Vanishing Act. Fern Michaels

and his imminent death, preceded by total dismemberment and anything else the girls can come up with.”

      “Now you’re clicking, Harry. I think we should just cripple him, make him pee through a straw and poop into a bag. After we break every bone in his body. We could treat ourselves to his misery and go visit him in whatever nuthouse they put him in after we’re done with him.”

      Harry’s almond-shaped eyes almost widened. “You’d help me do that, Jack?”

      “Hell, yes.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.

      “You’re the best, Jack. Listen, I don’t understand any of this. Every January, I pay all my bills ahead for a full year because I don’t want to be late on a payment. I even leave a small cushion in case I make a mistake. Like an extra hundred in each account. You know how I hate getting bills. This is just the beginning of July. If I had known, had a clue, I would have done something.”

      Jack looked over at the cardboard box that held Harry’s old mail, the box that he’d dumped by the kitchen door. He pointed to it. “I bet we find something in that box that’s a clue.”

      Both men dived for the box at the same time. Before they could go through the contents, however, both men’s cell phones rang. Jack looked at the ID. Maggie.

      Harry looked at his ID. Yoko. His shoulders sagged as he got to his feet and walked out of the kitchen to take his call, leaving Jack to talk with Maggie.

      “Jack, Lizzie just called me. I’ve had my people on this for almost three months, and we’ve come up dry. Identity theft is a big thing these days. It’s the new way for the computer super-literate to fund their retirements. I’m leaving tomorrow, and we’ll all meet for dinner with you and Harry. Lizzie said she’d cook dinner for us. I didn’t know she knew how to cook, but she volunteered. I think Cosmo must like home cooking. If it was just us, we’d probably get Chinese takeout.”

      Jack groaned. He wasn’t the least bit interested in Lizzie’s culinary expertise. “Maggie, tell me there’s something we can do. Harry’s beside himself, and so am I because I bank at that goddamn place myself.”

      “It’s an identity theft ring, Jack. If you’d read my paper, you’d know we’ve been doing a series on this for months, but it’s been mostly profiles of people and what’s happened to their lives since their identities were stolen. It’s heartbreaking, and there’s no one out there to help them. They don’t have the funds to hire lawyers. They try on their own, but in most cases, it’s taking YEARS, Jack.”

      “I want you to ratchet this up and go full bore. I haven’t called the mountain yet. I’ve been kind of busy trying to get Harry into a better mind-set. We were just going to go through his box. You know, that box where he throws all his mail that he considers junk mail. Harry definitely has a thing about getting mail. We might find a clue in the box somewhere. So, I guess I’ll see you at Lizzie’s tomorrow. Did she say what time?”

      “Yes, seven o’clock, but she said to come early if we want. Ted wants to leave tonight, so we might do that. I’m not sure yet. You know Ted, he worries about Mickey and Minnie if he’s away too long. Espinosa will be back by noon tomorrow. I’m on it, Jack. Call the mountain.”

      “Harry is on the phone with Yoko right now. I have a feeling he’s not going to tell her. He really is an odd duck when it comes to Yoko. He thinks she might think he’s stupid or something dumb like that. I’ll call Nikki when I hang up. What do you think about Charles coming back to the mountain?”

      “I think with all this going on, we can use all the help we can get. I’m going to call Abner Tookus and have him hack into the bank’s accounts. You didn’t hear me say that, right, Jack?”

      “I absolutely did not hear you say you were going to call Abner Tookus to crack into the bank’s accounts. Absolutely I did not hear that.”

      “If Harry doesn’t kill you, I will. Night, Jack. See you tomorrow.”

      “Yeah, tomorrow,” Jack said, his eyes on the huge cardboard carton.

      Chapter 5

      Myra stopped watering the potted plants on the porch to watch Yoko, who was across the compound sitting on a bench under a fragrant pine tree. Something was wrong, she could tell by the set of Yoko’s shoulders, the way she was clenching the cell phone to her ear. She looked behind her to see if the others were anywhere near, but she had the porch to herself.

      Myra dropped to her knees and started plucking the yellow leaves from a vibrant scarlet geranium, but her eyes never left the little Asian girl sitting on the bench. Myra stood up when she saw Yoko get up and run to the bell. Yoko reached for the round ball, pulled back, and gave it a resounding smack against the side of the huge bell. As the sound reverberated over the mountain, she stepped back and threw her arms wide. Myra had seen Yoko do that on other occasions, and when asked what she was doing, she’d calmly said, “I’m throwing my concerns out to the universe.”

      The Sisters came from all directions, with Murphy and Grady leading the way.

      Breathless from their sprint to the compound, Kathryn bellowed the loudest. “What’s wrong?”

      The dogs barked, then howled to show they wanted to know what was wrong, too. Their afternoon swim had just been interrupted. Both dogs shook their shaggy bodies to get rid of the excess water dripping from their coats.

      The drumming hum of the sound from the bell could still be heard.

      “Harry’s in trouble!” Yoko shouted.

      The Sisters clustered around Yoko.

      Myra looked at Annie, and whispered, “It must be serious for Yoko to ring the bell.”

      Annie nodded as she led the way to the war room. They were all surprised to see Charles at his usual position behind the bank of computers. It looked like old times.

      The women all rushed to their respective chairs and waited for Charles to join them. When he did, he simply asked, “What happened?”

      Yoko stood up, her slim body quivering. Kathryn reached out and placed a steady hand on her arm.

      “I called Harry a little while ago. Jack told him to call me, but Harry didn’t want to because of the shame involved. He needs our help. Someone stole his identity. He was evicted from his dojo. He is with Jack right now. He is homeless and destitute. We have to help him. Like right now. Immediately. If you all won’t help, then I am leaving.”

      “Darling girl, no one said we won’t help,” Myra told her. “Relax, tell us everything you know. Give us something to go on, and we will act at the speed of light. Isn’t that right, Charles?” she asked briskly.

      “Myra is right. Tell us everything you know. Everything, Yoko,” Charles said.

      Yoko took a deep breath and rattled off everything Harry had grudgingly told her. She ended with, “I’m sure he left out as much as he told me. It is that shame factor, saving-face thing my people cannot let go of. He did tell me he thought Jack probably told Nikki because he thought Jack was talking to her.”

      All eyes turned to Nikki. “I was talking to Jack, but he didn’t get a chance to tell me anything because he had to talk to Lizzie. This is the first I’m hearing about Harry. If we need to vote, you have mine, Yoko.”

      Yoko nodded. “Lizzie is leaving Vegas first thing in the morning, Maggie and Ted are leaving Nantucket. Joe Espinosa is currently in Baltimore but will be back in the District by noon tomorrow. Judge Easter and Elias are in Virginia and are on the way back. I don’t know about Pearl. Harry didn’t say anything about her. All of them—well, actually, I’m not sure about Judge Easter and Elias—are going to Lizzie’s house for dinner and to talk. What can we do?”

      “First, I need to talk to Jack and Harry,” Charles said. “Harry’s bank is a good place to start, but I’m going to need other information. The person or persons who stole Harry’s identity didn’t