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drive.”
    “You’re such a critic, Annie, but I love you anyway.”

Chapter 4
    Jack Emery, his mood buoyant after his patch-up session with his wife, was staring off into space. They were out of the woods, he was sure of it. Nikki had been so contrite, so loving, so willing to make amends for the months of misery she’d caused him. Life was looking better than it had in months. And soon it would get even better once his little group embarked on young Dennis’s plan. Win-win.
    Cyrus heaved himself up and raced from the office. Jack looked at the clock on the wall. He’d called a meeting late last night, sending out texts to the guys to report in no later than ten. It sounded from where he was sitting that the guys had all arrived at the same time. He knew that Abner was already here since he’d noticed the red light over the computer door when he’d come in. Cyrus had verified it by sniffing the door and offering up a bark of agreement.
    Dennis’s exuberance was infectious as he slapped down six copies of the Post. Jack whistled when he scanned the article. Abner, who had exited his lair, grinned from ear to ear. “They are toast! By they I mean Sandford and Marks. I’ve been hacking for forty-eight hours, and it’s mind-boggling what I came up with and downright scary the lengths those two have gone to attempting to hide their assets. But I found them!”
    Cyrus barked shrilly, then threw his head back and howled. He loved it when his friends got excited; he would bark and they’d all give him a treat to show their appreciation. Today was no exception. One by one, the guys handed out the treats they now knew to carry with them. Cyrus was officially one of them and in excellent standing.
    “Are we gonna love your findings?” Espinosa asked.
    “Absolutely. Stealing it is another matter entirely,” Abner said happily. “Here’s the thing: Lionel Marks was accessing some of his accounts while I was in full hack mode, and the dumb schmuck didn’t even know it. I’m thinking I need to do something to . . . ah . . . maybe freeze his monies. I’m also thinking he might be thinking about a hasty exit sometime soon.”
    Dennis’s eyes grew round. “You can do that?”
    “Oh, yeah,” Abner drawled.
    “But what if you get caught? That’s illegal,” Dennis said in a jittery voice.
    “Rule Number 3, kid,” Espinosa said.
    “What’s Rule Number 3?”
    “Same as Rule Number 2,” Ted said.
    Dennis was getting more jittery by the moment. “What’s Rule Number 2?”
    “Same as Rule Number 1,” Harry snapped.
    “And what’s that?” Dennis demanded, his face beet red.
    “Rule Number 1 is the same as Rule Number 2 and Rule Number 3. We do whatever it takes. End. Fini. ¿ Comprende ?”
    “Okay, got it. Whatever it takes. Okay. Okay.”
    “Can we move on here now?” Ted asked. “I want to know about Sandford.”
    “The guy is too cocky in my opinion even to think he could be tied to the real estate in SE. You want me to knock him down a peg or two?”
    “Not yet, Abner. I think we should keep our eye on Marks. Ted, you’re going to continue this daily, right, make a series out of it?”
    “You bet. I can feel a Pulitzer all the way down my spine. Dennis and I have our next installment about ready to go. We just need to tweak it. What’s with this meeting anyway?”
    “Some assignments. Ted, I want you and Espinosa to go to Middleburg and talk to Mrs. Sandford. I saw in the home style section yesterday that she left their government house to get her farmhouse ready for the holidays. She always wins some kind of prize for her decorations according to the local paper in Middleburg. I want you to take a lot of pictures and try to come up with our snatch and grab when the time is right. We need to get this set up, start a countdown so we wind it up by Christmas. We need to have a clear slate come January 2, so we can take on Nikki’s class-action cases. You okay with that, Ted?”
    “What about