye on the wall of security monitors. The set being displayed on the guard’s monitors had the word activo superimposed at the bottom of the picture.

As Diego approached the gate, I estimated Barbie had 20 seconds before the cameras pointing at the Expedition would be active. Plenty of time. Mr. Rojas and the Lumberjack were occupied with the poker game. I sent the go signal.

She quickly covered the ground between the house and the Expedition. Jozefien had cleaned, adjusted, and greased the door hinges and locks on the vehicle. They operated silently. Barbie climbed into the car and closed the door. I watched Diego and Hector on the monitor.

By the time Diego made another loop around the property, Barbie had retrieved the tasers, and secured them in her fanny pack. I sent the signal and she retraced her steps. Jozefien threw down the rope and Barbie climbed up.

Four pulses meant Barbie and Jozefien are ready.

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