Gifted Grifter #5: Lake Country Girls
I decided to go up the lake country area for the weekend again. I put in a call to Erin, my red-haired real estate agent up there, and told her what I was looking for and at what price. The first time I had rented through her, I had seduced her using my mindreading sunglasses, but the second time she had been all business. I guess this time would be the tiebreaker.
In order to have any chance at seducing her again, I figured, two things had to happen. One, I had to get her out of the office. And two, I had to get her at the end of the day or, better still, after hours. I guessed she would be more amenable to working late on a Thursday than a Friday, so when I called Erin up I told her I wanted to rent a place, but I made up a story about coming from government business in Jersey (I don't know why I picked Jersey) and that I couldn't get up there until 5:30 or 6:00. I told her to pick a place for me, and I'd pay her double commission if she could meet me at the cottage with the papers at 6 on Thursday. She wasn't real happy about the idea, but she did agree to it because (1) she bought into the cloak-and-dagger stories I fed her bigtime, (2) she needed the commissions and (3) she had in fact dumped the boyfriend that was causing her trouble when I first met her—so she didn't really have anyplace better to go.
"Now, don't get any idea that because I'm meeting you at the place after hours I'm going to be providing extra service," she said; extra service was her euphemism for having sex with me.
"Oh, no, that's the furthest thing from my mind," I lied, "and I really appreciate your going out of your way to get me settled."
Okay, so I had her in the right place and time. But she was pretty adamant about maintaining her professional code of ethics; it was only due to a series of emotionally draining circumstances that I had succeeded in seducing her the first time. How was I going to get around that this time?
I actually arrived at the address Erin had picked for me at 4:30. I walked around and found that there was a private dock with a bench at the end of it. Perfect. I sat on it, looking out at the lake, waiting for Erin to arrive. I was wearing my mindreading sunglasses and playing with a canister of spare electronics I had brought along.
I heard the car drive up and park. Erin knew I was there because there was a car parked on the grass. "Mark?" she called from far away; that was the name she knew me by. I pretended not to hear.
She started to walk around the property; she knew I couldn't be inside, because I didn't have the combination to the keysafe that held the door keys. She went around the back but didn't see me at first, not expecting me to be, well, in the middle of the lake. "Mark?" she called again. She walked to the other side of the property and looked but did not see me, so she headed for the lake. Only then did she see the back of a head sitting on a bench at the end of the dock, and assuming it was me headed towards it.
She walked halfway out on the dock, and said in more conversational tone "Mark?"
I turned around like it was the first time I'd hear. "Oh, hi Erin, thanks for coming out here with the rental papers. I was just sitting here admiring the lake."
I turned towards the lake wistfully. "It's a beautiful lake, isn't it Erin? Sure would be a shame if it became poisoned, of if the lakefront lands became uninhabitable, wouldn't it?" I turned towards her quickly "Do you have well water where you live, Erin?"
"Um, I'm not sure," she said.
"Drink well water, Erin," I said, looking back out at the lake, "at least for the next three or four days. If you can't get well water, drink bottled water. Oh, and long baths, swimming, or water sports might be better left for next week too." That ought to get her attention.
"You're scaring me," she said. Good; fear, like tears, are a grifter's friend.
"Life is scary," I said, looking back at the lake, "because the world is full of scary people." I wasn't speaking very loudly, and when I looked away I was hard to hear—that was my intent. She walked all the way out on the dock now, and stood by the edge of the bench, facing my side as I sat. She was wearing a black skirt with matching suitjacket and a jewel-blue, satiny blouse (probably sleeveless based on the neckline).
I was suddenly animated and turned to her saying "But whatever you do, DON'T start telling people what I just told you! We're hot on the trail, unless these guys are a lot more clever than I think they are, we'll get to them before they can do anything serious. But if there's a panic, not only will people hurt themselves doing stupid things, but it'll tip them off that we're on to them. So whatever you do, keep what I told you under your hat! Just for yourself—try to avoid lake water for a few days."
She was suitably speechless. Her thoughts were about fear, wondering what would happen to the water, wondering what my role was in protecting the public from it. Vague senses of gratitude for public service and awe at the spy-stuff; I'd want to build on that.
"See what I mean? I found this," I said, looking away from her at the can of spare parts.
"What is it?" She asked.
I half-turned and handed it towards the empty seat as if I was passing a plate to someone sitting next to me. As I hoped, her curiosity got the better of her and she sat down next to me. I handed her the can, crossed my legs in a way that I was turned 45 degrees toward her, and put my arm around the back of the bench where she sat.
"It was a delivery device. I found it right by the water's edge—empty. I think it always was empty; probably a test of their delivery system. Makes me wonder if...say, Erin, have any of these other cottages been up for rent recently?"
She looked around. "I can't say for sure, but probably not many. This one is the only one on this street that I can remember seeing in the rental books."
"So did they rent this place, or did they use this piece of waterfront because they knew it was empty?" I wondered aloud. "Has this place rented a lot this season?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's in a great location, so it's almost always booked," she replied.
"I wonder if...would it be hard to get a list of everyone that has rented this property this year, or any others nearby?"
"No, I could just run a rental history on the address back at the office..." she replied.
"Oh, well, never mind then. I would need to know by tomorrow morning, and I'm already keeping you after hours." I said.
As I hoped, her sense of wanting to help a good cause and the intrigue I was fabricating were more important than her Thursday evening. "The office isn't too far, I could run back and get that information. Are there names you're looking for?" she asked.