Buchanan, Oregon didn’t see many rockhounds showing up anymore. Coveted thundereggs they sought were gone. Nobody in town knew much about what had happened to them.
Caroline realized she didn’t know much about Cecile or the reasons why she was on the run from the cartel.
They were playing hearts when Cecile told them how she had tried to create a new identity as a waitress in Laguna Beach and how they had found her.
Then came the attempt on her life at the Hotel Bel-Air.
Caroline figured this was a good time to begin to fill them in on her own occupation.
She explained her thievery was more or less chronic and that she had stolen 427 vehicles over the past 14 years. She had been through towns all over the west, from Buchanan, Oregon to Pastura, New Mexico and had never been caught.
What she didn’t tell them was stealing cars served as a recreational sideline.
They kept playing hearts. Now and then one of them would look up to admire the framed portrait of Teddy Roosevelt that hung on the living room wall.
Nick opened a bottle of Malibu Rocky Oaks Estate Vineyards 2019 Pinot Noir.
Caroline figured later on she’d let them know her core business was the lost art of the pickpocket, acquiring smartphones, wallets and purses.
Pretty soon she’d explain the lucrative nature of mining the wealth of digital apps, debit and credit cards.
