Second Story Men

Chapter 1-2

“Something smells delicious,” Myles said almost nine hours later as he came into the kitchen.

“Chicken and dumplings, and steamed cauliflower au gratin.”

“Great. Let me get changed then I’ll set the table. Or not,” Myles added when he saw Amery had already done so. He went upstairs, traded his slacks and work shirt for black sweatpants and a dark blue T-shirt, and returned to the dining room. Amery had dinner on the table by the time he got there, so they sat down to eat.

“How was your day?” Amery asked.

“Not bad. For a change, most of the people I dealt with knew what they wanted. Those that didn’t were willing to take my suggestions.” Myles chuckled. “Probably, because they wanted to get finished in a hurry so they could go home or wherever to enjoy the beautiful day.”

“It was a nice one. I took a long bike ride.”

Myles arched an eyebrow. “Let me guess. You rode past the Newells’ place.”

“I did. A Mercedes was parked in the driveway behind the house and I saw a Lexus in the garage. No, I didn’t sneak into the garage. The door was open. There wasn’t anything that indicated they have any kids still living at home.”

“One of the cars could belong to a son or daughter.”

“Nope,” Amery replied. “I checked when I got back. They’re both registered to Mr. Newell, although I’d bet the Lexus is his wife’s. I also found out the son is back east, visiting his mother and her new husband and the daughter’s upstate with her fiancé, all according to her f*******: page.”

“Good. One less thing to worry about. As soon as we’ve finished dinner, let’s take a stroll around their neighborhood.”

An hour later, when it was beginning to get dark, the two of them were casually walking down the block in front of the Newells’ home.

“Left at the next street corner,” Amery said. It took them past the side of the house, and another left took them down a very well-maintained alley. Over the wall surrounding the Newells’ back yard, they could see the patio roofs and the second floor windows without any problem, as Amery pointed out. “Unfortunately, thanks to the wall, we can’t see the back yard itself. We’ll worry about it later, though.”

“Good, and not good,” Myles replied, nodding to the house across the alley. “If anyone there looks out their rear windows at the wrong time…”

“We’ll be going in well after midnight.”

“True, but…” Myles knelt as if to tie his shoelace, giving them a reason to stop where they were. “The best bet would be those windows closest to the garage. The pine trees hide them—and our getting to them—from anyone in the other house,” he said, pointing.

“One possibility. Let’s check the front view again.”

They walked the rest of the way down the alley, then made their way back to the parkway across the street, facing the house.

“There, above the back end of the garage roof,” Amery said without pointing.

“I see it. The window’s pretty small, so it might be for a bathroom, which would be ideal.”

“I agree.”

There were benches in the parkway, so they sat down, at which point Myles said, “What the hell is that for?” gesturing to the circle filled with small stones in front of the benches.

“Decorative? Got me.” Amery leaned back, arms behind his head, as he covertly watched the Newells’ home. “Lights on in the living room, giving us a good view of the interior,” he said softly.

“Are they asking for trouble?” Myles replied. “Or are they exhibitionists?”

Amery shrugged. “That or they turned them on before dark and forgot the drapes were open.”

As if he had overheard them, the man they knew was Mr. Newell from pictures in the society column, came to the large front window, looked out, then drew the drapes.

They continued sitting there, watching as lights went out downstairs and on in one of the bedrooms, they presumed, on the second floor. At one point Amery said, “Yep, it’s a bathroom,” pointing to the spill of light hitting Spanish clay tiles on the garage roof.

“Figured, since the lights are on in the room next to it, facing the street.” Myles checked the time. “Just after ten. If this is their normal bedtime when he’s got to go to work the next day…”

“It’ll make getting the necklace easier, if we have to do it while they’re home.”

“If—” Myles stressed the word, “—the safe we’ll be searching for isn’t in their bedroom.”

“One of the many things we need to find out, beginning with what kind of security they have on the place. Let’s go home and I’ll start looking.” Amery chuckled. “And hope it’s not my company that installed it.” Since he worked as a security guard for a large, local company, it was definitely a possibility.

“If they did, it would make it easier for you to get the details.”

“True.”

They took one more walk around the house, at which point they saw another lighted room on the second floor.

“Separate bedrooms?” Myles conjectured when they were back on the street. “Since it’s on the same end of the upstairs as the other room?”

“That or a sitting room. We’ll find out. For now…” Amery put his arm around Myles’ shoulders as they started back to where they’d parked the car, two blocks away.

Myles smiled, turning to look at his husband, and they shared a brief kiss, raising the eyebrows of a man coming toward them, walking his dog.

“It’s okay. We’re married,” Myles said, grinning.

The shocked look on the man’s face before he turned around, quickly heading back the way he’d come, had Amery shaking his head, muttering, “At least he didn’t tell us what he was thinking.”

“Probably for the best. You’d have cold-c****d him.”

“Me? Never. I’d have taken a deep breath, told him to grow up, and kept walking,” Amery replied.

“Swearing under your breath the whole way to the car.”

“Well, yeah.”

* * * *

The first thing Amery did when they got home was go into the office to boot up the computer. When he was online, he checked to find out if the company he worked for had installed the system at the Newells’ home.

“And?” Myles asked, looking over Amery’s shoulder.

“Nope. So let’s see if I can find out who they are using.”

Myles knew he’d have no real problem with that. Amery’s computer skills, as far as searching for information they needed, were excellent.

“They did pick one of the best in the business,” Amery said a few minutes later. “Not that it matters. We’ve dealt with security systems they’ve installed, more than once. We’ll just have to plan on it taking time to breach it.”

Myles nodded. “Find out if the Newells are going to be gone for an evening, or even a weekend, if you can.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Amery replied. It didn’t take long for him to discover that the Newells were planning on a trip to Aspen the following weekend. Information he acquired from their daughter’s f*******: account. “Gotta love people who have to tell all to the world at large,” he said, shaking his head in amusement.

“We’d be dead without them, sometimes,” Myles agreed. “Now shut down for tonight. We both work tomorrow and if you want to do anything other than sleep…” He cupped Amery’s face in his hands, kissing him thoroughly.

“Message received.”