Chapter Four – A Tale of Spies and Burglars
Caroline was starting to wonder if her parents had been really wrong. She and Carter had been watching the Campbells for two days, or at least they had been trying to. Not only hadn't they seen anything to support the suspicion of them being spies, they hadn't seen anything at all. From what they could tell the Campbells were never home. She was about to give up for the day when she spotted a car pulling in next door. In a flash she pushed herself away from the window and bolted out of her room to find Carter. He was right where she'd expected to find him, sitting in front of the TV playing video games. She dropped to her knees next to him and nudged his shoulder.
"Carter!"
"I'm busy."
"Carter!"
"Not now, Caroline!"
"Carter, they're finally home!"
Carter dropped his controller with a thud and spun to face Caroline, his eyes wide.
"Seriously?" he demanded. "Then why are we still here? Let's go!"
"We're still here because you wouldn't listen to me," she muttered under her breath as she followed after him.
They both raced up the steps to Caroline's room since she had the best view of the house next door. It wasn't somewhere their parents would be constantly watching them either. Not being noticed by their parents was turning out to be the most challenging part of their plan.
"You're right. There are lights on inside."
"I told you. Are they doing anything?"
"Can't tell, but I don't think so."
Little did they know that they weren't the only ones that had spotted their neighbors. Joan and Arthur had noticed the children in the upstairs window shortly after arriving home. It was their first chance to give the kids some fake clues. Since Arthur was going to be diving under bushes, Joan decided to take the first round. Considering what they had planned it was probably better that way. She wouldn't want him getting hurt. Joan quickly changed clothes and headed toward the back door, making a point to pass by the windows in view of the children's upstairs window.
"Carter, look what she's wearing!"
"I can see it myself you know."
He wasn't sure how anyone could miss what she was wearing. The all black clothes she had on stood out quite a lot. Carter watched as she headed to the door and stopped to pull her hair back into a ponytail before pulling the hood of her sweatshirt up.
"Why did she put the hood up?" Caroline asked. "It's not that cold out."
"Shh. Just watch."
Caroline glared at him but then turned her eyes back toward the window. It was just in time to see Joan slip out the back door. Her eyes shifted around, checking to make sure the coast was clear. When her scan turned toward their house Carter and Caroline dropped down out of sight.
"Did she see us?" Caroline asked frantically.
"I don't know. Stay down until I make sure she's not still watching us."
He slowly peeked over the edge of the window sill. Joan's head swung away from their house once more before she started forward again.
"She's not looking anymore."
Caroline popped up beside him, but Carter pushed her head down.
"Hey!" she whined.
"Stay down like I am. You can still see but we won't be easy to spot if she looks up here again."
She did as he asked and together they watched again. Joan headed through her backyard, keeping a careful watch out for anyone nearby. The further away from the illuminated areas around the house she got the harder it was to see her. Darkness had already been settling in when the Campbells had arrived home, and by the time Joan had made it outside it would have been dark enough for fireworks. It was definitely dark enough to almost fully hide someone wearing black too. When she reached the far side of the yard she did something neither of them expected. She went over the back fence. Caroline and Carter turned to stare at each other with wide eyes and open mouths. Neither one said anything for a few seconds.
"How did she do that?" Caroline finally asked.
"I have no idea."
He knew she hadn't made it over in one move, but it was too dark and the fence was too far away for him to see more than that. Even if he didn't know how she'd done it, it was still a cool trick. Something a spy would do.
"Do you think she's going to come back over the fence?"
"Probably not for a while. I don't see Mr. Campbell anywhere either. We can keep watching, but I don't think we'll see anything else."
"I want to keep watching. We could miss something."
Carter shrugged.
"Whatever you want to do."
He wasn't going to stick around and watch for the rest of the night when it wasn't likely for them to see anything else.
Next door on the other side of the fence Joan nudged her hood off her head and began creeping around the fence line. She didn't want to be mistaken for a real burglar so she pulled her gloves off and unzipped the hoodie too. Thankfully she didn't have very far to go. Arthur had left a window open on the opposite side of the house from the Hamlins. It wouldn't be hard to get back inside without notice from the kids. Hopefully the neighbors on the other side wouldn't spot her and call the cops either. Having them show up at her home would definitely ruin the show she'd put on for the kids.
Joan slipped through the window and found Arthur waiting for her. She smiled at him before turning back to close and lock the window.
"Went well?"
"They were definitely watching. They tried to duck down when I looked up at the window, but it wasn't fast enough."
"How was going over the fence?"
"A bit harder than it used to be, I'll admit. Some of the shrubs might have taken a little damage."
"Cheater."
Joan snorted, took Arthur's arm, and leaned against him.
"I'd like to see you try. You would have needed more help than a shrub to get over if you didn't kill yourself in the process."
"Joan, you underestimate me."
"I don't think so. Don't forget how long you've been out of the field and how old you are."
"Not that much different from you," he protested.
"So you say."
She eyed Arthur sidelong with a tiny smile on her face. When she lifted an eyebrow in challenge Arthur caved.
"So I probably wouldn't have been as elegant."
"If putting it that way makes you feel better."
"It does. Now if you will excuse me, I have some fake IDs to make."
"Just what I would want to do when I get home from work, more work." She headed toward the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine.
"Have fun with that."
"I will. I get to create a fake name for you."
"Watch what you choose or you might wind up spending the evening on the couch," she shot back over her shoulder.
Arthur grinned and headed down to the office to get started. He'd never made an ID before, a usable fake one or not, so it could take a few tries to get something that looked alright. It could be fun though, if it wasn't beyond frustrating. The computer layout could be done tonight which would leave him with the printing for the next day. Some card stock and packaging tape acting as lamination should work well enough for his purposes.
